Recently introduced, Bill 5, gives the government power to create “Special Economic Zones” (SEZs) where normal laws and planning rules, including Greenbelt protections, will no longer apply. These zones can be declared without public notice, public input, or municipal oversight — and projects inside them face no environmental review or right to appeal.

 

This is a backdoor to sprawl — not just in the Greenbelt, but across Ontario, from farmland to floodplains, no area is off-limits if it stands in the way of a politically driven development agenda.

 

 

Bill 5 guts the Endangered Species Act, replacing it with a weaker “Species at Risk Conservation Act” that puts decisions in political hands and strips away science-based protections. This opens the door to destruction of vital ecosystems — the same headwaters, habitats, and corridors that define the ecological health of the Greenbelt, Oak Ridges Moraine, and local watersheds like Carruthers Creek.

 

 

Bill 5 overrides municipal planning authority and may bypass Indigenous consultation. Within SEZs, projects could proceed with:

 

❌ No public consultation

❌ No environmental assessments

❌ No right to appeal

 

 

Under Bill 5, municipal planning powers would be overridden, with decision-making pulled into the hands of Queen’s Park and its developer allies. Infrastructure and mining projects could be pushed forward without proper environmental scrutiny — turning Special Economic Zones into “anything goes” zones.

 

Bill 5 also opens the door to sidestepping archaeological assessments and meaningful engagement with Indigenous communities.

 

 

Bill 5 paves the way for intensified sprawl, threatening farmland, watersheds, and the downstream communities that rely on them. You fought to keep the Greenbelt whole. Now we must fight to keep it respected.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tell your MPP: Bill 5 is undemocratic, dangerous, and must be stopped. Remind them

we haven’t forgotten the last Greenbelt fight — and we won’t back down. Find your MPP

here: https://www.ola.org/en/members/current/contact-information

 

Forward this message. Talk to your neighbours. Share on social. The more people who

understand the scope of this bill, the stronger our collective voice.