On Feb. 27, the voters of Ontario spoke and handed Doug Ford another majority government. This election occurred 15 months early because Premier Ford claimed that he required a new mandate to deal with U.S. President Trump’s tariff threats, and the people of Ontario believed him.

But, during the few short weeks since that election, what has Ford done with that mandate?

Let’s take a look at a couple of bills recently introduced to the legislature.

On April 17, the Ford government quietly tabled the omnibus Bill 5, labelled the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act.

This bill has been roundly condemned by the leaders of Ontario’s First Nations, environmental advocacy organizations and civil liberties groups.

Quite simply, the proposed legislation seeks to gut environmental protection, continuing Ford’s earlier assaults in 2020 and 2022, which weakened conservation authority’s powers and granted the Minister of Natural Resources the unilateral authority to approve development applications.

Bill 5 proposes to eliminate the Endangered Species Act (once considered the gold standard of its type in Canada) and replace it with a severely compromised Species Conservation Act which strangely no longer protects species “habitat” (a word absent in the proposed legislation) but only the exact location of the plant or animal.

Further, this act allows any species, endangered or otherwise, to be removed as part of a development or infrastructure proposal, provided it is not the “last” individual of that species, while simultaneously conferring upon a provincial minister the power to identify whether or not a species is endangered.

In addition, Bill 5 proposes to amend the Mining Act and the Environmental Assessment Act with provisions removing due process reviews to facilitate mining activities.

The proposed legislation also continues the Ford government’s past actions to chip away at and erode the Ontario Heritage Act.

Schedule 6 of the bill removes all protection for any as yet undiscovered or formally unidentified districts and landscapes of historic and/or cultural significance if they happen to be in areas, which, “in the opinion of the lieutenant governor in council … could advance the following provincial priorities: Transit, housing, health and long-term care, other infrastructure or such other priorities as may be prescribed.”

In reality, removing protection from these sites could very easily destroy important First Nations historic and sacred sites — including burial grounds and cairns — while also potentially causing the loss of colonial settlement sites.

After all, if no archeological investigation is required, then the government, land owners and developers can claim plausible deniability for such an event resulting from their actions.

Finally, this bill introduces the intent to empower the Ontario government to declare “special economic zones” — geographic areas in which “trusted proponents” and/or identified projects will not have to comply with existing provincial laws nor municipal bylaws that will essentially create lawless zones for the benefit of a select few.

More egregiously, there was no consultation with the province’s First Nations related to any of the bill’s provisions.

In a statement from the Anishnawbe Business Professional Association published on May 9, its president, Jason Rasevych, declares, “Bill 5 is not a pathway to prosperity; it is a direct assault on the foundations of respectful partnership and shared decision-making, which are crucial for any legitimate economic development in our territories.”

Rasevych continues, “The proposed ‘special economic zones,’ with their sweeping powers to exempt projects from provincial and municipal laws, and the alarming lack of commitment to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), threaten to exclude First Nations businesses and communities from meaningful participation and oversight in projects that directly affect our lands, waters, and livelihoods. This is not economic reconciliation; it is economic marginalization.”

A thorough analysis of Bill 5 from the Canadian Environmental Law Association in its May submission to various Ontario government ministries underwrites why they categorically oppose “all 10 schedules in Bill 5, and we call upon the Ontario government to withdraw this unjustifiable attack on environmental law and the rule of law.”

Bluntly, there is no upside to Bill 5 – it’s a train wreck waiting to happen.

And, right now, its status is second reading and referred to the standing committee for review.

It is vital that Ontarians loudly express their opposition to Bill 5 by contacting the sitting members of provincial parliament, including the government’s ministers and the premier.

The Ford government has reversed course before and we need them to do it again now.

Next week, we’ll examine another piece of proposed legislation: Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act. Stay tuned.

Brian Marshall is a NOTL realtor, author and expert consultant on architectural design, restoration and heritage.