The provincial Bill 5 and the federal Bill C-5 both threaten the environment, democracy and Indigenous rights. 

Bill 5

Bill 5 attacks environmental protections, putting Ontario's land, water, and communities at risk.

• Ontario’s Bill 5 is a direct attack on environmental protection. It strips away essential safeguards and oversight, paving the way for unchecked development.
• This legislation undermines decades of environmental progress. It is an affront to the health of Ontario’s ecosystems, communities, and climate resilience.
• By gutting environmental regulations, Bill 5 pushes Ontario’s most vulnerable wildlife toward extinction. Ancient peatlands in the Ring of Fire that store over 2 billion tonnes of carbon are under threat.

Watch Wildlands League's Anna Baggio Depute Against Ontario's Bill 5

"Bill 5 was presented to the public, and to many of the MPPs who voted for it, as a targeted emergency law focused on speeding up approvals for northern mines, and for infrastructure and special critical industries required to decouple Ontario’s economy from the United States. However legal and technical experts – have made it clear that Bill 5 powers can be used for any purpose, and applied to laws with no direct connection to mining or nation-building infrastructure – from minimum wages and collective bargaining to protections against trespass and the contamination of water."

Bill C-5

Like Ontario’s Bill 5, the proposed federal Bill C-5 undermines environmental protections and Indigenous rights.

• The proposed federal Bill C-5 would provide sweeping power for the Prime Minister and his cabinet to exempt major projects from health, safety, and environmental laws.
• This legislation would fast-track risky extraction projects while bypassing oversight and public participation.
• By weakening evaluation criteria and shortening approval timelines for big projects, Bill C-5 contravenes Canada's obligations to uphold the right of Indigenous Peoples to free, prior, and informed consent.

"Canada’s leading environmental law and policy organizations are calling on the Senate to make essential amendments to Bill C-5 before it becomes law. As currently drafted, the bill threatens to undermine constitutional principles, erode democratic accountability, and jeopardize environmental protection and Indigenous rights — not to mention thwart the government’s stated goal of expediting “national interest” projects."

"Ecojustice says Bill C-5 is part of a disturbing trend that weakens democracy and sidelines Parliament. Rushing big projects without following key environmental laws as they were meant to work puts nature, wildlife, and communities at serious risk."