To the Editor:
The following is a letter sent to Huron-Bruce MPP and Minister of Rural Affairs, Lisa Thompson.
June 4, 2025.
Dear Ms. L. Thompson (Sent via email to lisa.thompsonco@pc.ola.org)
Subject: Bill 5, Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, 2025
I am writing on behalf of CFUW Southport, a club in Saugeen Shores and area with 133 members. We are part of CFUW Ontario Council, a provincial organization with 48 clubs and 4,500 members. CFUW (Canadian Federation of University Women) is a voluntary, self-funded, non-profit, nonpartisan women’s organization whose members seek to provide life-long learning, to improve public policy and to advocate for gender equality and for the rights of women and girls.
As such, CFUW Southport would like to express our deep concern regarding Bill 5 and its proposal to repeal the Endangered Species Act (ESA), Ontario’s keystone biodiversity law. If enacted, catastrophic loss of Ontario’s most vulnerable ecosystems will cause irreversible harm, including the potential extinction of many species.
For nearly 20 years, the ESA has provided essential, science-based protections for Ontario’s most vulnerable species and their habitats. Replacing it with the proposed Species Conservation Act would significantly weaken these protections at a time when biodiversity is already in crisis due to climate change.
Key concerns with Bill 5 include:
• Elimination of habitat protections critical to the survival of species at risk. The proposed change would only protect a specific den, nest, or plant – not the larger ecosystems species depend on.
• Removal of recovery strategies and accountability mechanisms that ensure at-risk species receive coordinated efforts for recovery.
• Absence of oversight for development, allowing immediate destruction of species or habitats through online registration, with no permits, mitigation submission, or review required.
• Political discretion over species listings, enabling the potential for species to be removed from protection based on development pressure rather than scientific evidence.
• Removal of the prohibition on harassment, allowing activities that impede or indirectly harm a species to happen such as preventing nesting activity or frightening a species away from its habitat.
• Establishing Special Economic Zones to bypass environmental protection legislation altogether.
Many species cannot survive without strong habitat protection and science-led recovery planning.
Bill 5 will also unacceptably provide the Provincial Cabinet with extraordinary powers to destroy Ontario’s archeological heritage and permanently erase both settler and Indigenous history, regardless of municipal laws which have be enacted to prevent this and work toward Truth and Reconciliation. CFUW Southport is particularly concerned about the impact of this legislation on our neighbours, Saugeen First Nation #29. The Canadian Environmental Law Association believes that all of the Bill 5 schedules, with minor exceptions, should be withdrawn and not considered by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario until they are substantially modified to ensure robust protection for the environment, human health, and vulnerable members of the Ontario public, including Indigenous peoples, who may otherwise be harmed by the amendments contained in the various schedules. Unfortunately, Bill 5 was pushed through today.
The Canadian Civil Liberties found that Schedule 9, in allowing the Minister of Economic Development to exempt “trusted proponents” from compliance with municipal and provincial law within the special economic zones, promotes abandonment of the rule of law subjecting Ontario’s lands and peoples to the possibility of arbitrary and non-transparent decision-making and effectively nullifying decades of legacy law-making in those zones.
Amnesty International Canada urged the Government of Ontario to halt or withdraw Bill 5 and to recommit to uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples as affirmed in Canadian law through the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. Further they encourage the government to engage in transparent inclusive consultations with Indigenous Nations and civil society. Now that Bill 5 is legislation, this necessary step is urgently needed.
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture said the board powers of Bill 5 “could override vital protections for farmland and agricultural systems. As our MPP representative in Huron-Bruce and with your background in agriculture, this issue must be of deep concern for you. As Minister of Rural Affairs, the potential overriding of environmental protection laws of municipal government should be top of mind for you as well. Sustainability of Ontario’s precious natural and cultural legacy to the children of our future is not possible under Bill 5.
Our members are deeply concerned. We urge the Ontario Government to repeal Bill 5 and stop the repeal of the Endangered Species Act and instead strengthen Ontario’s commitment to science-based conservation. This is not just about wildlife – it is about protecting the ecosystems that support clean water, climate resilience, and quality of life for all Ontarians. Please uphold Ontario’s responsibility to protect biodiversity for future generations.
Ms. Thompson, we kindly request confirmation of your receipt of this letter and would greatly appreciate your comments on this issue as well.
Kind Regards
Odette Bartnicki, M.A.Ed.
President,
