The Standing Committee on the Interior will be meeting to consider Bill 5, An Act to enact the Special Economic Zones Act, 2025, to amend the Endangered Species Act, 2007 and to replace it with the Species Conservation Act, 2025, and to amend various Acts and revoke various regulations in relation to development and procurement.

Key Dates

• Public hearings are scheduled for Thursday, May 22, 2025, and Monday, May 26, 2025.

• A clause-by-clause review is scheduled for Wednesday, May 28, 2025.

The 30-day comment period on the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO) for the changes to the Endangered Species Act and Special Economic Zones Act closed on May 17, 2025.

The Standing Committee of the Interior does not review the ERO comments. So, if you submitted comments to the ERO, please also send your submission directly to the Committee.

• Written comments must be received by 6:00 PM (EDT) on Monday, May 26, 2025.

The Members of the Standing Committee of the Interior can be found here.

To send your written submission, please visit: https://www.ola.org/en/apply-committees

Premier Ford’s government introduced a Time Allocation Motion on the evening of Thursday, May 29, 2025, to cut short debate at the upcoming meeting of Standing Committee of the Interior on June 3, 2025 and to prevent another filibuster of Bill 5 by the opposition parties. This motion also allows only 1 hour for third reading debate in the Legislative Assembly, enabling the government to pass Bill 5 before the summer recess on June 5, 2025.

“No other Canadian province has anything like this…[t]he bill would enable cabinet to designate any location in Ontario as a special economic zone, and then to exempt any company or project in the zone from having to comply with whichever provincial laws, provincial regulations or municipal bylaws the government chooses.”

– Mike Crawley, Senior Reporter, Special economic zones: the secret weapon in Doug Ford’s Bill 5, CBC News, May 30, 2025

“Essentially, the cabinet could give corporations a free pass to circumvent all sorts of important protections.”

– Anaïs Bussières McNicoll, Director, Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA)

CCLA files Submission Urging Members of Ontario’s Provincial Parliament to Vote Against Bill 5

The Friends of Stittsville Wetlands continue to urge the Ford Government to rescind these proposed changes and chart a course that ensures prosperity for our province and safeguards our natural environment for the benefit of species, ourselves, and future generations.

Contact the Premier and your MPP!

• See how your MPP voted so far

• Call or email the Premier and your MPP. Speak to the 10 Key Points about Bill 5 here.

• Contact the Premier

• If you reside in the riding of Carleton – Contact MPP George Darouze.

• Who is my MPP? Check here for your MPP and contact information.

• Ensure your MPP commits to opposing Bill 5! Our MPPs control the vote that would pass this bill into law.