After continuing to ram Bill 5 – the Special Economic Zones Act – through the legislature, the Ontario Ford Government finished hearings this week. The TYRLC drafted a submission to ensure the impact on workers was known.
Excerpt:
Among the wide-ranging powers included in Bill 5, Schedule 9 would allow the Ford government to create “special economic zones” anywhere in the province. Within these zones, the provincial government, through Cabinet-held secretive deliberations, can override all existing laws and regulations around labour conditions, employment standards, worker health and safety, and environmental protections, as well as municipal regulations. A zone can be created anywhere. While the expectation is that Bill 5 has to do with the “Ring of Fire”, the reference to Ontario Place makes it clear the government could impose a “special economic zone” anywhere or everywhere. There are no remedies and no legal rights for anyone who is or may be negatively affected.
– May 26, 2025 TYRLC Submission on 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 to procurement.
