Bill 5 sparks Hamilton protest over treaty, environmental concerns

Dozens of people gathered outside Hamilton City Hall to protest the province’s controversial Bill 5.

The group is made up of local environmental organizations and the leaders of the Green Party and NDP.

“My message to Ontarians and to people here in Hamilton is don’t stop. The Bill passed, it’s outrageous legislation, it has huge opposition across the province, it’s not about progress or economic development,” says Marit Stiles, the leader of Ontario’s NDP.

“But we can change things, we have the power. We have to organize, just like we did with the greenbelt, push back.”

They say the Bill tramples democratic checks and balances, and are calling on the province to reverse their decision.

“I think it’s so important to stand up with the people of Hamilton and say no to Doug Ford’s Bill 5 which is a direct attack on indigenous rights, environmental protections, labour laws and democracy,” says Mike Schreiner, the leader of Ontario’s Green party.

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The Ford government rushed Bill 5, also known as the “Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act” through the legislature and passed it without much debate last month.

The Bill allows the government to side-step some environmental and labour laws to develop areas it deems as “special economic zones.”

Right from the beginning, the bill has seen push back from environmental groups, and indigenous communities, who say the bill could trample treaty rights.

The government has said it’s consulting with indigenous leaders and says the Bill is necessary to boost the economy amid the trade war with the United States.

“Our government is upholding high environmental standards, labour laws, while reducing review times on critical projects by 50% – any assertion is otherwise false,” the Premier’s office said in a statement.

“As a next step, we are working with First Nation communities over the summer to form the regulations and criteria to create new special economic zones and Indigenous-led economic zones.”

CHCH News contacted Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath for comment but did not hear back.

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