In the wake of criticism the province has faced in recent weeks for Bill 5, Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre said he stands by the province, provisionally.
He has joined other Northern Ontario mayors by pledging provisional support behind Bill 5, Protect Ontario By Unleashing Our Economy Act.
Lefebvre told Sudbury.com that he’s giving provincial Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce “the benefit of the doubt” that Bill 5 will do just what he said it would when he visited Greater Sudbury last month to promote it — streamline mining approvals by eliminating the doubling up of legislation. In so doing, Lecee said it would not forfeit environmental regulations or duty to consult with First Nations.
“When I talked to the premier he was of the same opinion as well,” Lefebvre said. “It cannot usurp treaty rights and it cannot usurp the rules with respect to certain environmental regulations that would apply to move a project forward.”
Since last month’s visit by Lecce, various groups, including environmentalists, watershed stewards and Indigenous leaders, have criticized the omnibus bill for its potential to do the very things Lecce said it would not — roll back environmental protections and First Nations consultation.
In the wake of this criticism, the provincial government has signalled they’d make certain changes around such things as duty to consult with First Nations.
One of the key issues flagged by critics has been the omnibus bill’s inclusion of the Special Economic Zones Act, which would allow the province to set up designated areas which are exempt from municipal or provincial rules. Federal laws would continue to apply.
Bill 5 would also replace the Endangered Species Act with the Species Conservation Act, which Ecojustice Canada has criticized as watering down regulations and offering “very limited protection to only a tiny fraction of the habitats species need to survive and recover.”
Other points of contention with Bill 5 have been the removal of archaeological assessments and Mining Act amendments which would reduce public oversight.
Although Lefebvre said he’s uncertain about the Special Economic Zones Act implications (“Let’s see where that ends up and what that will allow”), he shrugged off critics’ skepticism.
“Anybody who doesn’t want to see a piece of legislation move forward will always find things that may or may not happen or may be unclear,” he said.
Per what Lecce told Greater Sudburians last month, that Bill 5 would eliminate redundant bureaucracy and not negatively impact environmental protections or First Nations consultation, Lefebvre said that he has “no reason to believe that is not still the case.”
“People will read into the bill what they want to if they don’t want to see it move forward, that’s what politics is all about,” Lefebvre said. “The critics will criticize, that’s what they do, that is their job and I respect that, but right now there’s no reason for me to belabour that.”
The bill, he said, will help Northern Ontarians better tap into the “wealth of richness" available to them in natural resources.
“These are economic opportunities for people in Northern Ontario to create the economic sovereignty that we desperately need now more than ever,” Lefebvre said.
“We need to work together as northerners to really empower us to fully unlock the potential of what our natural resources can offer us, and Indigenous voices and Indigenous participation is key to making that happen so that we all benefit from that.
“We need to protect the environment at the same time. We’re not going to go back to the days where we’ll allow spills and for land and air to be contaminated.”
Citizens' Climate Lobby Greater Sudbury is hosting an anti-Bill 5 rally outside of Sudbury NDP MPP Jamie West’s office (555 Barrydowne Rd.) on June 2 from 9-10 a.m. Activists are calling for a halt to the bill’s progress and full engagement with affected communities.
Bill 5 received the second of three readings earlier this month. Both of Sudbury’s NDP MPPs (West in Sudbury and France Gélinas in Nickel Belt) voted against the bill, whose second reading passed by a vote of 70-43.
On Wednesday, NDP and Liberal MPPs delayed Bill 5 with a filibuster. Under the rules of provincial parliament, the committee is likely to resume deliberations on amendments to Bill 5 next week. The provincial parliament is scheduled to break for the summer at the end of next week, though additional spring sitting days could be added.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
