Doug Ford's controversial Bill 5: Here's what you need to know

The most significant legislation from Ontario's Progressive Conservatives since winning their third straight majority is a sweeping bill that Premier Doug Ford says will protect the economy from tariffs, but which critics say will gut environmental protection. 

Bill 5, also known as the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, is making its way through Queen's Park and could become law before the legislature breaks for the summer on June 5. 

The Ford government's public justification for the bill is making major infrastructure and resource extraction projects happen faster by reducing delays and eliminating duplication in the approval process. 

The PCs are framing the bill as an urgent response to the economic threats posed by U.S. President Donald Trump and his tariffs. Critics are calling that a pretext to loosen oversight of how companies operate in Ontario

Concerns are coming not just from Ford's usual opponents — such as First Nations leaders and environmental groups — but also from organizations as varied as the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) and the Toronto Zoo.

The bill would make so many changes to provincial legislation that it's worth having a guide to all its key provisions.

Here's what you need to know about Bill 5. 

One part of Bill 5 would create a new provincial law called the Special Economic Zones Act. It's arguably the most powerful section of the bill. 

It would give cabinet the authority to designate any location in Ontario a special economic zone, where the government can exempt companies or projects from complying with provincial laws or regulations.

The CCLA calls the legislation a power grab that should only happen in times of public emergencies.

"This alarming move enables the executive branch of the government to unilaterally do away with legal safeguards that protect vulnerable communities and Indigenous people, paving the way for corporations to bypass labour and environmental laws," Anaïs Bussières McNicoll, a director with the CCLA, said in a statement.  

Ford has specifically said the Ring of Fire mineral deposit in northern Ontario and his proposed tunnel under Highway 401 are both candidates for special economic zone status. 

The legislation contains no limits on where a special economic zone could be located. It gives cabinet the full power to designate a project as qualifying, and does not spell out any criteria for deciding which projects get the special status. 

Bill 5 would scrap Ontario's Endangered Species Act and replace it with an entirely new law called the Species Protection Act, which critics say waters down protections.