{"id":91405,"date":"2025-04-17T08:24:04","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T12:24:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=91405"},"modified":"2025-04-17T08:24:04","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T12:24:04","slug":"throne-speech-ignites-outcry-over-fords-environmental-rollbacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/throne-speech-ignites-outcry-over-fords-environmental-rollbacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Throne speech ignites outcry over Ford\u2019s environmental rollbacks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Abdul Matin Sarfraz \/ Canada\u2019s National Observer \/ Local Journalism Initiative Despite years of public outcry and widespread criticism from experts and advocates over weakened conservation laws, the Ford government doubled down on its first day back in power \u2014 vowing to slash environmental oversight to fast-track mineral and infrastructure projects. Critics warn the plan will gut crucial environmental reviews, provoke legal battles, spark First Nations resistance and further weaken protections already under strain. The backlash follows Tuesday\u2019s throne speech, which pledged new legislation to \u201cstreamline\u201d environmental assessment in order to fast-track major infrastructure projects and development in Ontario\u2019s Ring of Fire. While the government frames the move as a response to US trade tensions, saying Ontario is fighting for the future of its economy, opponents call it a&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription &#8211; Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2025%2F04%2F17%2Fthrone-speech-ignites-outcry-over-fords-environmental-rollbacks%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Abdul Matin Sarfraz \/ Canada\u2019s National Observer \/ Local Journalism Initiative Despite years of public outcry and widespread criticism from experts and advocates over weakened conservation laws, the Ford government doubled down on its first day back in power \u2014 vowing to slash environmental oversight to fast-track mineral and infrastructure projects. Critics warn the plan will gut crucial environmental reviews, provoke legal battles, spark First Nations resistance and further weaken protections already under strain. The backlash follows Tuesday\u2019s throne speech, which pledged new legislation to \u201cstreamline\u201d environmental assessment in order to fast-track major infrastructure projects and development in Ontario\u2019s Ring of Fire. While the government frames the move as a response to US trade tensions, saying Ontario is fighting for the future of its economy, opponents call it a... <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\"><div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\"><div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div><div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2025%2F04%2F17%2Fthrone-speech-ignites-outcry-over-fords-environmental-rollbacks%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Throne speech ignites outcry over Ford\u2019s environmental rollbacks - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/throne-speech-ignites-outcry-over-fords-environmental-rollbacks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Throne speech ignites outcry over Ford\u2019s environmental rollbacks - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Abdul Matin Sarfraz \/ Canada\u2019s National Observer \/ Local Journalism Initiative Despite years of public outcry and widespread criticism from experts and advocates over weakened conservation laws, the Ford government doubled down on its first day back in power \u2014 vowing to slash environmental oversight to fast-track mineral and infrastructure projects. Critics warn the plan will gut crucial environmental reviews, provoke legal battles, spark First Nations resistance and further weaken protections already under strain. The backlash follows Tuesday\u2019s throne speech, which pledged new legislation to \u201cstreamline\u201d environmental assessment in order to fast-track major infrastructure projects and development in Ontario\u2019s Ring of Fire. While the government frames the move as a response to US trade tensions, saying Ontario is fighting for the future of its economy, opponents call it a\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/throne-speech-ignites-outcry-over-fords-environmental-rollbacks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-17T12:24:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/facebooklogo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"725\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"483\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/17\\\/throne-speech-ignites-outcry-over-fords-environmental-rollbacks\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/17\\\/throne-speech-ignites-outcry-over-fords-environmental-rollbacks\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lynda Powless\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458\"},\"headline\":\"Throne speech ignites outcry over Ford\u2019s environmental rollbacks\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-17T12:24:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/17\\\/throne-speech-ignites-outcry-over-fords-environmental-rollbacks\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1012,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"National News\",\"ticker\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/17\\\/throne-speech-ignites-outcry-over-fords-environmental-rollbacks\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/17\\\/throne-speech-ignites-outcry-over-fords-environmental-rollbacks\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/17\\\/throne-speech-ignites-outcry-over-fords-environmental-rollbacks\\\/\",\"name\":\"Throne speech ignites outcry over Ford\u2019s environmental rollbacks - 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