{"id":92132,"date":"2025-05-07T09:51:01","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T13:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=92132"},"modified":"2025-05-07T09:51:01","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T13:51:01","slug":"critics-slam-ontario-for-proposal-to-create-zones-where-projects-are-exempt-from-laws-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/07\/critics-slam-ontario-for-proposal-to-create-zones-where-projects-are-exempt-from-laws-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Critics slam Ontario for proposal to create zones where projects are exempt from laws"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Liam Casey Proposed Ontario legislation that would give cabinet power to create &#8220;special economic zones&#8221; and allow the government to exempt itself from following laws on certain projects is little more than a power grab, First Nations, civil liberty groups and environmentalists say. Critics say the bill, known as the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, is designed to ensure projects such as Premier Doug Ford&#8217;s proposed tunnel under Highway 401 and critical mineral mining in northern Ontario get done with little resistance. Ford pointed to both projects as examples of regions that could be designated as special economic zones once the law is passed. Ford has long envisioned mining the Ring of Fire, an area that is said to be rich with critical minerals, then refining and&#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%2F05%2F07%2Fcritics-slam-ontario-for-proposal-to-create-zones-where-projects-are-exempt-from-laws-2%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Liam Casey Proposed Ontario legislation that would give cabinet power to create &#8220;special economic zones&#8221; and allow the government to exempt itself from following laws on certain projects is little more than a power grab, First Nations, civil liberty groups and environmentalists say. Critics say the bill, known as the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, is designed to ensure projects such as Premier Doug Ford&#8217;s proposed tunnel under Highway 401 and critical mineral mining in northern Ontario get done with little resistance. Ford pointed to both projects as examples of regions that could be designated as special economic zones once the law is passed. Ford has long envisioned mining the Ring of Fire, an area that is said to be rich with critical minerals, then refining and... <\/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%2F05%2F07%2Fcritics-slam-ontario-for-proposal-to-create-zones-where-projects-are-exempt-from-laws-2%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-92132","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 v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Critics slam Ontario for proposal to create zones where projects are exempt from laws - 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\/05\/07\/critics-slam-ontario-for-proposal-to-create-zones-where-projects-are-exempt-from-laws-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Critics slam Ontario for proposal to create zones where projects are exempt from laws - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Liam Casey Proposed Ontario legislation that would give cabinet power to create &#8220;special economic zones&#8221; and allow the government to exempt itself from following laws on certain projects is little more than a power grab, First Nations, civil liberty groups and environmentalists say. Critics say the bill, known as the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, is designed to ensure projects such as Premier Doug Ford&#8217;s proposed tunnel under Highway 401 and critical mineral mining in northern Ontario get done with little resistance. Ford pointed to both projects as examples of regions that could be designated as special economic zones once the law is passed. Ford has long envisioned mining the Ring of Fire, an area that is said to be rich with critical minerals, then refining and\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/07\/critics-slam-ontario-for-proposal-to-create-zones-where-projects-are-exempt-from-laws-2\/\" \/>\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=\"2025-05-07T13:51:01+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\\\/05\\\/07\\\/critics-slam-ontario-for-proposal-to-create-zones-where-projects-are-exempt-from-laws-2\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/07\\\/critics-slam-ontario-for-proposal-to-create-zones-where-projects-are-exempt-from-laws-2\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lynda Powless\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458\"},\"headline\":\"Critics slam Ontario for proposal to create zones where projects are exempt from laws\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-07T13:51:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/07\\\/critics-slam-ontario-for-proposal-to-create-zones-where-projects-are-exempt-from-laws-2\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":976,\"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\\\/05\\\/07\\\/critics-slam-ontario-for-proposal-to-create-zones-where-projects-are-exempt-from-laws-2\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/07\\\/critics-slam-ontario-for-proposal-to-create-zones-where-projects-are-exempt-from-laws-2\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/07\\\/critics-slam-ontario-for-proposal-to-create-zones-where-projects-are-exempt-from-laws-2\\\/\",\"name\":\"Critics slam Ontario for proposal to create zones where projects are exempt from laws - 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