The Ford government is promising that its controversial law allowing new special economic zones in Ontario will only be used in a “narrow set of circumstances,” and projects that receive provincial exemptions must present the “utmost importance to Ontario’s economy and security.”
Months after passing the legislation, commonly known as Bill 5, Ontario unveiled a set of draft regulations meant to guide Premier Doug Ford and his cabinet as they choose which areas of the province should be designated as special economic zones.
Those zones, which the province currently defines as “a geographically bounded area within the province” where significant economic activities are or will be taking place, could potentially be exempt from certain provincial laws in order to fast-track economic priority projects.
Critics have slammed Bill 5 as a “power grab” by the premier, whose government, they claim, is looking to create “no law zones.”
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The province, however, contends that in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff war with Canada, the province needs to expedite projects — such as extracting critical minerals in the Ring of Fire– to create new domestic supply chains and boost the economy.
Potential zones and criteria
While the Ford government has yet to unveil which parts of the province would be deemed special economic zones, draft regulations released by Queen’s Park are offering a glimpse into the guardrails that could be put in place.
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The draft document offers a vague definition of what a zone would look like, suggesting any region in the province could be deemed economically important.
“A zone is a geographically bounded area of any size within the province where strategic economic activities are taking place or are being proposed to take place. It can be small or large,” the document states.
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Projects within those zones could receive faster permitting as long as they can demonstrate “significant and long-term” benefits to the province, such as creating jobs, setting up supply chains, having an impact on Ontario’s GDP and using Ontario-made goods or services.
Those projects, the documents add, would also need to be a good bet for the province.
“Positioned to move forward quickly once appropriate approvals have been secured and consultation completed, demonstrating a high likelihood of success in achieving the objectives,” the proposed regulation states.
The government document also stresses that any project or “trusted proponent” would need to adhere to the province’s constitutional duty to consult and, where appropriate,” to accommodate First Nations.
Highway 401 tunnel
As the province kicks off consultations on its draft regulations, it’s also looking for feedback on a number of criteria-related questions.
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For example, while the government stresses that the special economic zone is only meant to be used “for a narrow set of circumstances when it is of the utmost importance to Ontario’s economy and/or security,” it’s looking for more direction on how to ensure Ford’s cabinet only uses the designation in “the most appropriate cases.”
The discussion paper also appears to open the door to other projects, such as the Highway 401 tunnel, which is being heavily promoted by the premier.
“Should potentially important ‘moon-shot’ projects be put forward if they could have enormous impact, even if they have a low likelihood of success?” the document asks.
Ford has asked Prime Minister Mark Carney to consider putting the tunnelled traffic-transit expressway beneath the 401 on the federal list of priority projects and hasn’t ruled out designating the congested corridor as a special economic zone.
Nothing in the document appears to rule out putting the Highway 401 on a future list of projects.
The government has yet to provide a timeline for when the full list of projects will be proposed.
[SRC] https://globalnews.ca/news/11461166/ontario-special-economic-zone-draft-regulations/
