Ontario Premier Doug Ford is indicating that Highway 401 could be designated as a special economic zone, allowing the province to fast-track its plans to construct a transit and traffic tunnel beneath it, while sidestepping a raft of environmental and municipal laws.
The province is currently in the process of passing Bill 5, Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, legislation it introduced to speed up mining projects in the north.
Part of the legislation allows for the creation of special economic zones, areas where cabinet will be able to suspend provincial and municipal laws for certain projects. The projects that would qualify for the wide-ranging powers were not made public when the bill was tabled.
On Friday, Ford suggested that a list of priority plans he sent to Prime Minister Mark Carney at the beginning of the month would all get the exception status.
Those projects are: developing the resource-rich Ring of Fire in Thunder Bay; expanding Ontario’s nuclear power generating stations; building a deep-sea port in James Bay; massive expansion to the GO Train system; and building a tunnelled expressway under Highway 401.
“Yes, we will, as we move forward,” Ford said, after being asked if he would designate all five projects as special economic zones.
“But that only goes, again, with the cooperation of the 444 municipalities, always with the First Nations communities across our province as well, especially when it comes to critical minerals.”
Ford’s office stressed consultation on the creation of special economic zones would continue over the summer — pointing out they will be created in regulation and not automatically land when the legislation passes.
“We want to get going on nation-building projects and will make sure it’s done right,” a spokesperson said.
Of the five projects, the government’s Highway 401 tunnel project has received the most pushback from opposition politicians.
The plan is in its infancy and has been decried by opponents as a “half-baked, back-of-the-napkin scheme.” It would involve constructing an expressway beneath Highway 401 from Mississauga to Markham and could cost tens of billions of dollars.
If it were designated as a special economic zone — as the premier suggested on Friday — the route’s builders could be allowed to bypass municipal bylaws and provincial laws that govern construction projects or permitting, for example.
The government recently issued a request for bidders to study how to build the route — a process which would currently take two years.
Opposition politicians have raised concerns about the scope of power special economic zones will give the government, calling the move a “power grab” that lacks transparency.
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said she feared the zones would not be limited to nation-building projects and would extend beyond without limits.
“We’re not just talking about mining, we’re talking about access to everyone — so every farmer, every Ontarian should be concerned about this,” she said on Wednesday. “What this government is doing is passing legislation to give them unfettered access to power.
“It’s a power grab, creating no-law zones.”
The legislation that will allow for the creation of special economic zones is expected to pass sometime next week at the Ontario legislature.