Environmental lawyers and municipal leaders are warning that Ontario’s proposed Bill 140 would weaken residents’ ability to challenge environmental decisions and strip municipalities of their power to reject new landfill sites, Global News reports.

The Ford government tabled the Building Ontario Faster Act on Oct. 27, saying it aims to accelerate infrastructure projects and reduce regulatory requirements. The legislation has not yet passed.

According to reporting by Global News’ Olivia Bowden and Colin D’Mello, the bill would remove provisions under the Environmental Bill of Rights that allow residents to request environmental investigations and policy reviews, and seek appeals of government permits.

It would also end the requirement to post environmentally significant decisions on the Environmental Registry of Ontario. Ministries could instead post proposals on the Ontario Regulatory Registry, which does not carry the same legal requirements for advance notice, public comment periods or formal responses to feedback.

Joseph Castrilli, a lawyer with the Canadian Environmental Law Association, warned that the changes would reduce public scrutiny.

“If the legislation passes, it’s pretty clear that decision-making will be more secretive and less beneficial to members of the public,” he told Global News.

Environment Minister Todd McCarthy disputed that assessment, saying the Environmental Bill of Rights is “here to stay.” He described some citizen-related processes as little used and said the changes would streamline outdated procedures.

“The essence of it, consultation, input, remains possible. Judicial review, access to the courts, remains available,” McCarthy said.

The proposal would also remove the requirement for municipal consent for new landfill sites, reversing a veto power municipalities gained in 2020 following a campaign by Oxford County officials.

In a statement, a group of 11 Oxford County mayors warned that losing that power would leave municipalities without meaningful leverage to negotiate safeguards for their communities.

McCarthy said municipalities would retain a permitting role and opportunities for input. He argued that Ontario needs additional landfill capacity as an “insurance policy” to become more self-reliant amid U.S. tariffs.

Sources