On its first day back after a 21-week break, the government under Premier Doug Ford introduced a sweeping bill that could change how Ontarians learn about provincial decisions affecting the environment — and what residents can do if they disagree.
By day two, Bill 140, the Building Ontario Faster Act, 2026, reached second reading. But it didn’t sit well with the opposition.
“The government does not want people to tell them what they think. I very much would like the public to have a chance to participate in their democracy,” Oshawa MPP Jennifer K. French said during debate at Queen’s Park on Oct. 28.
For more than three decades, the Environmental Bill of Rights has given Ontarians a formal role in government decisions that could affect their air, water, land and communities.
“It gives the public a wide range of tools that they can use to protect themselves and protect the environment,” Richard Lindgren, a lawyer with the Canadian Environmental Law Association said. “But if Bill 140 is passed, those rights will disappear.”
Tabled by the minister of red tape reduction, Bill 140 would eliminate legal tools that allow residents to challenge certain environmental approvals, request reviews of existing environmental laws and ask the province to investigate suspected violations. It would also change how the public is notified about proposed environmental laws and policies.
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