A Letter to Premier Doug Ford on World Environment Day

Dear Premier Doug Ford,

I am writing this letter on June 5, World Environment Day.  I am a fellow Ontarian and someone who has worked for nearly 15 years with elected officials across Canada and internationally on climate action. I am a grateful settler, living in mining country, where my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents are laid to rest.

Like many, I am not happy with the passing of Bill 5. I understand that Donald Trump’s tariffs are a threat to our economy. However, using that to justify fast-tracking mining projects in Bill 5 is not the answer. It is not only environmentalists who are concerned. Unions, legal experts and First Nations communities are all raising valid concerns about Bill 5.

You are asking for public trust, yet past actions have raised legitimate concerns.

Since taking office, your government has removed key environmental protections. As soon as you took office you cancelled cap-and-trade, weakened Ontario’s climate targets, and eliminated the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, the non-partisan guardian of the Environmental Bill of Rights. More recently, your party spent over $240,000 on ads  in one year on Meta platform ads that misrepresented the federal carbon rebate program.

Bill 17, another bill you just rammed through at Queen’s Park is, among its many problems, a gift to Enbridge gas. Natural gas is primarily composed of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that significantly contributes to global heating.

Meanwhile, massive wildfires are raging in Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been warning governments for decades, and now the climate emergency is clearly upon us.

Ontario needs to go where the puck is going. The Rocky Mountain Institute reported that the cleantech revolution is exponential and we are now in the accelerated phase of global decarbonization.

A better future awaits jurisdictions that transition away from fossil fuels.

Did you know that:
-Every recession since World War II was preceded by a jump in oil prices, including the inflation crisis we are in now.
– Fossil fuel companies have known the harm for decades and continue to spread misinformation about the climate crisis and solutions.
– A quarter of all US Americans live in jurisdictions that are suing big oil over lying to the public.

The long wait times in hospitals and underfunded schools show that the province is struggling to manage its budget, and yet science, human rights and economics are clearly not guiding your decisions.

As mentioned earlier, I live in mining country and up here we know firsthand that putting people and the planet first is profitable. The Acid Rain Treaty proved it. Ignoring environmental and social concerns comes at a cost we’re all paying through rising insurance premiums, food prices, and taxes because we’ve disregarded over 60 years of scientific warnings about climate change.

Enough is enough. History must stop repeating itself.

There is another way forward: involve citizens in developing policy. It’s 2025, not the 1950s. We have the tools to do this well. Engaging the people of Ontario in meaningful, informed consultations is possible and necessary.

Canada is a country with a colonial history and deep wounds. We are on a journey of reconciliation. What we do at this moment matters. Sir John A. Macdonald thought he was doing the right thing, but history remembers the harm he caused.

How will history remember you?

Sincerely,
Cathy Orlando

Sudbury, Ontario
National Director Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada
Recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012),
Climate Reality Canada–Desjardins Citizens Engagement Award (2017)
Senate of Canada’s 150th Anniversary Unsung Heroes Medal (2018)
King Charles III Coronation Medal (2025)