The Delusioneers
The Delusioneers — Source Index
The Playbook, Part I
Executive Carve-Out Architecture
Ontario / United States Comparative Record
All sources primary. All sections cited.
Every instrument cited in The Playbook, Part I is listed below with its full title, jurisdiction, relevant sections, and primary source URL. Where a statute or executive order was accessed via an official government repository (Ontario e-Laws, GovInfo, Federal Register), that URL is provided. No secondary sources are cited as primary.
Ontario — Primary Instruments
ONT-01
Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025
S.O. 2025, c. 4 — Bill 5 (omnibus, 9 schedules). Royal Assent: March 2025.
Sections cited: Schedule 9 (Special Economic Zones Act, 2025 — enacted in full); Schedule 8 (amendments to Rebuilding Ontario Place Act, 2023, EBR exemption); ESA-related schedules (endangered species carve-outs, discretionary exemption provisions).
Primary: ontario.ca/laws/statute/25p04
Plays 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
ONT-02
Special Economic Zones Act, 2025
Enacted as Schedule 9 to Bill 5 (ONT-01). Standalone Act as of Royal Assent.
Sections cited: s. 2 (designation of special economic zones by Lieutenant Governor in Council); s. 3 (designation of vetted projects and trusted proponents by Minister); ss. 6–7 (regulation-making powers: criteria for zones, vetted projects, trusted proponents; specification of which permits, approvals, bylaws modified or exempt within zones).
Environmental Registry notice (ERO): ero.ontario.ca — search "Special Economic Zones Act"
Plays 1, 2, 3
ONT-03
Bill 5, Schedule 8 — Amendments to Rebuilding Ontario Place Act, 2023
Amends S.O. 2023 to exempt Ontario Place redevelopment activities from Part II of the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993.
Sections cited: Schedule 8 provisions exempting Ontario Place redevelopment from EBR Part II (public notice and comment requirements for environmentally significant decisions).
Primary via Bill 5 consolidation: ontario.ca/laws/statute/25p04
Play 4
ONT-04
Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993
S.O. 1993, c. 28. Part II (ss. 15–36): public participation rights on environmentally significant government decisions. Part II rights are what Schedule 8 of Bill 5 removes for Ontario Place.
Primary: ontario.ca/laws/statute/93e28
Play 4
United States — Primary Instruments
USA-01
Executive Order 13766 — Expediting Environmental Reviews and Approvals for High-Priority Infrastructure Projects
Signed January 24, 2017. Revoked by Executive Order 13990, January 20, 2021.
Sections cited: s. 1 (policy — expedite environmental reviews for infrastructure, especially high-priority projects); s. 2(a) (CEQ Chair authorized to designate infrastructure projects as "high priority" upon request from governor or agency head); s. 2(b) (30-day response requirement); s. 3 (agency heads must provide written explanation to CEQ Chair for any delay in review of designated projects).
Primary (GovInfo): govinfo.gov — EO 13766
Plays 1, 2, 3
USA-02
Executive Order 13807 — Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental Review and Permitting Process for Infrastructure Projects
Signed August 15, 2017. Revoked by Executive Order 13990, January 20, 2021.
Sections cited: s. 2(d) (definition of "major infrastructure project" by reference to 42 U.S.C. 4370m(6) / FAST-41); s. 4 (OMB directed to develop performance accountability system for agencies' environmental review); s. 5(a) ("One Federal Decision" framework — agencies must produce project-specific permitting timetables with strict deadlines); s. 5(d) (projects subject to statutory streamlining regimes under 23 U.S.C. 139, 33 U.S.C. 2348, or 42 U.S.C. 4370m–4370m-12 automatically qualify as high-priority under EO 13766).
Primary (GovInfo): govinfo.gov — EO 13807
Plays 1, 2, 3
USA-03
Executive Order 13927 — Accelerating the Nation's Economic Recovery From the COVID-19 Emergency by Expediting Infrastructure Investments and Other Activities
Signed June 4, 2020. Revoked by Executive Order 13990, January 20, 2021.
Sections cited: s. 1 (COVID-19 economic emergency as justification for expediting infrastructure); ss. 2–3 (agencies directed to use emergency and other authorities under NEPA, ESA, Clean Water Act, and other statutes to expedite environmental reviews and permitting — invoking statutory emergency or streamlining provisions where applicable).
Primary (Federal Register): federalregister.gov — EO 13927
Play 4
USA-04
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, 2017
Pub. L. 115-97. Signed December 22, 2017. Passed via budget reconciliation (simple Senate majority).
Sections cited: s. 11081 (ACA individual mandate penalty reduced to $0 — structural ACA modification embedded in tax legislation); corporate tax rate changes (s. 13001); pass-through provisions (ss. 11011–11012). Cited for the structural rhyme on omnibus framing (Play 5), not for substantive policy comparison.
Primary (GovInfo): govinfo.gov — Pub. L. 115-97
Play 5
USA-05
Executive Order — Unleashing American Energy
Signed January 20, 2025 (second term). In force.
Sections cited: s. 5(b): directs the CEQ Chair to provide guidance on implementing NEPA and propose rescinding CEQ's NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1500 et seq.) within 30 days. s. 5(c): CEQ Chair to convene a working group to revise agency-level NEPA implementing regulations. s. 6: agencies shall adhere only to legislated requirements in environmental permitting — all considerations beyond statutory requirements eliminated. Cited as the second-term reinstatement and expansion of the EO 13766/13807 fast-track architecture.
Primary (White House): whitehouse.gov — Unleashing American Energy
Plays 1, 2, 3, 4
Revocation Record — U.S. Instruments
USA-REV
Executive Order 13990 — Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis
Signed January 20, 2021 (Biden). Revoked EO 13766, EO 13807, EO 13927, and related Trump-era infrastructure and environmental orders.
EO 13766, EO 13807, and EO 13927 were revoked January 20, 2021 (Biden, EO 13990). On January 20, 2025, the second term's "Unleashing American Energy" (USA-05) reinstated and expanded the same environmental review fast-track architecture, directing CEQ to propose rescinding NEPA regulations in full. The Ontario instruments (Bill 5 / SEZ Act) are currently in force as of April 2026.
Primary (Federal Register): federalregister.gov — EO 13990
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All items sourced from primary documents. No secondary sources cited as primary. U.S. instruments: 5 (EOs 13766, 13807, 13927, 13990, Unleashing American Energy 2025).