Doug Ford apologized Thursday for his comment accusing First Nations of 'coming hat in hand,' which Indigenous leaders have since condemned as 'appalling' and perpetuating 'racist stereotypes.'Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has apologized for warning that First Nations cannot “keep coming hat in hand all the time to the government” if they oppose mining or other resource projects – comments Indigenous leaders condemned as racist.
The Premier met on Thursday with chiefs from the Anishinabek Nation, which represents 39 of Ontario’s 133 First Nations chiefs, to discuss his government’s contentious legislation to speed up resource projects, known as Bill 5.
But the previously scheduled meeting at Queen’s Park was overshadowed by comments the Premier had made a day earlier. Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, in a letter to Mr. Ford on Thursday, condemned them as “appalling” and said they would perpetuate “racist stereotypes.”
After two hours behind closed doors, Mr. Ford and Anishinabek Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige emerged outside his office on Thursday to face reporters and TV cameras together. The Premier addressed her directly.
“I get pretty passionate. And I just want to say, I sincerely apologize for my words, not only if it hurt all the chiefs in that room, but all First Nations,” Mr. Ford said. “I get passionate because I want prosperity for their communities.”
Ms. Debassige told reporters that Mr. Ford had indeed apologized to the assembled chiefs at the meeting and that they felt his apology was sincere.
“The Premier has corrected himself on the ‘hat in the hand’ comment, and has committed to be working with us as a good treaty partner, and has owned what he said, and I’m not going to belabour that,” she said.
Ms. Debassige said her member Anishinabek Nation chiefs expressed their concerns about Bill 5, while suggesting “ideas and solutions.” She also said the Premier made commitments but declined to provide specifics.
Protesters chant and wave flags during a demonstration outside the Ontario Legislature at Queen's Park, June 2.Cole Burston/The Canadian Press
For weeks before his latest comments, the Premier has faced widespread opposition from First Nations over his government’s Bill 5, which includes sweeping powers to wipe out all provincial laws inside designated “special economic zones” in order to speed up the construction of new mines or other development.
It is similar but more far-reaching than legislation passed in B.C. and tabled in Ottawa, and has prompted many Indigenous leaders to warn of protests and court challenges. First Nations say they should have been consulted before Ontario’s law was passed and fear it will diminish their say over projects in their traditional territories.
Mr. Ford’s comments on Wednesday had prompted a condemnation from Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict of the Chiefs of Ontario, which represents all 133 of the province’s First Nations, who warned the Premier’s statement was “dangerous.” Ontario NDP deputy leader Sol Mamakwa, the legislature’s only First Nations MPP, called the remarks racist.
The Premier was taking questions from reporters at an unrelated event in St. Catharines, Ont., on Wednesday, when he addressed First Nations opposition to Bill 5.
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“There’s going to be a point that you can’t just keep coming hat in hand all the time to the government, you’ve got to be able to take care of yourselves,” the Premier said.
“And when you literally have gold mines, nickel mines, every type of critical mineral that the world wants, and you’re saying, ‘No, no, I don’t want to touch that, by the way, give me money’ – not going to happen.”
Pointing to his government’s recent announcement of a $3-billion fund for loans to allow equity partnership for First Nations in resource projects, he said Indigenous communities were being treated “like gold.”
Mr. Ford has also claimed only a small minority of First Nations oppose Bill 5, but has repeatedly declined to provide the name of a single Indigenous group in favour.
The government has said the first special economic zone it intends to designate with Bill 5’s new powers will be in the remote northern Ring of Fire region, where it says critical minerals are key to Ontario’s economic future as it grapples with U.S. tariffs hammering its auto and steel industries.
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But even two of the three First Nations in the region that support Ontario’s plans to build a multi-billion-dollar all-season road to allow for mining there have raised concerns about Bill 5. The First Nations chiefs meeting at Queen’s Park on Thursday did not include any from the Ring of Fire region.
Mr. Ford has also said he could use Bill 5’s powers to make Highway 401 through Toronto a special economic zone, in order realize his vision of the world’s longest traffic tunnel.
As opposition to Bill 5 mounted while it was before a legislative committee last month, Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford said the regulations needed to determine how the legislation actually works would be subject to consultations with First Nations over the summer. Consultations would also take place before any zone was designated, he said.
Mr. Rickford, who was at Thursday’s meeting, also suggested last month that the regulations would include provisions to allow “Indigenous-led” special economic zones, but provided no other details. He had said the idea came from First Nations leaders, including Ms. Debassige. But speaking to The Globe and Mail last month, she said the idea of offering such zones did not come from her: “Absolutely not.”
However, her written submission to the legislative committee studying the bill, while calling for the scrapping or rewriting of Bill 5, also called for “a significant role for Anishinabek First Nations” in the creation of any special economic zones.
After Thursday’s meeting, the Anishinabek Nation released a statement that never explicitly mentions Bill 5 but says the organization intends to ensure its First Nations “benefit directly as full equity partners from all projects and resources extracted from their lands.” The statement also says that Ontario on Thursday “officially recognized that lands and resources are not its to give, exploit, or regulate as economic corridors.”
The Premier’s Office did not immediately respond for a request for comment on the statement.