First Nations leaders warn of confrontation over Ontario’s ‘special economic zones’ in omnibus bill

Open this photo in gallery:

First Nations leaders are warning the Ontario government that passing a bill allowing it to designate “special economic zones” where mining or other development could be exempted from any provincial law will result in confrontations with Indigenous people.

Indigenous drumming and singing echoed through the corridors of Queen‘s Park on Thursday, as the Progressive Conservative government’s Bill 5 went before a legislative committee. First Nations chiefs and spokespeople from as many as 1,500-kilometres away in Ontario’s North told MPPs that they had not been consulted on the bill and warned it would trample on their treaty rights.

The omnibus bill, unveiled by Premier Doug Ford last month, has been praised by the resource industry for its provisions aimed at streamlining Ontario’s sluggish permit process for new mines, which can take up to 15 years. But it has been condemned by environmentalists for other changes they say would gut endangered-species rules – with the head of Toronto Zoo adding his opposition in an appearance before MPPs on Thursday.

The proposed changes are largely aimed at the province’s northern Ring of Fire region, where the government says stores of critical minerals could boost Ontario’s economy in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and secure Western supplies of key resources now dominated by China.

But the Ring of Fire has long gone unexploited, partly owing to its remote location, the opposition of many First Nations and the unproven viability of its promised reserves. Any new mining in the area remains many years away and cannot begin until a multibillion-dollar road is built. (Mr. Ford has also suggested he could name the Toronto stretch of Highway 401 as a special economic zone, in order to make real his concept of a 60-kilometre traffic tunnel that experts say would cost more than $120-billion.)

Alvin Fiddler, Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which represents 49 First Nations across Northern Ontario – including those whose traditional territories cover the Ring of Fire –told MPPs the bill was a “direct attack” on his people.

Mr. Fiddler, speaking to reporters afterward, said it was an “insult” to make him travel from Northern Ontario for a seven-minute statement to the committee.

If the bill passes, he warned, conflict would follow, citing clashes over mining in Northern Ontario in years past that saw Indigenous leaders jailed.

“This is where we are headed with this bill. There will be confrontation, on the ground,” said Mr. Fiddler, who earlier told MPPs that Mr. Ford had not responded to his invitation to attend his organization‘s meetings in Toronto this week.

Cynthia Fiddler, a band councillor from remote Sandy Lake First Nation, told MPPs that the government has failed to clean up the tailings of a long-abandoned mine from which her community received no benefits: “Fast track that. Fast track the cleanup,” she said. Adam Fiddler, her First Nation‘s legal adviser, addressed MPPs in Oji-Cree, with simultaneous translation provided.

Both Minister of Energy and Mines Stephen Lecce and Minister of Indigenous Affairs Greg Rickford, speaking Thursday to the province’s standing committee on the interior, insisted First Nations would now be consulted on the bill.

Open this photo in gallery:

Mr. Rickford said the constitutional duty to consult is triggered once proposed legislation is tabled. He also said the bill’s preamble would be revised to strengthen its commitment to consultations with First Nations.

Mr. Lecce said the government’s special economic zones – where it could exempt “trusted partners” from environmental, labour or any other provincial law – would be subject to unspecified regulations, which will be released for public consultations.

The PC government’s majority in the committee on Thursday quickly voted down a motion by NDP MP Sol Mamakwa asking that one extra day of hearings be scheduled in Thunder Bay, to allow more Northern Indigenous leaders and people to participate.

Even some businesses and groups, including the Ontario Mining Association, who told MPPs they support the bill largely limited their praise to its proposed faster, streamlined “one project, one process” provisions for certain key mining projects. NDP MPP Jamie West said his party actually supports this part of the bill, but is urging the government to trash the rest of it.

Krista Maydew, vice-president of external affairs for Toronto-based Iamgold Corp., said her firm supports Bill 5 but cautioned it must be “implemented in a responsible manner that balances respect for Indigenous rights, environmental stewardship and economic prosperity.”

Tom Faught, president of Timmins Chamber of Commerce, supported the bill’s intent but told the committee its provisions to appoint special teams to streamline approvals must include experts in “environmental and Indigenous affairs to ensure thoroughness is never sacrificed for speed.”

The Canadian arm of global mining giant Glencore warned in a written submission that provisions in the bill meant to exclude China or other potentially hostile countries from Ontario’s critical mineral reserves could undermine the rule of law and actually discourage mining investment.

The provisions, which would allow the minister of mines to block or revoke various mining permits and claims, would “vest the Minister with broad and undefined discretionary power to effectively seize property interests without compensation,” said Sheila Risbud, Glencore Canada’s senior vice-president for corporate affairs, in her submission.