Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler (centre), Nishnawbe Aski Nation leaders and community members gather to drum at Queen’s Park, on May 22.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Ontario Premier Doug Ford – facing opposition from First Nations over a bill allowing “special economic zones” where mines or other projects could be exempt from any provincial law – is pledging to include provisions for similar Indigenous-led zones but still vowing to pass his controversial legislation.
Bill 5, which has sparked warnings of protests from First Nations leaders who say they have not been consulted, is aimed at accelerating Ontario’s sluggish mine approval process, particularly in the remote northern Ring of Fire region. The government says critical mineral reserves there are key to Ontario’s future economic resilience in the face of U.S. tariffs.
Opposition critics and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have called the bill’s sweeping powers an anti-democratic overreach for potentially allowing exemptions from provincial environmental or labour laws. Environmentalists have pointed to provisions they say would gut protections for endangered species. But a separate part of the bill that would award mining permits more quickly has received support from both the industry and even opposition parties at Queen’s Park.
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On Wednesday, in an apparent attempt to appease Indigenous leaders who charge that the bill tramples on their treaty rights, the Progressive Conservative government said it would introduce an amendment that reaffirms its pre-existing constitutional obligations to consult First Nations. The Premier’s Office also said it would consult First Nations over the summer as regulations are drafted for the bill that would allow “Indigenous-led economic zones.”
No other details about this idea have been released. The government has said the implementation of its special economic zones will be laid out in regulations that will be subject to First Nations and public consultations.
Opposition NDP Deputy Leader Sol Mamakwa dismissed the amendments unveiled on Wednesday, questioning the government’s commitment to consultations as it has refused requests to hold a day of extra committee hearings on Bill 5 in Thunder Bay, Ont., where more Indigenous people from the North could have their say.
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“Eleventh-hour amendments are not how you come to engage with First Nations,” said Mr. Mamakwa, who is the only First Nations MPP at Queen’s Park and represents the Northern riding of Kiiwetinoong.
Late Wednesday, the NDP said it would try to filibuster Bill 5 – which is now before Ontario’s standing committee on the interior – by adding MPPs to speak to every proposed amendment and using other procedural rules to delay a final vote.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday morning, Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford said the idea for Indigenous-led zones came from some First Nations, including Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige, who represents a group of 39 First Nations chiefs.
But in an interview, Ms. Debassige – who warned this week that Bill 5 will result in protests and court challenges – said she did not recommend allowing Indigenous-led economic zones. Neither she nor her member chiefs have seen the proposed amendments, she added.
“When I got that this was allegedly coming from me – absolutely not,” Ms. Debassige said in an interview, adding that any talks must occur with her member chiefs, not her. “The minister did corner me at the legislature. They always look to cut deals. But I can’t do that. That’s not my mandate.”
In her written submission to the legislative committee studying the bill last week, she called it an “attack,” while stressing that First Nations also support economic development. But her submission does recommend adding language to the bill to stress constitutionally enshrined treaty rights. And the submission says amendments “must include a significant role for Anishinabek First Nations” in the creation of special economic zones.
Speaking briefly to The Globe and Mail on Wednesday, Mr. Ford defended Bill 5, saying his government is going to respect treaty rights and that economic development would help First Nations.
“We’re always going to do duty to consult. We want to make sure that we enhance their lifestyle. We want to make sure that they’re prospering as well,” he said.
He added that the bill is needed as Ontario is “in a fight for our lives with President Trump” and that the province needs to speed up its approval process for new mines, which can take 15 years. He also said he approved of the pledge by the federal Liberal government to cap approval times for major projects at two years.
Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which represents 49 First Nations across Northern Ontario, said the proposed changes are not enough to address his concerns about Bill 5.
“We are beyond proposing or trying to make amendments or tinkering with this bill,” Mr. Fiddler said in an interview. “The bill needs to be withdrawn.”
Other amendments to Bill 5 that the government submitted to the committee include a proposed change to its dramatic rewriting of the province’s endangered species laws. The bill, which has been condemned by environmentalists, would still give cabinet final say over which species are designated for protection, instead of a committee of experts, and narrow the legal definition of habitat essentially to an animal’s nest.
But the government on Wednesday put forward a proposed revision saying that the environment minister “may” issue orders to protect broader habitat of a species at risk, a move dismissed by opposition critics as too discretionary.