Governor-General Mary Simon takes part in a National Indigenous People's Day event at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Saturday.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
There is still hope, in this desperate hour, for Canada to change course on a controversial bill that has outraged Indigenous leaders and threatens to destroy any goodwill brokered between the treaty partners that built this country.
The Senate, which has a healthy number of Indigenous senators, and Mary Simon, Canada’s first Indigenous Governor-General, could have a role to play here, too: They can act to force the bill to be redrawn, the right way.
The One Canadian Economy Act, or Bill C-5, was swiftly and arrogantly rammed through the House of Commons by Mark Carney’s Liberal government last Friday with the backing of the Conservative Party, ostensibly to boost the Canadian economy in the face of U.S. aggression.
Referred to as the “ugly big brother” of Ontario’s similar Bill 5 by some Indigenous leaders, Bill C-5 aims to cut red tape by allowing the federal cabinet to deem certain projects to be in the “national interest,” thus circumventing a number of regulations, many of them environmental protections.
Explainer: What federal Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act, is all about
Indigenous leaders argue that, once again, communities and nations were not properly consulted on this bill – which continues Canada’s pattern of stomping on inherent treaty rights and passing the legislation first, then asking us if it is okay later.
Bill C-5 now must pass through the Senate – which rises for the summer on Friday – before receiving Royal Assent from the Governor-General, a process that would officially make it law.
The Senate could revise the bill and send it back to the House. That would be in keeping with its role as the chamber of sober second thought, and it would counterbalance what Natan Obed, president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, rightly told senators last week: that Canada operates by positioning itself as a champion for the rights of Indigenous peoples, while “acting very differently through its legislation and through its practice.”
Mr. Obed said every Inuit treaty organization should be invited to make amendments, and I would add that First Nations communities should be allowed to do the same. It is our treaties with Canada and the Crown that built this country – so if you want to make epic changes, then actually meet and talk with all of our treaty representatives.
But if the Senate passes the bill largely as-is, could this be the moment where Ms. Simon intervenes on the federal legislation that Indigenous leaders such as Mr. Obed – whose group Ms. Simon once led – have asked to be delayed for further consideration?
Explainer: Ontario’s Bill 5 has passed. Here’s why it has sparked conflict with First Nations
Ms. Simon doesn’t often make the news, but she did so in a recent CTV interview, calling for the Hudson‘s Bay Company to repatriate the 4,400 Indigenous artifacts and art pieces in its holdings to Indigenous communities, instead of putting them up for sale to pay off the company’s creditors.
Ms. Simon was born in Kangiqsualujjuaq, Nunavik, to an Inuk mother and an English father who worked for the Hudson’s Bay Company. Like many other Indigenous communities in Canada from coast to coast to coast, HBC posts played a significant role in shaping the lives of generations of families who worked and relied on the stores.
“There are things that belong to the people,” she told CTV anchor Omar Sachedina, before adding that she hoped the HBC would allow a return of artifacts to happen, as is occurring with some artifacts held by the Vatican.
Her outspokenness on this issue was a pleasant shock. I’d like to see more of it.
No one is totally against development. Indigenous peoples want to be active members of the economy – we simply want to be equal partners.
In my view, our leaders should be asking for at least 50-per-cent ownership of all major projects approved this way by Canada and Ontario. Hydro One here in Ontario put its money where its mouth is on Indigenous equity ownership; it offers a 50-per-cent stake in new large-scale capital transmission line projects.
The Decibel: AFN chief wants the Prime Minister to slow down
Gone are the days where Indigenous peoples can just be given token promises of consultation or a meagre slice of the pie. Those values do not represent the modern-day Canada our colonial leaders profess they are trying to create alongside us.
Indigenous leadership needs to tell Canada what we want: equal partnership. This is how we can make sure our rights, and those of the four-leggeds, are protected.
To be fair, no governor-general has ever used his or her power to reject legislation. Law professor Eric Adams told the CBC that it would trigger a constitutional crisis. But then, the lack of engagement around a bill that opens up questions about Canada’s commitment to the constitutional duty to consult suggests that the Constitution might not be this government’s top priority. That’s a problem.