Residents of Sandy Lake First Nation had to flee their homes as a wildfire burns through the area.Destiny Rae/The Canadian Press
There is a forest fire – gigantic in size – that’s burning out of control just outside of Sandy Lake First Nation in northwestern Ontario.
Pictures taken by community members show an apocalyptic, smoke-choked, orange-coloured sky. On Tuesday, North Spirit Lake First Nation evacuated; on Wednesday, the residents of the small community of Keewaywin fled to safety.
But as the North burns, southern governments are closing their eyes and ears to what Mother Earth is telling them. Two pieces of legislation, one federal and one provincial, are being rammed into existence, and they threaten to worsen climate change, damage what’s left of a pristine ecosystem that cools this warming planet, and push animals into extinction.
Here in Toronto, the haze from forest fires hung all around the glass office towers last week, tickling the lungs of everyone who breathed in the thick air. And it is only early June. “It is relatively early in the summer and already we have multiple evacuations and others on standby,” Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler told me on Wednesday.
Yet, First Nations chiefs are being told they need to drop everything and consult – at the very last minute – on legislation that props up the Canadian economy, but also harms the heart of the very country lawmakers say they are trying to save.
“We are expected to engage in these very important conversations while our communities are facing threats of forest fires and being evacuated,” said Mr. Fiddler. “It is unbelievable.”
Conservation groups warn of loss of species protections in Ontario’s Bill 5
It will only get worse when Bill 5 is enacted. The Ontario law, which was rushed through the provincial legislature on June 4, creates “special economic zones” where the government can suspend provincial law, including regulations or environmental oversights. The bill was created without any First Nations consultation – a breach of constitutional and treaty rights.
On that day, I sat in the legislature with members of Weenusk First Nation, as well as Attawapiskat First Nation Chief Sylvia Koostachin-Metatawabin, Mr. Fiddler, Neskantaga’s former chief Chris Moonias, and others. We packed the House to bear witness to this historic moment. Some openly cried.
It was an insult to watch as Conservative MPPs voted for Bill 5. And it was a perfect metaphor: Indigenous peoples, sitting nearby but silenced.
Canada’s tactics never seem to change: Move quick and fast; shut out First Nations participation completely; or make it so damn hard for them to say anything before new laws are built and others are torn down.
The federal government is moving right behind Ontario with Bill C-5 – the big brother to Ontario’s legislation, which will create a “one project, one development” push. Nice sentiments aside from Mark Carney – at least C-5 nods at Section 35 rights and added “advance the interests of Indigenous peoples” as a “relevant factor” in approval decisions – the Prime Minister wants this legislation passed as soon as possible so projects of national interest, which can include pipelines and nuclear facilities, can be fast-tracked.
“Even though Prime Minister Carney and his ministers are using softer language, the aim is the same, the goal is the same – which is to expedite the national building projects,” said Mr. Fiddler. “We know what is on the top of the list. We aren’t naive. It is the Ring of Fire.”
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak is convening an emergency national meeting online to discuss the ramifications of the legislation on June 16. “Unfortunately, the government provided First Nations only seven days to respond to an outline of the bill and did not provide the full text (a consultative draft) in advance. Compounding this, the Parliamentary process is not well suited to the depth of consultation such complex legal matters require,” she said.
After the Ontario bill passed, Mr. Moonias warned: “The action will be on the land. No one will be crossing our river without our free, prior or informed consent.” Neskantaga is on the shores of the Attawapiskat Lake, which leads to the river.
Right now, there is still a chance for Ottawa to start again and engage in real consultation. I’m doubtful it will happen.
On the grounds of Queen’s Park there is a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald that has been sitting in a giant grey box after being defaced in 2020. He was, of course, an architect of Indian Residential Schools. Curiously, the Ontario legislature chose this moment to unbox him – just as anti-Bill 5 encampments began to spring up on the park grounds.
Sometimes, symbolism is everything. We have seen the Crown breach its fiduciary duties, by crafting pieces of legislation that threaten to override treaties and ignore First Nations rights.
Sir John A. would be proud.