Ontario to amend controversial Bill 5, add duty to consult provisions amid First Nations uproar
Premier Doug Ford's government is set to capitulate to some First Nation demands on a controversial mining bill, though it will not kill the proposed law outright, The Canadian Press has learned.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford and Mining Minister Stephen Lecce say the province will amend Bill 5 to explicitly include duty to consult provisions throughout the bill.
The bill, which seeks to speed up mining projects, is set to go through amendments Wednesday at committee as it moves towards becoming law.
The new law would create so-called "special economic zones" where it can suspend provincial and municipal projects, but will also add in "special Indigenous economic zones" at the request of First Nations for projects they want fast-tracked.
The province is set to designate the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario as the first such zone, a move that has set off a firestorm of anger among First Nations, many of which have pledged to take the fight to the land.
But Rickford and Lecce say the province will not designate the Ring of Fire a special economic zone until it meaningfully consults with all First Nations in the area.
"We are going to enunciate explicitly in each one that the duty to consult is there and it will be upheld to the highest standards," Rickford said.
"The aim is to make First Nations partners."
Once the bill is passed, likely next week, Ford, Rickford and Lecce will meet immediately with First Nation leadership, they said.
First Nations chiefs say bill should be killed outright
First Nation chiefs have shown up en masse at Queen's Park from the far reaches of northern Ontario to tell the politicians that the province is going about this in the wrong way. They say the government has already failed in its duty to consult.
The Chiefs of Ontario, which represents all 133 First Nations in the province, said the bill should be killed outright so they can be consulted from the start.
Their leader, Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict, met with Ford last week at the premier's home, where he told him about the problems with the bill.
WATCH | Ontario First Nations leaders say communities will take a stand if bill passes:
First Nation leaders tell Ford government to kill Bill 5
2 days ago
Duration 2:14
Critics of Doug Ford's Bill 5 say the proposed law would gut environmental protections for wildlife and infringe on treaty rights. As CBC's Mike Crawley reports, Ontario First Nations leaders are now warning of 'conflict on the ground' if it passes.
That meeting touched off talks with numerous First Nation chiefs, in which the ministers said they planned to work together with them to create the regulations that will enforce the new law.
"We will not use the authorities like a special economic zone until we've meaningfully consulted," Lecce said.
The ministers say they've received a number of great suggestions from First Nations.
Rickford and Lecce say there are large infrastructure projects they want to complete to help some remote First Nations get off diesel gas that they use for electricity generation.
They are also proposing to help build roads to connect communities to the provincial highway system, since climate change is wreaking havoc with winter ice roads the communities rely on to haul in all sorts of goods.
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