Two First Nations working on roads to Ring of Fire do not support new mining law
TORONTO - Two First Nations in and around the Ring of Fire that signed deals with the provincial government are speaking out against a new Ontario law.
Aroland First Nation Chief Sonny Gagnon says his community objects to the law known as Bill 5, which seeks to speed up development, particularly mining projects.
The legislation passed last week allows Ontario to suspend provincial and municipal laws by creating so-called special economic zones for certain projects it chooses.
Ontario intends to name the mineral-rich Ring of Fire as the first such zone, but the law has created a firestorm of anger among many First Nations.
Aroland signed a shared-prosperity agreement with the province in January for major upgrades to roads that lead to the Ring of Fire, but Gagnon says they have never given consent to mine the region.
Marten Falls First Nation also has an agreement with the province as it leads the development of another proposed road to the area, and its chief says he cannot support the law as it is written — though he hopes Ontario can correct course with consultation.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2025.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
4 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Here's what Yukon communities want from the territorial government
The Association of Yukon Communities has shared the resolutions which came out of the annual general meeting on April 24 to 26. All four of the resolutions submitted by the City of Whitehorse — which were presented to council in March — were adopted by the association. There were nine resolutions adopted in total. They include asking the Yukon government to provide more funding for the community recreation assistance grant, the fire marshall's office, and wildfire prevention and disaster mitigation in general. They also ask the Yukon government to update the Employment Standards Act, to enhance the Yukon Nominee Program, allow for information sharing between government departments, and change the way the territory adopts the national building code. Another resolution is that the government come up with a standard procedure for municipal elections, with Elections Yukon being the authority on elections in municipalities. The Yukon government's adoption of the national building code has been an issue for Whitehorse city council. At a city council meeting on March 17, when the resolutions were being introduced, Coun. Dan Boyd shared the rationale behind asking the Yukon government to stop all automatic adoptions of updates to the National Building Code, until a full review of changes is conducted in consultation with municipal governments, First Nations, builders and other stakeholders. Boyd said the resolution is a response to the issues the city has encountered with the backlog in issuing building permits. The 2020 National Building Code was adopted in April 2023 without consultation or analysis, said Boyd. Yukon should take the time to do analysis and consultation before automatic adoption like other jurisdictions around Canada, said Boyd. 'Would we be somehow throwing out the national building code and write our own Yukon Code? Absolutely not. We would not do that, we don't have the capacity. That's not what it's suggesting,' he said at the time. Other resolutions adopted by the Association of Yukon Communities in April include one directed to the justice minister, asking that they work with the RCMP to allow members to extend their postings, and develop relief strategies for members on extended leave. There is another resolution which asks the Yukon Utilities Board to create a fourth rate group for municipalities and designated local authorities so that they can pay for actual energy consumption without demand charges or energy riders. According to the resolution text, they are currently charged based on peak rate. The News reached out to the Yukon Utilities Board for comment, but did not hear back by deadline. The department of economic development responded to the News, saying that they had not been approached by the AYC regarding the resolutions but that they 'are keen to hear their perspectives and recommendations.' In an email, economic development spokesperson Jennifer Hackwell called vacant jobs a 'pressing issue for some employers in the Yukon,' with the need being greater in certain regions. Hackwell said the department is interested in hearing more about the distinct challenges recruiting and retaining qualified staff for local governments as the department reviews the Yukon Nominee Program. 'One of our goals is to ensure that the design of the YNP can target areas of significant pressure in the Yukon's labour market by being flexible and adaptive to changing priorities, allocations and labour market needs.' Francis Lefebvre, the spokesperson for the department of justice, told the News that recruitment and retention of RCMP is a top priority. Community services spokesperson John Tonin told the News via email that the AYC is set to submit each resolution to the appropriate Yukon department via official correspondence, although that has not yet occurred. 'We anticipate initiating formal work once the resolutions are received by the responsible department,' Tonin said. 'These resolutions are a valued part of our work. We appreciate the AYC's continued leadership and advocacy on the priorities of Yukon communities and their role in building healthy, sustainable communities.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
9 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
‘No buyers' remorse' for voters as Doug Ford's Tories enjoy big poll lead
Premier Doug Ford's third-term Progressive Conservatives are enjoying an extended honeymoon with voters, a new public-opinion survey suggests. In the first major Ontario political poll since Ford's Tories were re-elected in the snap Feb. 27 provincial election, Abacus Data found the governing party well ahead of its rivals. The PCs were at 49 per cent to 28 per cent for Bonnie Crombie's Liberals, 14 per cent for Marit Stiles' New Democrats and five per cent for Mike Schreiner's Greens. Ford defied the odds Thursday becoming the first premier to win three consecutive majority 'We're seeing the highest vote share for the Tories we've measured since we've been tracking and we see Ford's personal numbers better than they've been since we've really been tracking,' said Abacus president David Coletto. 'At least right now, there's no buyer's remorse in re-electing the PCs,' said Coletto. In the February election, the Tories received 43 per cent of the popular vote to 30 per cent for the Liberals, 18.6 per cent for the New Democrats and 4.8 per cent for the Greens. Abacus surveyed 1,000 Ontarians from June 2 through last Thursday using online panels based on the Lucid exchange platform. While opt-in polls cannot be assigned a margin of error, for comparison purposes, a random sample of this size would have one of plus or minus 3.09 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. That means the poll was conducted during the first ministers meeting in Saskatoon — where Ford played a prominent role with Prime Minister Mark Carney — and as the Tories were ramming through their controversial Bill 5 designed to fast-track mining and infrastructure projects. Prime Minister hints at prioritizing energy infrastructure — such as pipelines — after first While the premier received mostly positive press for working with Carney to counter U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war against Canada, Queen's Park has been roiled by protests against the Protect Ontario By Unleashing Our Economy Act . First Nation leaders have warned there will be 'fierce resistance' if long-standing treaty rights are overridden by the law passed last week. 'Bill 5 has generated, at least from my vantage point, no ... negative implications for the popularity of this government at least right now,' said Coletto, warning that could change. 'There's a lesson for those opponents of it — that they're going to have to do far more to get the public engaged, to be opposed to this at a time when people are really focused on just getting things done.' Indeed, Ford's current standing appears largely due to his vocal stance against Trump's tariffs and a willingness to work with Carney's re-elected federal Liberals. 'There is this moment where Ontarians, like the rest of the country, are rallying around their political leader. I don't think people are overly optimistic, but I do think they get a sense that their political leaders are working together ... working with a common purpose,' said Coletto. 'We have a common goal or enemy, or however you want to frame it,' he said, pointing to the existential threat to Canada that Trump poses. The pollster said Carney's popularity is 'definitely benefiting the Liberal brand in Ontario,' which is encouraging news for Crombie's provincial Grits. But 'the collapse of the federal NDP has put downward pressure on the Ontario NDP' that's hurting Stiles' party. 'They're at the lowest we've measured them at in our tracking — 14 per cent,' said Coletto. In terms of personal popularity, Ford was at 44 per cent positive, 33 per cent negative for a plus 11 per cent favourability rating with 21 per cent of respondents neutral and two per cent unsure. Stiles was at 28 per cent positive, 25 per cent negative for plus three per cent with 31 per cent neutral and 16 per cent uncertain. Schreiner was at 24 per cent positive and 23 per cent negative for plus one per cent with 34 per cent neutral and 20 per cent unsure. Crombie, the subject of a multimillion-dollar pre-election attack ad blitz from Ford's Tories , was at 31 per cent positive and 33 per cent negative for minus two per cent with 25 per cent neutral and 11 per cent uncertain.
Hamilton Spectator
11 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Auditor general finds F-35 costs soar amid project delays, pilot shortages
OTTAWA - The estimated cost of Canada's incoming fleet of advanced stealth fighters exploded by nearly 50 per cent in just a few years, auditor general Karen Hogan said Tuesday in a new report. The fighter jet audit was one of eight tabled in the House of Commons by Hogan and environment commissioner Jerry DeMarco. The reports flag problematic procurement contracts, a backlog in applications for First Nations status and a delay in reducing the amount of federal office space. An investigation by the auditor general concluded that costs associated with the F-35 advanced fighter jet program are running $8.7 billion higher than the original estimates. And it warns the program is being plagued by delays and critical shortfalls — including a lack of qualified pilots. The report lands in the middle of an active review ordered by Prime Minister Mark Carney to examine possible alternatives to the F-35. He ordered the review in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war with Canada. National Defence said in 2022 the base price for the F-35s would be $19 billion. Just two years later, the number has climbed to $27.7 billion. That estimate does not include figures for infrastructure upgrades or weapons. The report says the department's 2022 estimates relied on outdated data from 2019 — despite the availability of better estimates showing 'that costs of the aircraft had already increased substantially.' The audit says issues associated with the global pandemic — such as runaway inflation, rising costs for facilities and munitions and volatile foreign exchange rates — pushed the price tag sky high. Defence Minister David McGuinty's office sent out a written statement to media that blamed the increased costs on 'external economic conditions driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, including global supply chain disruptions, workforce shortages, and increased inflation and foreign exchange rates.' 'In combination with increased global tensions and related impacts on the availability and demand for materials, we would not have been able to deliver the full scope of this project under our previous budget,' he said in the statement. But Hogan also warned Tuesday that the program faces 'significant risks that could jeopardize the timely introduction of the new fleet.' She said the department successfully identified the risks but has not planned appropriately to mitigate them. Construction of two new fighter squadron facilities — in Cold Lake, Alta., and Bagotville, Que. — is running three years behind schedule. The report says the facilities will not be ready until at least 2031 because the department needs to 'redo important elements' of their design. The department started planning the new facilities in 2020 before the government had settled on the F-35. The aircraft comes with significant infrastructure security requirements. 'Costs to develop an interim solution to support the new jets will further increase infrastructure expenses,' the report warned. It said the department produced a contingency plan to operate the aircraft from temporary facilities but the plan fell short because it was incomplete and offered 'no proposed actions nor a cost estimate.' Canada is also still short of qualified pilots to fly the advanced aircraft — despite being warned about this in 2018. The report said the F-35 program lacks measures to minimize potential risks and the department failed to produce robust contingency plans. It notes that the department identified cost overruns from inflation and currency fluctuations as potential risks to monitor, but plans to track those risks were never approved by officials. The Liberal government announced in 2017 it planned to purchase 88 new fighter jets. It signed a contract with Lockheed Martin for the F-35s in 2023. The modern jets are needed to replace Canada's aging CF-18 fleet, which is nearing the end of its service life. The fighter jets are expected to be delivered between 2026 and 2032. Over the next two years, the initial eight will be sent to a U.S. air force base in Arizona, where Canadian pilots will be trained to fly them. The rest will be delivered to Canada starting in 2028. The report said the Joint Strike Fighter Program Office conducted various assessments that uncovered 'significant issues,' such as 'insufficient departmental engineering personnel to service support equipment for both the CF-18 Hornet and CF-35A during the transition.' The audit said that at the end of the last fiscal year in March, National Defence earmarked $935 million for the U.S. government for the first four jets and related items needed to produce another eight aircraft. It says about $197 million has been paid out already. On top of that, National Defence spent another $516 million on the project, including $270 million in infrastructure costs. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 10, 2025.
