‘They need to do better': Mark Carney to meet with Indigenous leaders amid criticism of rapid-development law

Hamilton Spectator

16-07-2025

OTTAWA—During a single summit this week, the Liberal government hopes to allay weeks of First Nations concerns over the centrepiece of
Mark Carney's
legislative agenda: a controversial effort to accelerate approvals for mega projects deemed to be in the national interest.
The One Canadian Economy Act, or Bill C-5, as the law continues to be known, received royal assent in late June, a scant 20 days after the Liberals first tabled the legislation.
When it passed, the prime minister made a promise to take part in three, daylong summits with First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders to hash out 'joint expectations' around the law.
The first of those meetings — with First Nations chiefs, regional chiefs, modern treaty and self-governing First Nations, and tribal councils — is slated to kick off at the Canadian Museum of History on Wednesday, before a full day of discussions with Carney gets underway on Thursday.
'I know it's a new, young government, but at the same time, they should have had this discussion … before the passing of this bill,' Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, told the Star.
'I think the government made a mistake on that. I think that they need to do better.'
That's a sentiment echoed by many who wonder why the Carney government was open to meeting face-to-face with a range of Indigenous rights holders, but only after the contentious law was safely passed.
The part of the law dealing with major resource and infrastructure initiatives was designed to address challenges on two fronts: long-simmering frustrations with the lengthy approval processes associated with the projects, but also the trade crisis prompted by U.S. President Donald Trump's tumultuous return to the White House.
At issue is how the law grants Ottawa temporary powers to bypass existing environmental laws and regulations to fast-track 'nation-building' projects, which could include pipelines, ports and mines, and how it was rammed through Parliament without robust scrutiny.
While some changes were made to the bill after a compressed period of debate, some critics were left concerned that the government was running roughshod over Indigenous rights and environmental protections.
'In terms of the way things have unfolded, I think, the fact that this (summit) is taking place post all of those steps … meeting for the sake of meeting is not meaningful consultation,' said Deliah Bernard, a partner at Roots Strategies and former senior Indigenous affairs adviser for former prime minister Justin Trudeau.
Bernard said proper consultation leads to the success of future projects, but that not ensuring that was the case here may be 'setting everyone up for failure.'
The Carney government has repeatedly insisted that Indigenous rights and environmental concerns were central to its drafting of the legislation, and that the law was crafted to prioritize the consultation process as projects are identified.
Last month, the Privy Council Office told the Star that 66 letters were sent to Indigenous groups to discuss the proposed law, that 15 meetings were held between the end of May and the beginning of June, and that as of late June, more than 125 groups had 'engaged' with Ottawa about the bill. The Privy Council Office did not provide a list of those groups, despite a request to do so.
Alvin Fiddler, Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), said on his way to Ottawa on Tuesday that the 'very last minute' nature of the summit has been complicated by a number of chiefs currently experiencing emergencies, including Pikangikum First Nation, which is grappling with a power outage and a wildfire-induced evacuation.
'They're worried about just trying to meet the basic needs of their membership, including food and water … and at the same time, trying to prep the rest of the leaders for the meetings that will happen this week,' Fiddler said.
Fiddler represents 49 First Nations in northern Ontario, including those near the Ring of Fire, a region rich in critical minerals like chromite, cobalt and copper.
It's a region Premier Doug Ford wants to swiftly declare a 'special economic zone' after his government passed a similar law last month.
On Tuesday, nine First Nations in Ontario launched a legal challenge over both the federal and provincial laws, seeking an injunction that would prohibit Ottawa from naming national interest projects and Ontario from implementing the zones.
'This is not about a battle between development and not,' Todd Cornelius, chief of Oneida Nation of the Thames, said in a press release. 'It is about doing things recklessly and doing things right.'
This week's hybrid summit will take place against the backdrop of such tensions, where across the Ottawa River from Parliament Hill, Carney, his ministers, and government officials will speak to and hear from chiefs and moderate a series of discussions.
In promising to host the summits last month, Carney said the goal was not to leave the gatherings with a list of confirmed projects, but to develop a 'shared understanding' of how projects can proceed.
While Woodhouse Nepinak said she appreciated the prime minister's willingness to ultimately come to the table, the national chief also said a single day of face time is not enough.
'We will be asking the prime minister to commit to another meeting one year from now,' she said.
With files from Canadian Press