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Canada Standard
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Canada Standard
Last-Minute Changes to Ontario Mining Bill Are Not Good Enough, First Nations Say
Last-minute changes to a controversial Ontario mining bill are not good enough and ignore a central plea to work together on drafting legislation, First Nations said Thursday. Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which represents 49 First Nations in northern Ontario, said the province should scrap Bill 5 and write a new law alongside Indigenous leaders that would allow for shared prosperity, The Canadian Press reports. "It's just way too late in the process. It's an insult to our leadershipfor the government to now come back to us with some proposed amendments," Fiddler said. "It's just not acceptable." The proposed law seeks to speed up the development of large projects such as mines, and while First Nations are not necessarily opposed to such moves, they want a seat at the decision-making table. Related: First Nations Angered at Being Elbowed Out as Provinces Fast-Track Projects The legislation proposes to create so-called "special economic zones" that would suspend provincial and municipal laws for certain projects. The province intends to name the Ring of Fire as the first such zone, but ministers leading the file have promised that affected First Nations will be consulted first. The legislation has sparked furor among First Nations who say it tramples their rights and ignores their concerns. Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict of the Chiefs of Ontario, which represents all 133 First Nations in the province, echoed Fiddler's sentiments. "We've heard clear from our communities they're not happy with the process," he said. "They really feel like it's undermining their rights and their jurisdiction and authority to their land, territory and resources. The government needs to rethink the process." The province is making amendments that would include explicit duty-to-consult provisions throughout the bill. It is also amending the bill to include Indigenous-led special economic zones at the request of some First Nations, though details about how that would work are sparse. The bill has also angered environmentalists as it would strip protections for endangered and threatened species and give more power to cabinet to determine which animals and plants can be placed on protected lists. Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford and Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce promised to consult heavily this summer with First Nations, especially the ones in the Ring of Fire region, which is 450 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont., and said to be replete with critical minerals. "We're fully committed to getting this right," Lecce said Thursday. The province has shown no sign of killing the bill. Three First Nations have signed shared prosperity agreements with the province as part of the process to build out the roads and infrastructure needed to get to and from the Eagle's Nest mine in the Ring of Fire. The roads will also connect two First Nations, Marten Falls and Webequie, to the provincial highway system. Both First Nation leaders say their member nations are not only disappointed, but furious at how the government went about crafting this bill. Fiddler reiterated a pledge many First Nations people have told him in recent days: that they will take the fight to the land if the bill becomes law. "There will be fierce resistance from our side," he said. He said he is at a loss to explain why the government wouldn't work with Indigenous leadership in advance on this legislation, since First Nations and the province have shared goals. He pointed to recent work with the solicitor general on legislation and regulations to designate the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service as an essential service and bring it under the Community Safety and Policing Act. That historic agreement will double the northern First Nation police force in size to more than 500 officers, and includes a $514-million funding agreement to modernize the force. "We were there with them right from day one," Fiddler said. Benedict and his leadership council are set to meet with Ford, Rickford and Lecce within the week, he said. He stressed that First Nations are not against development or mining and want to be partners. But they need a partner they can trust and that doesn't exist at the moment, he said. "Everybody wants to be part of the Canadian economy, part of the Ontario economy, wants to ensure that we are a safe, secure community," he said. "In order to achieve that, everybody has to be sitting at the table to have these conversations about how we can get there together." A filibuster by New Democrats and Liberals forced a delay in the committee process to adopt the bill, but the province still hopes to pass the bill into law next week. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2025. Source: The Energy Mix
Toronto Star
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Road, rail and mine blockades could be on horizon over Ontario mining bill: chiefs
TORONTO - Road, rail and mine blockades could be on the horizon, First Nations leaders said Monday, as they ratchet up pressure on the Ontario government to kill a proposed bill that seeks to speed up large mining projects in the north. Provincial ministers, meanwhile, said they heard the outcry and will make improvements to Bill 5, but stopped short of suggesting they would eliminate it outright. 'We heard loud and clear that there's some things that they would like to see changed about this bill,' said Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'We've put some amendments forward and I know we'll be meeting with First Nations leadership as early as today to give effect to those and go from there. I'll say to sum up that the number of chiefs that I've talked to think we have a lot of room to move here.' Premier Doug Ford has agreed to sit down with Indigenous leaders to discuss the bill, Rickford added. But ministers would not answer whether the government is prepared to delay the bill's passage to pursue further consultation. The proposed law has sparked anger among First Nations, environmentalists and civil liberty groups who say the bill tramples rights and guts protections for endangered species. 'First Nations youth are rising up across the province and we are here to step up to protect our lands, our languages, and assert our inherent rights,' said Hannah Sewell, co-chair of Ontario's First Nations Young People's Council, at Queen's Park. 'When First Nations defend the land, we are also protecting our non-Indigenous kin — this is about all of us.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW The province is set to create so-called special economic zones that would suspend provincial and municipal laws for certain projects. Ford has said the province intends to declare the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario one such zone. The region, some 450 kilometres north of Thunder Bay and more than 5,000 square kilometres in size, is said to be replete with critical minerals. One mine is currently proposed and more than 40,000 mining claims have been staked. Three nearby First Nations have agreed to shared-prosperity agreements with the province and two of them are conducting environmental assessments on three proposed roads to get to the Ring of Fire mining site. Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which represents 49 First Nations in northern Ontario, including those in and around the Ring of Fire, said young people are 'willing to do anything' to protect the land. 'I know that they are prepared to take action, and that is something that Doug Ford needs to be aware of,' Fiddler said after question period at the provincial legislature. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW And Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict of the Chiefs of Ontario, which represents all 133 First Nations in the province, warned of a repeat of the Idle No More movement that began in 2012 and led to countrywide protests, including road and rail blockades. 'A little over a decade ago, the government of Canada put forward an omnibus bill weakening environmental protections to speed up development,' Benedict told the committee. 'The outcome was Idle No More, a national protest movement, and the removal of social licences from resource projects. Development stalled and investment became risky, and that government proceeded in the wrong direction. We should learn from those lessons.' Benedict met with Ford and Rickford at the premier's home on Thursday following a first contentious day of committee hearings about Bill 5. Benedict said he told Ford that the legislation, as it is currently written, is unacceptable and that consultation must occur with each First Nation, not umbrella organizations like his. 'It infringes upon the rights, the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the communities in this region and that was essentially what the message was communicated to the premier,' he said. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW First Nation chiefs visited Queen's Park again on Monday to tell the committee studying the bill that it does not respect the province's duty to consult and other obligations as laid out in Treaty No. 9. Dozens of First Nation leaders and community members came to Queen's Park last week from the far reaches of northern Ontario. They set up drums in the middle of the legislature as a procession of chiefs told the government they want the bill struck down. Fiddler agreed on Monday, saying he is not interested in amendments. 'I think we're beyond amendments, we're beyond tinkering with this bill. They have to withdraw it, and we start over again,' he said. Despite his minister's pledge to listen to outraged First Nations, Ford said there was lots of support for the bill. 'There's opposition with the radical environmentalists, not everyone else,' he said. 'People want jobs, they want to create wealth and opportunity and prosperity.' New Democrat Sol Mamakwa, the legislature's only First Nation member, said he's heard about potential blockades of mines and roads from those in his riding of Kiiwetinoong, which includes the Ring of Fire region. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'That's the only way they'll listen and right now, they're not listening,' Mamakwa said. The NDP put forth a motion Monday seeking to hold an additional day of committee hearings on the bill in Thunder Bay, a repeat of Mamakwa's motion last week. The Progressive Conservatives voted against it. The bill is set for line-by-line consideration as it moves closer to becoming law. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2025. Politics Headlines Newsletter Get the latest news and unmatched insights in your inbox every evening Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up Yes, I'd also like to receive customized content suggestions and promotional messages from the Star. 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. Politics Headlines Newsletter You're signed up! You'll start getting Politics Headlines in your inbox soon. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page.
CBC
14-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Manitoba among 4 provinces interested in jointly hosting 2030 Commonwealth Games
Manitoba is among four Canadian provinces looking to share hosting duties for the 2030 Commonwealth Games. Manitoba, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island have told the Canadian governing body for the Commonwealth Games that they are interested in jointly bidding for the Games. Potential hosts had until March 31 to submit their interest to Commonwealth Sport Canada, along with the sports they want to include in the Games. The federal government and the Ontario regional chief for the Chiefs of Ontario are also supportive. Brian MacPherson, CEO of Commonwealth Sport Canada, said his organization will now work with the governments to explore the feasibility of the bid. "We're quite hopeful that together, we'll be able to co-create an actual bid that'll be submitted to our international federation by Aug. 31," he said. Recent Canadian bids faltered The Commonwealth Games are a quadrennial multi-sport festival featuring 74 countries that Canada hasn't hosted since 1994, when the Games were in Victoria. Hamilton attempted to stage a bid for the 2030 Games, which would mark 100 years since the Ontario city held the first iteration of the Games in 1930, but the Ontario government didn't support it. Alberta's government wouldn't support Calgary's bid for 2030 because the costs were too high, the provincial government said in 2023. And Victoria tried to bid for the 2026 games, but that plan was shot down by the B.C. government. Over the years, the price tag for hosting the Commonwealth Games has skyrocketed to around $1 billion, MacPherson said, which made asking one city and one province to shoulder the largest share of the costs impractical. The international federation has responded by permitting hosts to drastically reduce the number of sports and athletes to make the event more affordable. MacPherson said that appeals to Canada, which wants to share the reduced costs of a scaled-down event across multiple provinces. It is also prioritizing the use of existing sporting venues, rather than funding new capital projects. "We're looking forward to having a united Canada Games," he said. Manitoba last hosted a large-scale multi-sport event of a similar magnitude in 1999, when Winnipeg hosted the Pan Am Games.
