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Toronto Sun
6 days ago
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
'DIPLOMACY ENDS TODAY:' First Nations warn of protests over mining law
Published Jun 04, 2025 • 3 minute read Protesters and community members chant and wave signs as they listen to speakers during a demonstration opposing Bill 5, outside the Ontario Legislature at Queen's Park in Toronto, Monday, June 2, 2025. Photo by Cole Burston / THE CANADIAN PRESS Premier Doug Ford's government has given itself the power to suspend provincial and municipal laws for chosen projects in areas it deems to have economic importance, citing the need to speed up development of mines, but First Nations warn confrontation is brewing. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Known as Bill 5, the legislation sparked a firestorm of anger among First Nations communities, who say it tramples their rights and ignores their concerns. It may have passed in the legislature Wednesday, but Indigenous leaders say the fight is just beginning. 'Our diplomacy ends today,' said NDP deputy leader Sol Mamakwa, who represents the northern Ontario riding of Kiiwetinoong that is home to many First Nations and the mineral-rich Ring of Fire region. 'You cannot trample on the rights of the people that live on these homelands and get away with it.' Ford has said the bill is needed to speed up large projects, particularly mines, in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. Jeers from dozens of First Nations members echoed in the legislature as the bill was passed into law. Ford was not there for the final vote. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Read More Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler called the premier a 'coward. 'This fight is not over, but we will meet you on the ground,' Fiddler said. 'He did not even have the guts to show up for the vote.' Ford was on a call with a Republican congressman during the vote, his office said. Lake Huron Regional Chief Scott McLeod said that shows where the premier's priorities lie. 'His priorities are not with the Indigenous people in this province,' he said. 'They're with business people, and he wants the resources that are in our territories. He's selling our minerals and our resources to Americans, to the world, without our permission and that is what we're not going to stand for.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The government had tried to amend the bill to explicitly include duty to consult provisions, but delay tactics at the committee stage by the Liberals meant that the Progressive Conservatives passed the legislation without that. Ford said earlier in the day that they would consult with First Nations over the summer, but that may now be in question. From now on, Fiddler said, Nishnawbe Aski Nation will not take him or his government seriously, nor will they engage with Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford. Fiddler called for his resignation. 'He is supposed to be representing Indigenous affairs for our nation, but he failed at every turn, and we will not work with him,' Fiddler said. 'We will not engage with him at all moving forward.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The legislation will create so-called 'special economic zones,' where the province could suspend laws to speed up projects such as mines, and the government has said the Ring of Fire would be the first such zone. Chris Moonias, the former chief of Neskantaga First Nation, suggested action will begin by preventing mining companies and others' access to their lands. 'We're going to shut down the Ring of Fire,' he said. 'Whatever that means, whatever we can do, we're going to shut it down. I promise you that.' Earlier in the day, Ford said blockades wouldn't be 'very wise. 'You can't break the law,' Ford said. 'Simple as that. … They need to move on or they'll be dealt with appropriately.' When asked to clarify his comments, Ford said he doesn't direct the police and any enforcement would be up to the Ontario Provincial Police or local police services. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The premier wouldn't say if he would use the notwithstanding clause to save Bill 5 if it ends up being challenged and found unconstitutional in court. But he said that he would 'cross that bridge' when he comes to it. Civil liberty groups are livid at the prospect of effectively lawless zones, and unions have warned that labour laws would be under threat. The measure is part of an omnibus bill that makes a slew of other changes, including stripping protections for endangered and threatened species. Environmental groups and the Toronto Zoo have warned this will lead to extinctions. Farmers, who largely support the Progressive Conservative government, have also spoken out against the bill. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture said the broad powers 'could override vital protections for farmland and agricultural systems.' Celebrity Canada Columnists Canada Toronto & GTA
Toronto Sun
03-06-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Hundreds of First Nations members protest mining bill at Queen's Park
Published Jun 02, 2025 • Last updated 6 minutes ago • 5 minute read Protesters and community members chant and wave signs as they listen to speakers during a demonstration opposing Bill 5, outside the Ontario Legislature at Queen's Park in Toronto, Monday, June 2, 2025. Photo by Cole Burston / THE CANADIAN PRESS Premier Doug Ford's government is pushing through a controversial mining bill despite the protests of several hundred First Nations members who came from the far north to the front lawn of Queen's Park on Monday. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account 'Kill Bill 5, kill Bill 5,' the crowd chanted. The province moved to shut down debate on a mining law known as Bill 5 that would give the government power to suspend provincial and municipal laws for chosen projects in areas deemed to have economic importance — and remove some endangered species protections. The proposed legislation has sparked an angry backlash from First Nations who say the bill tramples their rights and ignores their concerns. They've asked the province to scrap the bill and to draft legislation alongside First Nations as partners. 'Our rights are not for sale,' said Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak at the rally. The government is speeding up the passage of a plethora of bills before the legislature rises later this week for a summer break. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, is designed to speed up the building of large projects, especially mines. The province will not kill the bill, said Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford. 'We're looking forward to passing the bill later this week and getting out and performing our duty to consult,' Rickford said. Read More Ford, Rickford and Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce are set to soon meet with the leadership council of the Chiefs of Ontario, and then the ministers plan to visit First Nations in northern Ontario throughout the summer as they try to sell them on the bill. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The province intends to designate the Ring of Fire, a region replete with critical minerals, as a so-called 'special economic zone' where it can pick and choose which laws to lift. Last week, under pressure from First Nations, the province made several amendments to the bill in an effort to appease them. But First Nations said it was too little, too late. The province will hold off on designating the Ring of Fire the first such zone until it completes consultations with affected First Nations. First Nations have threatened to form blockades of roads, railways and mines should the bill become law. 'Certainly we don't condone confrontation and as I said I have spoken with a number of First Nations leaders from across the province who've expressed that today is a rally, a peaceful reminder that they want to try to understand how the designation of an economic zone would affect their treaty rights,' Rickford said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'We've assured them that they will in no way affect their treaties rights and that, further, the duty to consult is explicit in the bill.' A legislative committee heard from First Nations leaders and environmental groups, as well as mining groups, over two days and as the committee was considering amendments last week the NDP and Liberals used procedural tools to grind the process to a halt in protest. Government house leader Steve Clark has stepped in to limit further committee time and require the bill to go back to the house for third reading, with just one hour of debate, and a final vote that same day. While Bill 5 got two days of committee hearings, the six other pieces of legislation the government is speeding up have had no hearings, and will have as little as half an hour of third-reading debate, with just nine minutes each allotted to the two recognized opposition parties. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa, left, talks with AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse during a demonstration opposing Bill 5, outside the Ontario Legislature at Queen's Park in Toronto, Monday, June 2, 2025. Photo by Cole Burston / THE CANADIAN PRESS New Democrat Sol Mamakwa, the legislature's lone First Nations member, said in question period that Ford was 'telling untruths' about his people's approval of the mining bill. Speaker Donna Skelly asked him to withdraw the comment, which Mamakwa refused to do, so she booted him from question period. Thirty minutes later, Skelly and Mamakwa set aside their differences to feed politicians a 'Taste of the North' lunch. Mamakwa had several family and community members help gather food from northwestern Ontario, fly it to Toronto and cook it at Queen's Park. The politicians ate moose, goose, lake trout, pickerel and beaver. Mamakwa has twice packed a frozen goose and brought it to Queen's Park, where he plucked and cooked it — once on the front lawn. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'The beaver was a last-minute addition,' Mamakwa said with a big smile on Monday. 'Food brings people together.' With a full belly, Mamakwa returned to his differences and set out for the protest. The opposition parties say pushing bills through without much public consultation or debate is undemocratic. The NDP's Opposition house leader, John Vanthof, spoke in a debate last week over the government limiting debate and bypassing committee for four bills — including the budget bill — in what's called a time allocation motion. 'What's happening now with the time allocation, specifically on four bills, is removing the right of the people to speak, and in many ways, the opposition to speak,' Vanthof said. 'You actually don't need a parliament. We're actually almost going back to where you have, like, a king. That's truly scary. I'm not opposed to the monarchy as a figurehead, but we came very far in our democracies to actually have parliaments. What the government is doing is basically making the premier the king.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Vanthof stressed the seriousness of the matter, though he had the opposition benches laughing while he was reading out quotes from Clark, upset about time allocation motions when he was in opposition. 'My party loves to hear from people,' Clark said in the waning days of the former Liberal government. 'If this government doesn't want to listen to people, I'll give them a guarantee. I'll give them, actually, the people's guarantee, because we will listen to them, and we will ensure that those Ontarians are being listened to.' Clark, who during that 2017 debate called such motions 'anti-democratic,' said last week that his younger self was 'maybe more brash and abrupt,' defending the current moves. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'The government has decided that these four bills are very important for us,' he said. 'There needs to be certainty from the government's agenda…The government decides that they're going to prioritize certain things, the government is going to move forward with those legislations. That's my message.' However much the former Liberal government shut down debate, the Progressive Conservative government is a worse offender, Vanthof said. 'Two time allocation votes in a day was probably the previous record for the travesty to democracy, probably the previous record, and that was held by the Liberals,' he said. 'But this government is so efficient, including destroying the democratic process, that they put four bills, including a budget, in one time allocation motion.' Columnists Celebrity Olympics Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Raptors
Globe and Mail
30-05-2025
- General
- Globe and Mail
Doug Ford says he pushed to free Sir John A. Macdonald statue at Queen's Park
Premier Doug Ford says he encouraged efforts to remove a wooden structure that, for five years, has hidden the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald on the Ontario Legislature's front lawn, saying the province has to support Canada's first prime minister and stop worrying about the past. The decision to reveal the statue, pushed by Progressive Conservative and Liberal members of a legislative committee earlier this week, has reignited debate about Macdonald's tainted legacy at a time when the province is facing new tensions with First Nations. Speaking to reporters at Queen's Park on Friday, Mr. Ford said Ontario has to face its past in order to move forward with its future. 'I've been working on getting that box taken off,' Mr. Ford said. 'I can't wait. I'm getting a lot of messages. So yeah, we're freeing John A.' Robyn Urback: A proud country cannot keep its first prime minister in a box Editorial: Understand the past to fight for Canada's future The Premier added that it is not the time to argue about a statue, but rather to come together as a province. 'You have to support our first prime minister. You know, things have happened over a number of years, but we can't just box them up. We have to move on. Stop worrying about the past,' he said. 'Let's start working together as a country.' The Macdonald statue has been covered with grey hoarding since Black Lives Matter protesters splashed it with pink paint in 2020. It is one of several prominent statues of the first prime minister to face vandalism or be removed entirely owing to Macdonald's role in the establishment of Canada's Indigenous residential school system. At present, the Progressive Conservative government is facing vehement opposition from Indigenous leaders over its Bill 5, which would give Ontario sweeping powers to speed up the construction of new mines or other projects. Opposition NDP Deputy Leader Sol Mamakwa, the Legislature's only First Nations MPP – and who attended a residential school – said earlier this week the decision to reveal the statue is disrespectful, especially as First Nations have had to come to Queen's Park to battle Bill 5, which they say violates their treaty rights. He warned that the unboxing of Macdonald could result in protests, vandalism or even the toppling of the statue. He said the government should instead move the statue to a museum, or build a memorial for the victims of residential schools and put up a plaque explaining what Mr. Macdonald means to First Nations. The statue is set to be cleaned and covered in a protective film and unveiled in the summer, said Donna Skelly, the Speaker of the legislature who presides over its debates and the grounds. A sign long posted on the Macdonald statue's hoarding will be 'formalized' and remain on display, Ms. Skelly said this week. It tells visitors that though 'we cannot change the history we have inherited, we can shape the history we wish to leave behind.' The sign also says the Speaker is 'considering how the depictions of those histories in the monuments and statuary on the Assembly's grounds can respect all of our diverse cultures and peoples.' Mr. Ford urged critics to protest peacefully. 'You can come out there and jump up and down and protest all day long, do cartwheels. That's democracy,' he said on Friday. 'Vandalizing property is not democracy.'
Ottawa Citizen
14-05-2025
- Health
- Ottawa Citizen
REPEAT/Media Advisory/OHC - Day of Action at Ontario Legislature to Stop Hospital Closures
Article content TORONTO, May 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — On Wednesday May 14, people from across Ontario will be heading into the Ontario Legislature for a 'Day of Action' to ask the Ford government to stop closing their local hospitals and to provide the resources needed for the overcrowded remaining hospitals. People will be coming in from towns where emergency departments, urgent care centres, inpatient beds and other critical services are being closed down. Others are coming in from communities where their hospital is running at more than 100% capacity without resources to provide for patients. Delegations will be coming from Thessalon, Blind River, Port Colborne, Chesley, Fort Erie, Welland, St. Catharines, town of Durham, Durham region, Hamilton, Lindsay, Toronto, Minden and other communities. More than 140 people will be coming. The group will watch the Legislative session from the galleries, hold a press conference, and have meetings with politicians and their staff, and finish the day with a visible rally at the top of 'hospital row.' Article content Article content Article content What: Vitally important hospital services are continuing to close and entire local hospitals that have lasted for almost a hundred years, built by their local communities, are under threat. In Ontario, emergency departments and urgent care centres now routinely close overnight, on weekends, and even permanently. Some close without warning to their communities. The inpatient beds in Thessalon and the town of Durham have closed. Fort Erie and Port Colborne urgent care services have perma n ently closed overnight and other hospital services in the Nia g ara region are under threat. The situation has not improved. In 2024, there were record breaking numbers of closures: 1,117 emergency department closures, 1,001 urgent care centre closures, three obstetrics unit closures, one ambulance base closure, one inpatient bed closure, and one labour and delivery unit closure. That is worse than even 2023 and 2022. Prior to 2021 emergency department closures were so rare as to be unheard of. Article content Article content At the same time, the Ford government has set no standard requiring services to remain open. The province funds public hospitals at the lowest rate per p e rson out of all the provinces and territories while shunting more than 200% funding increases to private for-profit clinics. Small, rural and northern hospitals are dependent on locum funding that is short term and has often been belatedly announced at the last minute. There continues to be no plan to fix the hospital crisis. Article content
CTV News
11-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
A teen's journey from Windsor to Ontario Legislature
Parker Grisch, a 7th grade Windsor student, recently spent two weeks at the Ontario Legislature as a page. (Source: Lisa Grisch)
