The group of Ontario First Nations taking the federal and provincial governments to court over fast-track legislation, which will sidestep or suspend a range of legal protections, says the Crown is failing in its duties.
A lawyer representing the coalition of nine First Nations filed a legal application against both the Ford and Carney governments on Monday evening. The action looks to have a court rule the entirety of Ontario’s Bill 5 unconstitutional, as well as large parts of the federal government’s Bill C-5.
At Queen’s Park on Wednesday, four of the First Nations leaders involved spoke about their concerns with Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Mark Carney’s approach.
“I would say they’re less informed,” Alderville First Nation Chief Taynar Simpson said. “I would say they need to do some homework on these issues. They need to go back to the history books, they need to listen to elders, they need to listen to First Nations.”
The Ford government passed Bill 5 in June, which allows it to create special economic zones where municipal and provincial laws can be suspended.
Similarly, Bill C-5 allows the federal cabinet to quickly grant federal approvals for big projects deemed to be in the national interest, like mines, by sidestepping existing laws.
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The legal action filed against both bills involves nine of Ontario’s 134 First Nations. They said Wednesday they believed others supported their push but needed to get the action off the ground quickly.
Chief June Black, who represents the Apitipi Anicinapek Nation, whose land is subject to a number of mining claims, said that the two governments’ handling of their first-track legislation was problematic.
“Speeding through projects and exempting projects from approvals is far from honourable,” she said. “Approving projects without the consent of First Nations people who have been on this land forever is even less honourable.”
In response to the legal action, a spokesperson for the Ontario premier’s office said the government remained focused on meaningful engagement with First Nations on Bill 5.
“We will continue to build consensus with First Nations on…
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