Jun 3, 2025 | by Barry Weisleder
Conservative Premier Doug Ford’s Bill 5 may ignite a summer of unrest. Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation warned Ford against proceeding without Indigenous approval: “You will be met by our people on the ground.”
Accompanied by hundreds of supporters, First Nations leaders brought a message of defiance to the Ontario Legislature on June 2. They denounced the government bill titled the Protect Ontario By Unleashing Our Economy Act. It aims to fast-track mines and infrastructure developments without Indigenous consent. The “special economic zones” created by the proposed law would bypass local and provincial rules, in the process endangering multiple wildlife species, human residents and precious drinking water.
Ford missed the protest. He was in Saskatoon for a Premiers’ meeting where federal Prime Minister Mark Carney urged Canadians to rally around “nation-building projects” to boost the economy in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and his threats to annex Canada.
But the ‘Team Canada’ narrative appears increasingly to be an excuse to trample Treaty rights, discard environmental protection and justify major concessions to big business. Not buying the excuse were Indigenous people present from all across Ontario, as well as folks carrying flags to identify the solidarity of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, the Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union, and Socialist Action.
New Democrat MPP Sol Mamakwa (Kiiwetinoong) accused Ford of telling “untruths” about consultations on Bill 5. For refusing to withdraw his remark, which was considered un-parliamentary by the Speaker of the Legislature, Mamakwa was ejected from the chamber for the day. He was accompanied by NDP Leader Marit Stiles, who called the legislation a “shameless power grab” that will backfire.
Scott Macleod, a regional chief for the Annishinabek nation, told the crowd at Queen’s Park: “The time for diplomacy is running out. When that runs out, the grassroots take over.”
