The proposal legislation of Ontario that would give power to the cabinet to create “special economic zones” and allow the government to exempt laws in certain projects is little more than a power take, the first nations, civil freedom groups and environmentalists.
Critics say that the bill, known as Protect Ontario by unleashing our Economy Law, is designed to ensure that projects such as the tunnel proposed by Prime Minister Doug Ford under highway 401 and critical mineral mining in northern Ontario are carried out with little resistance.
Ford pointed out both projects as examples of regions that could be designated as special economic zones once the law is approved.
Ford has long imagined the fire ring, an area that is said to be rich in critical minerals, then refining and sending those materials to the south of Ontario to be used in the flourishing Batteries sector of electric vehicles.
On Tuesday, the prime minister described how important the region is for his government.
“The Fire Ring is our number 1 priority over anything, because that will generate more income, and if we get shovels on the ground, get permits in less than two years, and then we can sell those critical minerals to all in the world that these critical minerals need,” he said.
“We can be the richest, richest and richest subovate nation anywhere in the world if we get those critical land minerals.”
“We will stop it,” says the great head of the first nation
Several leaders of the first nation of the Ring of Fire region visited Queen’s Park on Monday and said they have not yet been consulted on the bill, despite the promises of the province that it would fulfill their duty to consult.
The Great Alvin Fiddler Chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which represents 49 first nations whose territories cover two thirds of Ontario, said he wants Ford to feel with the heads of the first nation that will soon discuss the proposed law.
“We have fresh water, we have trees, we have the second largest carbon sink in the world and we have rich minerals,” said Fiddler.
“But we have also learned some very painful lessons in the past that for us to benefit significantly from these resources, we need to do it well.”
Observe this exchange without cutting when the leaders of five first nations in the northwest of Ontario and the MPP of the NDP Sol Mamakwa talk to journalists after demonstrating their continuous opposition to mining in the Fire Ring without their prior consent in the period of the question.
Fiddler warned Ford of problems in case the bill without changes was approved.
“If Prime Minister Doug Ford thinks he can create legislation that allows him to do what he wants to do in our territory, he is wrong,” Fiddler said. “It cannot simply get on a tractor and drive up. We will stop it. Our people will stop it and make sure we do things in our way, that our own laws are respected, that our resources are respected, that our water is respected.”
The great boss Leo on Friday of the Mushkegowuk council, which represents seven first nations on the coast of James Bay and Tierra Adentro, said he was “quite sad” to see the legislation presented.
“I’m very afraid to see this,” he said. “Our people said, if we are not involved in the exploration or development of our land … many of us will die.”
Fiddler said that the first nations, which face overlapping crises linked to mental health, drug use, housing and insecure drinking water, do not oppose development and economic prosperity.
“We want economic progress more than anyone. We need it,” said Fiddler. “So we want economic prosperity. It’s how. We can’t afford Doug Ford to give us that through this legislation.”
The Canadian association of civil liberties also expressed its concerns about the bill, saying that the section to create special economic zones must be completely discarded.
The bill requires that “trusted defenders” and “designated projects” within special economic zones are exempt from having to comply with all provincial and municipal laws, which the organization said it is worrisome.
“This alarming movement allows the government’s executive branch unilaterally with legal safeguards that protect the vulnerable communities and indigenous peoples, racing the way for corporations to overlook labor and environmental laws,” said Anais Bussenes Mcnicoll, director of fundamental freedoms of the association.
Ontario promised to accelerate mining in the elections: Lecce
The Minister of Energy and Mines, Stephen Lecce, defended the creation of special economic zones.
He pointed out that the progressive conservatives recently won a majority victory of elections after a campaign in which they promised to accelerate mining development, saying that it shows that the inhabitants of ontarians agree with the party approach.
“I think there is a growing consensus in the country that we want to realize our potential, create jobs and position Canada as a clean energy superpower,” he said.
He said that the environment and relations with the communities of the first nations remain crucial components of the bill.
“We also maintain environmental protections and fulfill our duty to consult, I think we find that balance,” he said.
Sol Mamakwa, the new Democrat who represents Kiiwetinoong’s driving where the fire ring is located, said the province continues to make the minimum of consulting with the first nations.
“This bill, for me, is like the first ontary, the first nation the last,” he said.
Environmentalists have already called the Ford government for the environmental protections that the province intends to strip through the bill, which includes the repeal of the Law of Endangered Species.
The government wants to drastically reduce the definition of what habitat means and eliminate the requirements to create a strategy on how to recover species at risk. With the bill, it also seems to give greater power over an independent committee based on science to add and eliminate species from a protected list.
The legislation approved the second reading on Tuesday and was sent to the committee to study more.
The province has given the interested parties two days of audiences, said Mamakwa, who is in the committee.
