Indigenous leaders say they’re planning to continue the fight against the Ford government’s controversial mining legislation, which passed its third reading Wednesday and is set to become law, and will meet the premier “on the ground” as the threat of disruptive protests grows.
Among other changes, Bill 5, or the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, will create so-called special economic zones where laws, ranging from municipal approvals to environmental rules or even labour law, won’t apply.
As the law passed its third reading at Queen’s Park on Wednesday, cries of protest rang out from the galleries inside the legislature, where labour leaders, Indigenous representatives and other opponents of the bill were sitting.
The disruption as the government and opposition votes were counted was reminiscent of the days of protest at the legislature when the Ford government briefly used the notwithstanding clause to end a strike by education workers in 2022.
In that instance, the government eventually reversed its decision — something ministers have said they will not do with Bill 5.
First Nations leaders, in particular, have expressed their concerns about Bill 5, which they fear will infringe upon their rights. They threatened that when the bill passes, more protests will follow, including the possible blockade of highways, railways and mines.
On Wednesday, Ford addressed the potential for protests once his legislation passes and warned Indigenous leaders not to disrupt infrastructure around the province.
“You can’t break the law, simple as that,” the premier said. “If any of us were to go stand and block the highway — they need to move on or they’ll be dealt with appropriately. They cannot just break the law, and I don’t think the people of Ontario would be there supporting them.”
He added that he does not direct police but said protests “wouldn’t be very wise.”
The premier was not in the chamber for the vote on Bill 5 on Wednesday afternoon. Ford’s office said he had a “pre-scheduled” call with a U.S. politician booked during the vote.
Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said the battle against the controversial legislation is only just beginning, criticizing Ford for his comments Wednesday morning and for not attending the final vote.
“This fight is not over — we will meet you on the ground,” he said. “He did not even have the guts to show up for the vote, and to me, that tells me he’s a coward.”
Fiddler said the premier had made “veiled threats” against First Nations leaders and that they would “from now on not take him seriously.” He called for the Indigenous affairs minister, Greg Rickford, to resign.
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“What an insult that is to consult us on something that’s already been done,” Fiddler added, saying he would not be involved with consultations over the law the government plans to hold this summer.
He said “everything was on the table” in terms of protests, “including leadership taking direct action on the ground.” Shelly Moore-Frappier, chief of the Temagami First Nation, previously indicated a blockade of Highway 400 was also an option.
Chief Scott McLeod, who leads the Lake Huron region of the Anishinabek Nation, said diplomatic efforts between First Nations and the Crown had failed.
“Our job as First Nations leaders is diplomacy — that’s done,” he said. “Now it goes to the grassroots. We don’t tell them what to do.”
He said the Progressive Conservatives had “voted in favour of Idle No More Two,” referencing the 2012 movement that saw blockades of rail lines and round dances in public places as part of a massive series of disruptions.
Ontario NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa told reporters he had tried to convince the government of the ramifications that might follow the bill’s passing into law.
“I kept warning them, those were not threats,” he said. “Those were only warnings, and that’s where they’re heading.”
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles called the decision to pass the legislation a “shameful day for our province” in a statement.
“Doug Ford and his government have silenced communities, shut down debate, and pulled out all the stops to force through legislation that is nothing but a thinly-veiled power grab,” she said.
Labour leaders are also planning to join the protests.
Laura Walton, the president of the Ontario Federation of Labour, said her group and other labour leaders would be “taking the cue” from Indigenous leaders on the protests that will follow.
“This is long from over — just because something happens in the house, doesn’t mean that it ends here,” she said.
In the face of some of the backlash from First Nations groups, the government introduced a number of amendments to parts of the legislation, including a change to the law’s preamble.
The legislation has had an increasingly bumpy ride toward being passed into law, despite the Progressive Conservatives’ significant majority at Queen’s Park.
When Bill 5 made its way to committee last week, the Ontario NDP and Liberals banded together to filibuster proceedings and force an extra day of committee hearings on the legislation.
That day came on Tuesday when the Liberals tabled 4,000 amendments to the law in an attempt to block the government from making its own changes to the bill. They partly succeeded, with only 14 of the province’s 26 amendments passed.
The move was designed to force the province to hit pause, rather than pass its law without the amendments it pledged to show it was listening to concerns.
On Wednesday, however, Ford blamed the Liberals for “playing politics” and appeared to indicate he would pass the bill without all the changes.
“It’s a shame that they want to play politics and try and run out the clock and now allow us to put in amendments, but what I can assure you, with Indigenous communities across Ontario, we’re going to have (a) duty to consult, we’re going to respect treaty rights,” Ford said.
The Progressive Conservatives have fast-tracked parts of Bill 5 with a motion to allow it to pass its third and final reading with only one hour of debate. The bill passed third reading on Wednesday and is expected to receive Royal Assent and become law before the end of the week.
Opposition politicians, as they’ve tried to slow the legislation, have warned that its special economic zones will create “no-law” areas, suggesting they could be used for a variety of projects.
Ford himself appeared to indicate last week that he would eventually designate Highway 401 and nuclear power plants as special economic zones where laws can be sidestepped in order to speed up construction.
The NDP, Liberals and Greens all called for Ford to abandon the bill entirely.
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