Ontario Mining

https://www.thetrillium.ca/

It comes at a time when tensions over the Ring of Fire have heightened over opposition to the province’s ‘special economic zones’ legislation

Webequie First Nation has released an environmental report on a road between its community and mineral deposits in the Ring of Fire, a key step toward opening the region to mining development.

The draft environmental assessment (EA) and impact statement (IS) is for one of three different stretches of a road link to planned mining operations in the region. Marten Falls has released the draft EA/IS report for the stretch of road that connects its community, and the two First Nations are jointly leading the process for the Northern Road Link that connects the other two stretches, and is running behind the other two regulatory processes.

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https://www.standard-freeholder.com/

Ontario’s Bill 5 has been drawing a lot of attention and making headlines this spring. What’s in the bill that’s so concerning?

A new provincial law aimed at “unleashing” Ontario’s economy will also directly impact local governance, labour laws and environmental protections, which some say will open a “Pandora’s box of bad consequences.”

The bill, was granted royal assent on June 5 and is officially titled the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025. Bill 5 presents a comprehensive set of changes to various aspects of Ontario law, with major implications for the province. The new law amends several key pieces of legislation with the goal of fast-tracking economic development, specifically mining in key regions of the province, like the Ring of Fire located roughly 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.

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https://financialpost.com/

The legislation allows Ontario to suspend provincial and municipal laws by creating so-called special economic zones for certain projects

TORONTO — Two First Nations that signed deals with the provincial government to improve access to the Ring of Fire are speaking out against a new Ontario law that seeks to ease mineral extraction in the northern region.

Aroland First Nation Chief Sonny Gagnon said his community objects to the law known as Bill 5, which seeks to speed up development in the face of pressure from the United States. The legislation passed last week and allows Ontario to suspend provincial and municipal laws by creating so-called special economic zones for certain projects it chooses, such as new mines.

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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/

Proposed legislation has sparked an backlash from First Nations who say it tramples on their rights

Ontario 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. On Wednesday afternoon, the province passed Bill 5, the so-called Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, which has sparked a firestorm of anger among First Nations.

The province 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 did not show up for the final vote.

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https://www.thetrillium.ca/

Opposition efforts to prevent Bill 5 from passing couldn’t overcome Doug Ford’s PCs majority

Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives have passed Bill 5, setting their controversial “special economic zones” legislation to become law in Ontario. Ford’s PCs voted on Wednesday to pass the legislation titled the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act. The bill which includes the new Special Economic Zones Act, only awaits Ontario’s lieutenant-governor’s royal assent sign-off.

The law will give the provincial cabinet the power to designate “special economic zones” where it could then exempt specific projects and proponents, like companies, from any provincial laws, regulations and local bylaws. Being provincial legislation, the requirements of federal laws would still apply.

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On the western shores of James and Hudson bays, a group of Omushkego Cree nations have been working to protect both water and land

You can’t blame Sam Hunter for not being in the mood for a boat ride. Rain is pelting the hamlet of Peawanuck, and the northeasterly wind coming in from Hudson Bay sweeps the coastal lowlands of northern Ontario. “I don’t like this weather,” Hunter says from underneath a furrowed brow, even as he and his German shepherd puppy, Niska, make their way by ATV from his house to the boat launch on the Winisk River.

There’s no one there to brag about how good the fishing had been upstream, no one to lament how the thawing permafrost downstream is tearing apart the riverbank, leaving the bank swallows to search for new homes. And there is no one around to debate the merits of a proposal to formally protect the tawich, the coastal area with its tidal marshes, mudflats and rivers, and the sea beyond, to which Hunter and others from Weenusk First Nation are inextricably linked. There is only the voice of the river.

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https://www.thetrillium.ca/

Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa was ejected from the legislature for accusing the premier of lying about the bill

Indigenous people rallied at Queen’s Park Monday afternoon, demanding the Ford government “kill Bill 5.” Inside, MPPs debated the government’s move to time-allocate the bill, which will speed it through the legislative process and curtail debate.

Bill 5 would give the provincial cabinet the power to designate an area a “special economic zone,” and then exempt selected proponents and projects from requirements under any provincial law or regulation, including bylaws of municipalities and local boards, that would otherwise apply.

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https://www.thestar.com/

With the Progressive Conservative majority set to pass the bill later this week, about 300 protesters from across the province gathered in front of the building to voice concern about the “special economic zones” it will create.

Premier Doug Ford is running out of time to fix his controversial Bill 5 — which fast-tracks mines and infrastructure developments — before it ignites a summer of unrest, First Nations leaders warned Monday.

With the Progressive Conservative majority set to pass the bill later this week, about 300 protesters from across the province gathered in front of the building to voice concern about the “special economic zones” it will create, bypassing local and provincial rules to speed development in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

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https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Robinson Huron chiefs urge the provincial government to scrap the legislation and start over

Native leaders in northeastern Ontario are joining others in calling on the Ford government to scrap Bill 5, a proposed law that seeks to speed up the development of large projects such as mines. In a release, the Robinson Huron chiefs said Bill 5, Protecting Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, 2025, is “a direct threat to the lands, jurisdiction, and sovereignty of First Nations within the Robinson Huron Treaty territory.”

“Ontario needs our permission — not just consultation, but consent,” Gimma Dean Sayers, spokesperson for the Robinson Huron Treaty chiefs and a member of the Robinson Huron Waawiindamaagewin Political Working Group, said in a release.

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