Anishinabek Nation calls upon provincial government to halt advancement of Bill 5, engage in meaningful consultation with First Nations

ANISHINABEK NATION HEAD OFFICE (May 13, 2025) – The Government of Ontario’s introduction and advancement of Bill 5, Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025, in its current form, continues to ignore, violate, and threaten the inherent rights of Anishinabek people and the foundational principles of their treaty relationship with the Crown. The Anishinabek Nation calls upon Ontario Premier Doug Ford and the Government of Ontario to immediately halt the advancement of Bill 5 and begin an engagement process of meaningful consultation, consent, and accommodation, grounded in the spirit and intent of the treaties in this era of reconciliation with First Nations.

“As the rightful owners and caretakers of these lands, waters, and resources, the Anishinabek have never ceded ultimate title to the colonial entity known as Ontario or any other colonial entity,” states Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige. “Our inherent jurisdiction flows from our existing occupation, governance structures, and natural laws given to us by the Creator, long before Canada’s founding or any assertion of Crown sovereignty. These rights are further recognized and affirmed in Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. The Government of Ontario, as an ‘1867 Creature of Confederation,’ must seek and act in a way that is consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which Canada, in acting on behalf of all Canadians, including Ontarians, has committed to uphold.”

Bill 5 reflects a dangerous and false narrative that presumes the Government of Ontario has unilateral authority to legislate over lands and resources without consultation or consent from the rightful Anishinabek title holders. This assertion stands in direct violation of Section 109 of the British North America Act, which states that the beneficial interest in lands and resources is subject to “any Interest other than that of the province in the same.” The Honour of the Crown, as interpreted by the courts, requires that these interests include the constitutionally protected Aboriginal and treaty rights of our First Nations across Ontario.

As a way to move quickly to strengthen Ontario’s economy, Bill 5 proposes amendments to nine pieces of Ontario legislation and one new Act, all with the intent of increasing economic development at the expense of environmental and species protections, and historical evidence of First Nations that predates confederation. It proposes the designation of ‘Special Economic Zones’, ‘Trusted Proponents’, and ‘Designated Projects’ to expedite development and override further environmental protections and First Nation Inherent and Treaty rights.

“To allow lands of economic value that have been cited for development to be exempt from protective checks and balances, such as archaeological assessments and wildlife and ecosystem protections as proposed in this bill will cost First Nations and Ontarians profoundly, exposing and setting back species at risk protection and leading to the destruction of First Nation burial sites and artifacts,” states Grand Council Chief Debassige. “We cannot support increasing risk to the environment and further degradation to species diversity, or the further erasure of the historical existence of First Nations on our treaty lands. To allow Bill-5 to pass significantly increases the chances of conflict with Anishinabek First Nations when development projects and their proponents continually fail to understand the treaty relationship with the Crown. The delegated Crown consultation process to the proponent is complete failure and has not adequately lived up to the honour of the Crown. The prioritization of non-Indigenous economic growth over First Nation lands and rights leads to further marginalization and creates an imbalance that cannot be supported and was not envisioned by our ancestors in the creation of treaties.”

Through our treaties, such as the Robinson-Huron, Robinson-Superior, and other Treaties, Anishinabek agreed to share the land with settlers under specific conditions, not to extinguish their rights or allow the province to act unilaterally. Under Bill 5, the Government of Ontario disregards the Nation-to-Nation relationship between the Anishinabek and the Crown and continues to undermine the treaties as living agreements built on mutual recognition and respect. The provincial government’s failure to meaningfully engage the Anishinabek First Nations in decisions that may impact Anishinabek territories, rights, and resources erodes the legitimacy of this government and its legislative processes.

“This proposed bill impresses upon the occupants of this land that the provincial government can override its treaty obligations and bypass our inherent rights, which further perpetuates the Government of Ontario’s colonial narrative that is rooted in its self-created misinformation and misunderstanding regarding its lack of authority in the broader constitutional construct and the Treaty relationship between the Anishinabek and the Crown,” states Grand Council Chief Debassige. “Our lands and resources are not for the province to sell, exploit, or regulate away as economic corridors, especially without our consent. Not only have we always upheld our sacred responsibilities to the land and waters bestowed upon us by the Creator, but we have also always upheld our responsibilities and obligations as treaty partners. No government can legally legislate our inherent and treaty rights away. We will continue to assert our jurisdiction in the face of any legislation that seeks to erase or ignore governments’ constitutional obligations to us as treaty partners—we are the ultimate rights holders for all resources given to and entrusted to us by the Creator since time immemorial.”