Letter to the Editor: Bill 5 is a threat to Northern Ontario

Bill 5 Is a Threat to Northern Ontario. It Must Be Stopped.
By Cristin Talentino

Ask anyone why they live or stay in Northern Ontario, and they’ll talk about the land. The quiet of the lakes. The scent of pine after rain. The rhythm of the seasons. There’s something special, even sacred here. But we need to be honest: that deep connection many of us feel is only possible because of the ongoing care and stewardship of Indigenous Peoples. This land was never empty. It has always been Indigenous land.

What happens when that land is handed over to unchecked extraction with no local input?

Right now, the Ford government is once again disregarding that truth.

Bill 5: The Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act is the most dangerous legislation we’ve seen in years. Behind its vague, bureaucratic language is a clear agenda: dismantle environmental protections, sidestep Indigenous rights, suspend labour standards, and silence public consultation in favour of unchecked industrial expansion. This bill doesn’t just move Ontario backward, it undermines democracy itself.

Let me be clear:

• It repeals the Endangered Species Act, replacing it with a watered-down “Species at Risk Conservation Act” that strips scientists of decision-making power and hands it to Cabinet Ministers, allowing political interests to dictate what gets protected and what’s extracted.
• It creates Special Economic Zones (SEZs) where the government can ignore environmental laws, override municipal decisions, and fast-track development—without informing or consulting the public. SEZs have been used globally to attract corporate investment by limiting environmental and labour regulations—often at the expense of local populations.
• It jeopardizes basic worker protections. The Ontario Federation of Labour warns that within these zones, crucial laws like the Occupational Health and Safety Act could be suspended.
• It violates the constitutional Duty to Consult Indigenous Peoples, reducing meaningful consultation to a checkbox after legislation is already in motion. Minister Greg Rickford’s recent comment suggesting consultation starts after a bill is introduced is not only inaccurate, it’s deeply disrespectful.

Make no mistake. Notification is not consultation.

Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution, along with multiple Supreme Court decisions, affirms that consultation must be early, informed, and meaningful. Anything less is illegal. Anything less is colonialism, continuing in real time.

And Treaty Rights are not symbolic. They are binding agreements made between First Nations and the Crown, including shared stewardship, mutual benefit, and an ongoing relationship. Bill 5 disregards these treaties entirely. In Treaty 9 territory, for example, where much of the Ring of Fire lies, First Nations were never approached as equal partners in the creation of this legislation. This is not just a policy oversight. It is a breach of legal and moral responsibility.

Wanting accountability doesn’t mean being anti-development.

Northerners deserve good jobs and a say in how they’re created. Indigenous nations are asking for the same; economic opportunity that doesn’t come at the cost of consent or ecological collapse.

Nations within the Robinson Huron Treaty and Williams Treaties areas, which include the land where communities like North Bay now stand, have also raised strong objections to Bill 5. The Anishinabek Nation has asserted that the legislation violates their inherent and Treaty rights and has called for it to be withdrawn immediately. Their position is clear: First Nations are not stakeholders. They are rights holders. And this bill is a direct affront to that status.

First Nations including Neskantaga, Eabametoong, the Matawa Chiefs Council, and Nishnawbe Aski Nation have also been sounding the alarm… again. They have said clearly that they do not oppose development, but they demand what any community would: clean water, decent housing, access to healthcare, and a voice in decisions that shape their future. These aren’t radical asks; they are basic human rights.

These Nations have said no to extractive projects like those in the Ring of Fire, not because they are anti-development, but because they know the cost of development without consent. And so should the rest of us.

Let me remind you of:

• The mercury poisoning of Grassy Narrows, which still impacts families and communities today.
• The hydro projects that flooded traplines and displaced families.
• The legacy of mining towns like Cobalt and Timmins, left with contaminated lakes and tailings ponds, and no cleanup plan.

Northern Ontario has lived through this before. Bill 5 opens the door to repeat it at scale, and in silence.

And it’s not just Indigenous communities that will be impacted.

Every person living in this region will feel the consequences. North Bay, Sudbury, Temiskaming Shores, and Hearst are diverse, vibrant communities that include many Indigenous people, and they are built on Indigenous land. When local governments lose their say, when protections are lifted without input, everyone loses.

As a civic engagement practitioner, coach, facilitator, business owner, and settler, I have deep roots on this land. My Italian and Irish ancestors worked in mining, cartage, and the ONR in Timmins, South Porcupine, Latchford, and Cobalt. I know what it means to believe in a better future. It’s ingrained in my family story, passed down through generations.

But this isn’t just personal, it’s professional. I’ve studied and practiced civic dialogue and engagement for almost 15 years, and what’s happening now fails every standard of transparency, justice, and accountability that our public institutions, and those of us who work within or alongside them, claim to uphold.

The future being offered under Bill 5 is not one my family would have stood for. And I won’t either.

Let me say it plainly:

Bill 5 is an assault on community power, ecological integrity, and democratic process.

It prioritizes secrecy, speed, and short-term profit over the long-term wellbeing of the people who live, and are raising their families, here.

And still, our leaders support it.

North Bay MPP, Cabinet Chair and Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, Vic Fedeli, has praised the bill. North Bay Mayor, Peter Chirico, has expressed “conditional support,” relying on the Premier’s vague promise that Indigenous rights will be respected. But how can rights be respected when they were never part of the conversation to begin with? How can we trust a government that consistently guts consultation and wraps it in empty words?

When people say they love living in the North, they don’t mean lower permitting timelines or deregulation. They mean the feeling of standing beside a lake at dusk listening to a loon call. The sense of belonging and interconnectedness that comes from walking through a forest that hasn’t yet been torn down.

That isn’t preserved through legislation like Bill 5. It’s destroyed by it.

If this government respected Indigenous rights, they would have engaged First Nations before writing a single clause.

If they respected Northerners, they would have met with the people who will live with the consequences, not just the developers who profit from them.

If they respected democracy, we wouldn’t have to decode vague political rhetoric to figure out what we’re about to lose.

Unsettled? You should be. Here’s what you can do:

• Call or email MPP Vic Fedeli. Ask him to explain how this bill protects Indigenous rights and local democracy.
  E: vic.fedeli@pc.ola.org | P: 705-474-8340
• Email Mayor Peter Chirico. Ask what his “conditions” are, and whether he’s prepared to withdraw support if they’re not met.
  E: mayor@northbay.ca
• Read and share Indigenous-led statements. Start with Nishnawbe Aski Nation, Neskantaga First Nation, Matawa First Nations Management, and the Anishinabek Nation. Learn directly from those most impacted.
• Talk to your neighbours. Ask if they know what’s in this bill and who it benefits.
• Push back on political gaslighting. When you hear “streamlining” or “cutting red tape,” ask: Who gets silenced? Who gains power? Who benefits and who doesn’t?

We can do better. We must.

We all want a strong future for the North and for Ontario. But strength doesn’t come from silence, it comes from dialogue, from listening, and from building something that lasts for generations.

As I write this, on June 2, MPP Sol Mamakwa, Ontario’s only First Nations member of provincial parliament, was forcibly removed from the legislature for trying to speak out against Bill 5, saying the Ford government is telling ‘untruths.’ The message the Ontario government is sending could not be clearer: Indigenous voices are not just being ignored, they’re being actively shut down. If that doesn’t concern you, it should. And if it doesn’t, you should ask yourself why.

If we say we love this place, the land we are raising future generations on, then we need to love it enough to protect it. And that begins with listening to the people who have always known how to care for it.

Bill 5 is not a path forward. It’s a threat to everything we say we value.

And I refuse to stay silent.

—
Cristin Talentino is a civic engagement practitioner, coach, facilitator, and the founder of Birch + Bloom, based in North Bay, Ontario.