NESKANTAGA — The way Neskantaga First Nation Chief Gary Quisess sees it, Bill C-5 proves Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is just another conservative government.
“I think it’s the same, it's not any different than (Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government),” Quisess said Friday, the day after Ottawa’s major projects bill became law.
“I think the Carney government is the same as the PC government. That’s personally how I feel.”
The federal bill, which gives Ottawa new powers to fast-track projects deemed “in the national interest,” passed without amendment in the Senate on Thursday, six days after passing in the House of Commons, and then swiftly received royal assent.
It followed the passage of provincial Bill 5, a “Protect Ontario” act that also contains measures to speed the approval of projects, earlier in June.
Both pieces of legislation passed despite vocal opposition from Indigenous and environmentalist organizations, and both had abbreviated review and debate periods.
The federal C-5 became law less than three weeks after it was introduced in the lower chamber. Provincial Bill 5 got first reading on April 17 and a final vote on June 4.
The way Carney’s government rushed Bill C-5 through Parliament against vocal Indigenous opposition made quite a statement, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation’s chief told Newswatch.
“It means whatever work we had done to get where we are today – the withdrawal lands, our own concept of mineral resource development areas, our consultation, the watershed – all that gets thrown out the window,” Chief Donny Morris said.
“That’s how I view it with this Bill C-5 and also with Bill 5.”
Reached for comment Friday, Thunder Bay–Superior North MP Patty Hajdu’s office emailed the following statement:
“Our world is facing complex challenges, and those in Thunder Bay–Superior North and across the country have given us a clear mandate: to respond with urgency, action and unity.
“Key to this is close partnership and consultation with Indigenous leadership and communities, as well as provinces and territories.
“The One Canadian Economy Act will support and grow Canada’s skilled workforce, create one Canadian economy instead of thirteen, and support the nation-building projects our country needs.”
Bill C-5, which the Carney government says is necessary to bolster Canada’s economy against trade-war threats from the current U.S. president, has two parts.
Part 1 removes barriers to interprovincial trade and labour mobility. Part 2 expedites approvals for projects “in the interests of Canada’s economy, sovereignty and security, including its energy security.”
Provincial Bill 5 permits Ontario's cabinet to designate certain areas as “special economic zones” where regulatory processes can be fast-tracked for speedy approval of projects.
Neskantaga is in the mineral-rich Ring of Fire region, one of the places Ontario has identified for designation as a special economic zone.