TORONTO – Meaningless and unserious are words Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa uses to describe amendments the Ontario government proposes for its own Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act.
The controversial bill, which would allow the province to designate “special economic zones” where provincial and municipal laws could be suspended for key projects, has sparked a backlash from First Nations that say it tramples on their treaty and constitutional rights.
The government said last week it will seek to amend the bill to include a statement recognizing the province’s “duty to consult” First Nations and the implementation of “Indigenous-led economic zones.”
“The government amendments are meaningless,” Mamakwa told Newswatch on Friday, ahead of an anti-Bill 5 rally on the front lawn of Queen’s Park.
“I told the committee that the government amendments are unserious and worse than useless.”
Mamakwa’s interview with Newswatch occurred days before he was ordered removed from the provincial legislative chamber for saying Premier Doug Ford “is telling untruths to First Nations” about Bill 5.
The rules of Ontario’s legislature forbid MPPs from calling other members liars.
A “rally and round dance” against Bill 5 was held Monday afternoon at Queen’s Park.
The protest event was organized by Robinson-Huron Treaty activists in partnership with the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation, Anishinabek Nation, Grand Council Treaty #3 and other Indigenous organizations.
“You cannot plug in ‘duty to consult’ in some of the regulations and expect that to appease First Nations,” Mamakwa said.
The New Democrat, who is from Kingfisher Lake First Nation, said Ford’s Progressive Conservative government is determined to pass Bill 5 this week regardless of how much opposition it has.
Time allocation, a means of limiting debate, is being invoked to see that the bill gets approval from the Standing Committee on the Interior before midnight Tuesday, he said.
The government also intends to use time allocation to pass third reading in the legislature by Thursday, he said.
The people protesting Bill 5 “are the people that I represent,” Mamakwa said.
“They are First Nations, and I’m always First Nations first. I’m a rights holder first, and nobody can take that away.
“Being an MPP gives me a platform to speak on things. And I always tell people, ‘I’m like you.’ As a First Nations person, as a treaty rights holder, it’s important.”