TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford hit back at one of the First Nations leaders he has signed development agreements with over Indigenous opposition to Bill 5.
Ford has repeatedly named Aroland Chief Sonny Gagnon and his community as among those who are on-side with further development in the province’s north, including the Ring of Fire.
The First Nation, located about 80 kilometres north of Greenstone, signed a “shared prosperity agreement” with the province for economic growth and infrastructure back in January that, among other things, would enable the eventual construction of roads into the Ring of Fire area.
But Gagnon has been one of many Indigenous leaders and communities, along with environmental groups and others, who have stated their opposition and have vowed to fight Bill 5 — the far-reaching new law, called the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act.
The Ford government says it will speed up resource development projects in the province. Opponents say it steamrolls Indigenous treaty and constitutional rights, as well as necessary environmental protections, something the province denies.
At a Intersect/25, an event hosted by the Globe and Mail in Toronto on June 9, Ford, again referred to Gagnon, but with a much different tone.
“Does he want the $200 million electricity deal that we handed over to him? Does he want to get off diesel because they live on diesel? Does he want a road that they can actually leave their community and drive?” Ford was quoted as saying in multiple reports.
Aroland is not a remote First Nation as it is connected to the provincial highway system via Highway 643; the community is also electrically serviced by Hydro One. It is a partner with several other First Nations aimed at upgrading old and unreliable power infrastructure in the Greenstone area.
The Matawa community — which is south of the Ring of Fire region itself — has supported expanding the provincial highway system north to Marten Falls First Nation, one of the remote communities within the area.
And while Ford has pointed to Gagnon’s support of that project as proof he supports the quick development of mining in the Ring of Fire, the chief countered that Aroland won’t decide its position on that specifically until an assessment determines whether “mining in this sensitive and vulnerable peatlands region is safe for humanity, for us, for wildlife, climate and water.”
"Mark my words in this room, he will be moving forward with us, not because of me, not because of pressuring me, because he's a smart man, and he understands his community needs to prosper," Ford said in Toronto.
Marten Falls and Webequie First Nations have signed their own agreements with Ontario, largely around road access to their communities.
“This road only became an issue when the Ontario government through its own means tried to make it into, not just a road for Marten Falls to have access south to the highways, but for mining companies to come in and out of the Ring of Fire area,” Gagnon was quoted as saying in his June 9 statement.
“We do not stand with Ontario in support of Bill 5. We do stand in support of the other First Nations in Ontario who are opposed to Bill 5 and working to have it thrown out.”
