Latest news with #BillC-5
Cision Canada
an hour ago
- Politics
- Cision Canada
The Chiefs Steering Committee Denounces Government of Canada's Ongoing Failure to Uphold Treaty Obligations
TREATY 6 TERRITORY, June 20, 2025 /CNW/ - The Chiefs Steering Committee on Technical Services (CSC) expresses profound disappointment in the Government of Canada's persistent failure to uphold its duties and agreements enshrined in Treaty regarding natural resources and water rights. Bill C-5 is being pushed through to fast-track 'nation-building' projects on First Nations lands and endangering Treaty rights. While Prime Minister Mark Carney publicly stated that First Nations input for this legislation is 'critical' to move forward, he failed to meaningfully consult with First Nations Chiefs in the Alberta region on this issue to date, despite multiple invitations. "The Treaties said that we, as Peoples, would live without interference. And yet, Canada has done nothing but interfere," says Chief Vernon Watchmaker from Kehewin Cree Nation and member of the CSC. "Treaties were intended to establish a nation-to-nation relationship, ensuring our Peoples would flourish for as long as the sun shines, the grass grows, and the waters flow. Treaty exists, and it cannot be ignored." Despite generations of First Nations advocacy and explicit promises made by multiple governments, most First Nations continue to live without reliable access to clean, safe drinking water and the infrastructure to support it, a fundamental human right that stands in stark contrast to the abundance enjoyed by the rest of the country. "While the Government of Canada speaks of reconciliation and a renewed relationship with First Nations Peoples, its actions regarding water rights consistently fall short," says Chief Rupert Meneen from Tallcree Tribal Government and member of the CSC. "We demand that Canada honour its binding legal and moral obligations. Our inherent right to govern and protect our waters is not a privilege to be granted, but a right to be recognized and upheld. The health and well-being of our Peoples, our lands, and our future depend on it." "Bill C-5 recognizes the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) but provides no tangible ways to implement it," says Chief Wilfred Hooka-Nooza from Dene Tha' First Nation. Recent legislative efforts, such as Bill C-61 or the First Nations Clean Water Act, was actively criticized by the CSC for failing to adequately recognize inherent and Treaty rights to water, and potentially offloading Canada's responsibilities—a 'dump-and-run' legislation. "Canada is trying to step over the rights of First Nations, but our inherent right to self-determination comes from us, not from the government," says Chief Watchmaker. "The time for empty promises and incremental progress is over." The CSC calls upon Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Government of Canada to: Support and re-commit to the Treaty Bilateral Table on Water and Related Infrastructure, signed with the Crown's representatives in December 2024, crucial in demonstrating Canada's genuine dedication to upholding Treaty obligations and improving infrastructure for our Peoples. Immediately acknowledge and fully implement First Nations inherent and Treaty rights to water, including jurisdiction over source water protection. Provide immediate, adequate, predictable, and sustainable funding to address the severe infrastructure deficit in First Nations water and wastewater systems. Engage in true nation-to-nation co-development of all legislation and policies impacting First Nations water rights, based on the principle of free, prior, and informed consent. The CSC demands concrete action and accountability to rectify this ongoing human rights crisis and uphold the sacred spirit of the Treaties for all First Nations Peoples. About the Chiefs Steering Committee The Chiefs Steering Committee on Technical Services (CSC) was established to provide oversight and direction to the First Nations Technical Services Advisory Group (TSAG). TSAG is a not-for-profit group to serve First Nations in Treaty 6, 7, and 8 across the Alberta region to support the interests and needs of First Nations, working together with Chiefs and technicians to address water, housing, health, education and infrastructure.
National Observer
2 hours ago
- Business
- National Observer
Parliament is set to rise today, with MPs to vote on controversial major projects bill
Prime Minister Mark Carney 's major projects and internal trade bill will be voted on today before the House of Commons rises until September. A closure motion the government passed to limit debate says the House won't adjourn today until debate wraps up on Bill C-5 and it clears the chamber. The Liberal government's controversial legislation, which would let cabinet quickly grant federal approvals for big industrial projects like mines, ports and pipelines, sailed through committee in the early hours of Thursday with support from the Conservatives. Indigenous and environmental groups and some opposition MPs and senators have criticized the government for rushing a bill through Parliament that gives cabinet such sweeping powers. The legislation was amended Thursday to withdraw the power it gave cabinet to sidestep the Indian Act after weeks of criticism from First Nations leaders. As Canada continues to grapple with US tariffs, Carney on Thursday called C-5 called the "core" of Canada's domestic economic response. A Senate programming motion has the upper chamber wrapping up its examination of Bill C-5 by June 27. With files from Kyle Duggan and Alessia Passafiume
Toronto Sun
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
OPINION: Bill C-5 has potential for both promise and peril for First Nations
Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sunday, May 25, 2025. Photo by Bryan Passifiume / Toronto Sun As the Chief of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation (MSIFN), my commitment to fostering economic opportunities that respect our community's rights, culture, and aspirations is a critical balance. Our Nation has made significant strides in clean energy and infrastructure investments, building sustainable revenue streams for the health of our FN, while ensuring that lands and species are protected for future generations, for all Canadians. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The introduction of Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act, in the House of Commons is presented as a potential catalyst for economic growth through enhanced interprovincial trade, labour mobility, and streamlined project approvals. But will this growth be achieved with, or without, the partnership of First Nations? I see potential for both promise and peril in this legislation, particularly regarding First Nations' participation in investments to bolster the Canadian economy. In sectors like clean energy and infrastructure—where we are already making significant advances — Bill C-5 risks prioritizing non-Indigenous interests over FN's constitutional rights and consultative obligations. This oversight will sideline Indigenous peoples' rights for the sake of expedited resource extraction and economic development. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Bill C-5 contains two primary components which aim to dismantle trade barriers and expedite nationally significant projects. For our First Nation, this legislation holds the potential to significantly enhance our clean energy and infrastructure initiatives allowing us to reach broader markets nationwide, thus attracting the capital necessary to scale our operations. Our construction enterprises could benefit from increased labour mobility, generating more income for our community and the surrounding area. Our strategic location in the Lake Ontario Energy Corridor, linking from Toronto to the Ottawa River, puts us in a prime position to partner on significant clean energy and infrastructure efforts, creating revenue opportunities through equity stakes and Impact Benefit Agreements (IBAs) or co-developed community benefit agreements. These prospects connect with our vision for economic reconciliation — an approach where First Nations actively participate as essential partners in the collective prosperity of Canada. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Our leadership reflects our commitment to innovation, having driven over $100 million in investments in Canadian clean energy projects over the past year. Bill C-5 has the potential to amplify these efforts, enabling us to shape a thriving, environmentally conscious economy for all Canadians. The Potential Peril of Bill C-5 – Risks of Incomplete Provisions Despite the mainstream optimism surrounding Bill C-5, the promise is far from assured. The bill currently lacks comprehensive commitments to uphold Indigenous rights which will prioritize non-Indigenous economic interests over the inherent rights of Indigenous peoples and the health and prosperity of Indigenous communities. The Building Canada Act aims to streamline project approvals deemed in the national interest. While this could enhance clean energy projects in which many communities are stakeholders, it risks undermining the Crown's constitutional duty to consult Indigenous communities. Genuine consultation measures are not merely a formality; they are foundational to reconciliation. If treaty and traditional territories of Indigenous peoples are deemed by Canada as open for business, it lacks honourability for Canada to proceed without Indigenous peoples being consulted and having a say over their position at the economic table. Moreover, it is Indigenous communities who carry a lens of responsibility to the environment in the development of clean energy solutions. This is not out of an obligation to meet a minimum standard, but out of a duty to what Indigenous peoples know as sacred. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act assumes equitable access to market opportunities for all communities. However, First Nations face systemic challenges like underfunded infrastructure and limited access to capital, which hinder a community's ability to engage interprovincial opportunities. The bill's silence on these pressing issues may exacerbate existing economic disparities, leaving Indigenous communities behind once again. Charting a Constructive Path Forward Bill C-5 has potential as an opportunity to serve as a transformative tool for both Canada and First Nations. But for this potential to be realized, it is crucial that the bill includes robust provisions to protect Indigenous rights, ensure meaningful consultation, and address the capacity challenges that First Nations face. The effectiveness of Bill C-5 hinges on whether we choose to build a Canadian economy that includes First Nations as equal partners or one that perpetuates historical imbalances. The choice of barreling ahead 'with' or 'without' First Nations partners will shape Canada's economic landscape for generations to come. Kelly LaRocca is the Chief of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, located near the town of Port Perry, Ont. Toronto & GTA MMA World News Sunshine Girls
Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Mark Carney's government reviewing suggested changes to infrastructure bill
OTTAWA — The Liberal government is reviewing a series of changes to add oversight and restrain some — but not all — of the extraordinary powers created under its controversial legislation to fast-track major development projects. The proposed law, Bill C-5, has sparked warnings of Indigenous resistance in the coming weeks, along with condemnation from environmental groups, and some reservations within the Liberal caucus. But the government insists the legislation is necessary in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, after the Liberals won a minority government in the April 28 election while promising to supercharge economic growth and reduce Canada's reliance on the unpredictable United States. A rare alliance between Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberals and Pierre Poilievre's Declaring the need for speed to get new projects like mines, ports and pipelines approved for construction in less than two years, Prime Minister Mark Carney's administration is ramming the bill through the House of Commons over the objections of opposition parties this week, with votes anticipated Friday on a host of amendments proposed during a marathon parliamentary committee meeting that finished just after midnight Thursday morning. Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill, Liberal House Leader Steven MacKinnon said the government was reviewing the proposed amendments, and that he expects the bill to pass in the Senate next week after it goes up for a vote on third reading in the House on Friday. So far, the bill has passed at a rapid clip through the Commons with the support of Liberal and Conservative MPs, with the Bloc Québécois, New Democrats and the lone Green MP opposing it. Asked about the bill Thursday, Carney was adamant the processes it creates will respect Indigenous rights and include the 'full embrace of free, prior and informed consent' — a key provision of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He insisted it will ensure participation and consultation with Indigenous communities in choosing and reviewing projects to fast-track, including for environmental and other conditions the developers will need to follow. 'Consultation, co-operation, engagement, participation is at the heart of C-5,' Carney said. 'And that is how you build a nation, and that's very much how we've designed it.' Provincial laws seeking to fast-track development under the spectre of American tariffs have also faced criticism in recent weeks, including Ontario's Bill 5 that prompted allegations the government is infringing on Indigenous rights. Amid controversy about fast-tracked mining projects, Ford is sitting down with dozens of As written , the federal law includes measures to reduce federal barriers to trade and labour mobility within Canada. The criticism has centred on the other part of the bill, which aims to create a special process that gives the federal cabinet the power to choose and fast-track development projects it deems to be in the 'national interest.' The current version of the law says the government may consider any factor it sees fit, and gives the federal cabinet the power to skirt laws and regulations — including environmental protections — used to assess chosen projects for approval. The bill says the framework to choose projects to fast-track will expire after five years. The opposition parties' amendments include measures to increase parliamentary oversight of how the law is used. One proposed change calls for the creation of a special committee to examine how the law is being applied, similar to the body of MPs that was automatically created when the federal government triggered the Emergencies Act to quash the so-called 'Freedom Convoy' in February 2022. Other amendments would require the government to disclose documents it uses to choose whether a project gets fast-tracked, publish an advisory 30 days before bringing a new project into the process, and release a report on Indigenous consultations 60 days after a development is authorized through the new law. The proposed changes also aim at the special powers the bill would create, with amendments to limit which laws the federal cabinet would be allowed to skirt in the name of approving a development project. One of the amendments says the government would not be able to do this when Parliament is dissolved or suspended. Another — supported by both the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois — says the government wouldn't be able to circumvent laws that include the Criminal Code, ethics and conflict of interest legislation, the Indian Act, and the Official Languages Act. The committee shot down other proposed amendments, including changes to write the Liberals' professed two-year deadline for project approval's into the bill, and to reduce the sunset clause of the special fast-tracking process from five to two years. At Wednesday's long committee meeting, Lance Haymond, chief of the Kebaowek First Nation in Québec, warned the lack of consultation in drafting the legislation could lead to protests like the 'Idle No More' movement against the former Conservative government's bid to rewrite project assessments in 2012. 'The conditions for an Idle No More 2.0 uprising are being written into the law as we speak,' Haymond said. MacKinnon defended the bill Thursday, and shrugged off a question about how some Liberals have raised questions about concerns from Indigenous leaders and groups like the Assembly of First Nations. 'We believe that by moving ahead on projects, we will continue to give Canadians the confidence that we can get big projects done, can create jobs for skilled trades workers in this country, can attract investment, and can create economic development opportunities for Indigenous Peoples,' he said. With files from Althia Raj
Calgary Herald
4 hours ago
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Varcoe: On eve of new era for Canadian energy exports, Keyera CEO welcomes Ottawa's push to fast-track major projects
Article content 'Bill C-5 is a necessary condition to jump-start the investment in our country, but it's not going to be sufficient to change the investment climate overall,' Premier Danielle Smith told reporters Wednesday in Lloydminster. Article content 'If I understand where the prime minister is attempting to go, if he very soon is able to announce a project list that has 20 or more substantial projects on it . . . that would send a pretty big message to the world about the direction that we're going.' Article content Alberta wants to double oil and gas production over time, but new energy infrastructure, such as LNG terminals or pipelines to transport oil and gas to tidewater for export, will be required and significant investment will be needed. Article content The Trans Mountain expansion (TMX) project, which moves more Alberta oil to the British Columbia Coast, was purchased by the federal government to get it completed, and ran massively over budget. Article content Article content Yet, TMX began commercial operations last year, securing new customers for Canadian crude oil in Asia. With the imminent startup of the colossal LNG Canada development, the country is on the precipice of a shift, exporting oil and gas to countries other than the United States. Article content 'It is really, truly momentum,' Tristan Goodman, president of the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, said Thursday. Article content The LNG Canada development is expected to ramp up in the coming weeks — a Reuters report on Wednesday suggested it could produce LNG as soon as this weekend — although project officials said it remains on track to load first cargoes by the middle of the year. Article content Article content TC Energy CEO François Poirier said Bill C-5 isn't perfect, but represents a step forward to 'get back into the business of big nation-building projects,' and it will enhance energy security. Article content Article content 'If Canada is to become an energy superpower, there must be action now,' he said in a statement earlier this week. Article content The bill will give the federal government the ability to proceed quickly on major projects, but Ottawa will determine which ones are of national importance, noted Goodman. Article content 'It means government will be picking winners and losers on projects, which is never a great place to be,' he said. Article content 'But out of the options available, we're initially, reasonably positive.'
