Last week, the IJF wrote about conservation groups’ concerns about the recently tabled Bill 5, dubbed the “Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act.” On Friday, the Chiefs of Ontario, a coalition of leaders from First Nations across the province, registered to lobby Ontario “to provide input to and secure consultation regarding Bill 5.”

The bill would give the province the power to waive provincial regulations such as environmental assessments for projects in “special economic zones,” designated by the provincial government. The bill could speed up project timelines by as much as 50 per cent, according to Minister of Energy and Mines Stephen Lecce. In debate in the provincial legislature, Lecce said the bill would not exempt government from its duty to consult with Indigenous nations about proposed projects. But in a joint press release from Premier Doug Ford, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Vic Fedeli and Lecce, the government said opening up mining in the Ring of Fire — a mineral-rich area in the north of the province — would be one of the first such projects to be designated a special economic zone if the bill passes.