First Nations groups are asking the Ontario government to reconsider a proposed piece of legislation aimed at fast tracking mining and resource development projects.
On April 17, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Bill 5, also known as Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, 2025. Ford claims the bill is an attempt to bolster the Ontario economy in the face of U.S. tariffs.
“The maze of bureaucracy, red tape, and duplicative processes holding back our economy means that a single mining project can take 15 years to be approved,” Ford said in a statement. “We are cutting red tape to unlock our critical minerals and unleash our economy to create new jobs and opportunities in the north and across the province.”
The government is specifically interested in mining Ontario’s Ring of Fire, a 5,000-square-kilometre resource-rich area near Hudson Bay. The Ring of Fire has the potential to produce minerals necessary for manufacturing electric vehicles.
If passed, Bill 5 would allow the provincial government to create “special economic zones” where certain projects would be allowed to bypass checks like environmental and archeological assessments. First Nations groups are concerned that the free rein granted to mining companies and developers could allow them to bypass First Nations’ consultations and irreversibly damage First Nations’ land.
“As we have said time and time again, any development or legislation that affects First Nations’ inherent or Treaty rights must have their free, prior, and informed consent,” said Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict, in a statement. “The government says that this new legislation will not impact their duty to consult—I truly hope that is the case. First Nations are keen to uplift their communities and people, but it cannot come at the expense of their rights, wellbeing, or their environments.”
The Chiefs of Ontario, which supports all First Nations peoples in the province, has asked the provincial government to engage in a full consultation process with Ontario First Nations prior to proceeding with the legislation.
Ryan Primrose, the principal archeologist at Woodland Heritage Northeast in New Liskeard, says the bill could also impact First Nations’ history. By bypassing archeological assessments, developers could unwittingly destroy significant locations and historical artefacts tied to First Nations’ culture.
“These archeological sites are part of the First Nations’ intangible past,” he says.
The bill is also trying to introduce a clause that would protect developers from lawsuits if they did unwittingly destroy a historically significant area. “If we get to a point where all projects are considered critically important, then there will be no consequences,” says Primrose.
Woodland Heritage Northeast performs archeological assessments for government and private projects. Primrose says the company has uncovered numerous First Nations finds through archeological assessments.
Under the current rules, an archeological assessment is required if a project is close to a hydrological feature or a known archeological site. Ironically, says Primrose, it was Bill Davis, a former Conservative Ontario Premier, who introduced the need for archeological assessments.
Primrose adds that it isn’t the archeological assessments that are delaying projects, it’s the government’s ability to process them. “It’s the lack of funding to the ministry,” he says. Primrose argues that if the Ontario government properly funded the Ministry of Citizenship and Multiculturalism, projects could be processed faster.
He also says that if developers were willing to bring archeologists in on the design phase, they could identify archeologically significant sites before any work was conducted. “By doing archeological assessments after the fact, that’s when there’s delays,” he says.
Bill 5 has passed its second reading in the Legislative Assembly and has been sent to the standing committee for further study.
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