Miles Morrisseau
ICT
On the eve of National Indigenous Peoples Day, Canada lawmakers passed a controversial free trade and economics bill that First Nations leaders say violates their Indigenous and treaty rights.
Intent on defending against the Trump administration’s economic threats, the Canadian Parliament voted June 20 to defend against the Trump administration’s economic threats with the One Canadian Economy Act, also known as as Bill C-5, “An Act to Enact the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act and the Building Canada Act.”
The bill won approval in the Canadian Senate on June 27 to become law.
The act is being defended by the governing Liberal Party and Prime Minister Mark Carney as a necessary move to offset U.S. President Donald Trump’s looming policies, but it has drawn heated opposition from First Nations leaders.
“We acknowledge the passage of Bill C-5, but let us be clear: First Nations are not stakeholders — we are the foundational Nations of these lands,” Assembly of Manitoba Grand Chief Kira Wilson said in a statement after the bill passed.
“Our rights … are inherent and rooted in the Treaties our ancestors negotiated in good faith,” Wilson said. “Canada’s future cannot be built without First Nations leadership at the centre. If this government is serious about reconciliation and partnership, then it must work with us — not after the fact, but from the very beginning. That is the standard we expect moving forward.”
In the House of Commons, it was Kevin Lamoureux, parliamentary secretary who represents the district of Winnipeg North, who defended the bill as a reaction to threats of tariffs and annexation from Trump.
“The Liberals scoured the country during the federal election campaign. During our door-to-door canvassing, people told us about recurring themes. Mainly, they wondered how our country would deal with the threat of tariffs,” Lamoureux said. “They were also worried about trade with the United States and President Donald Trump. Bill C-5 before us is part of the government’s efforts to address this issue as a priority in order to address the concerns of Canadians about the economy, jobs and the direction of the country.”
During the debate, Lamoureux was questioned by New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Leah Gazan as to whether he is representing his constituents.
“He represented, up until recently, a part of Winnipeg with the highest number of kids in care,” said Gazan, Wood Mountain Lakota. “Indigenous people are very supportive of building a strong economy. Indigenous leaders, in fact, have said we are not against it. What we are against is the violation of our constitutionally enshrined rights.”
Gazan said the bill would have long-term consequences.
“This is going to put us decades backwards,” Gazan said. “Any strides we have made in terms of reconciliation, we are going to lose if the Liberals and the Conservatives continue to team up and pass this bill. What is it going to look like? … We will not sit idly by while our rights are being violated.”
Gazan continued in her attack on the bill’s passage by noting that Indigenous organizations across the country are concerned about the lack of consent.
“Indigenous peoples and nations from across this country have been very clear that the government has not fulfilled its duty of free, prior and informed consent,” said Gazan.
Organizations including the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs have come forward and called out the government.
Sébastien Lemire, of the Bloc Quebecois for the district of Abitibi-Témiscamingue in northern Quebec, noted that the bill was being voted on before National Indigenous Peoples Day, which could have offered what he called “an opportunity to build relationships and talk about mutual respect.”
The result was quite the opposite, he said.
“This is a conversation that was evacuated in Bill C-5,” he said. “This bill was designed to impose energy projects on Indigenous peoples from Ottawa, to inform them of already irreversible decisions through bogus consultations. The Liberals have reproduced in Bill C-5 the condescending and colonialist spirit that the federal government had with the first peoples in the last century.”
The bill won quick passage, however, and provides wide-ranging powers to the government.
“Canada proved it can act quickly when it wants to. Now we need that same level of action and urgency when it comes to our Treaty agreements,” said Wilson, the grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. “Canada’s relationship with the provinces should not be prioritized over its nation-to-nation commitments with First Nations.”
Wilson said that the powers in the act will violate Canada’s foundational documents, the treaties with First Nations, by sidestepping requirements to work with First Nations in approving large projects.
“Bill C-5 grants the federal cabinet sweeping powers to fast-track projects deemed in the ‘national interest’ — including on lands subject to Treaty and unceded territories — without respecting First Nations’ laws, consent, or jurisdiction,” Wilson said. “The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs sees this as a fundamental violation of the Treaties.”
Wilson continued, “This legislation shows exactly how structural inequities are embedded into the development of Canada’s legislative and economic policies when First Nations are excluded from the process.”
The Assembly of First Nations responded to final approval of the bill in the Senate by saying leaders would defend the rights of Indigenous peoples and hold the government to its treaty and constitutional obligations.
“The honour of the Crown is still at stake,” said AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak. “Canadians and Parliamentarians should know that First Nations are united. Our rights are not for sale.”
The Assembly of First Nations is organizing a second National Virtual Forum with Chiefs on Thursday, July 10, to discuss the amendments made to Bill C-5 and the next steps. The organization will also consult with elders and accelerate plans to host its Annual General Assembly on Treaty One Territory in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Sept. 3-5.