This spring, Ontario Premier Doug Ford stood before reporters and claimed that First Nations “can’t just keep coming hat in hand all the time to the government.” His remarks — delivered in defence of Bill 5, legislation designed to fast-track mining and development in Ontario — were more than offensive. They were harmful, rooted in racist, colonial attitudes and emblematic of a political approach that continues to undermine Indigenous rights in this country.
Though Premier Ford has since apologized, his words cannot be brushed aside as a mere misstep. They revealed a worldview in which Indigenous Peoples are seen as obstacles to economic development, rather than as sovereign Nations with constitutionally and internationally protected rights. An apology does not erase that harm. And it will not undo the impact of Bill 5, which, not unlike the federal government’s recently passed Building Canada Act, poses a direct threat to the rights of First Nations across Ontario.
This legislation empowers the province to designate so-called “special economic zones” that allow the provincial government to bypass environmental regulations, public consultation, and other protection. In effect, it would roll back hard-won protections and threaten Indigenous jurisdiction — all in the name of “unleashing the economy.”
New policies, same old pattern of exploitation
Ontario’s wealth has long been extracted from Indigenous territories without consent, compensation, or benefit-sharing. First Nations peoples did not surrender their territories when signing treaties, which promised shared responsibility and mutual prosperity. But over generations, Canada and its provinces have regularly violated treaties with Indigenous Peoples, both in letter and in spirit. First Nations have historically been shut out of decision-making, denied revenue from their own lands, and left to shoulder the environmental, social, and cultural costs of extractive projects imposed on them.
The right of Indigenous Peoples to make decisions on projects affecting their lands and waters is not optional. The right to free, prior and informed consent is protected under Canadian and international human rights law.
Apology or not, Premier Ford’s assertion that economic reconciliation depends on First Nations getting ‘on board’ with mining projects — without adequate consultation, consent, or recognition of their governance — is coercive. It reinforces the very systems of dispossession that reconciliation is meant to redress.
Indigenous Peoples are not anti-development. They are opposed to being unfairly excluded from development, coerced into it, or vilified for asserting their rightful place at the decision-making table. True reconciliation requires more than symbolic equity partnerships. It demands full recognition of Indigenous jurisdiction, adherence to the principle of free, prior, and informed consent, and a willingness to dismantle colonial frameworks that treat Indigenous rights as inconvenient.
Premier Ford’s apology rings hollow because it was not backed with corresponding action. His government did nothing to slow the passage of Bill 5. Nor does he appear to have proposed any new, concrete measures to re-assure Indigenous leaders that their rights to consultation and consent will ultimately be respected.
Indigenous rights under attack across Canada
Doug Ford’s brash remarks about First Nations could fool one into thinking that his views and policies on Indigenous rights fall on fringes of the political mainstream. They do not. Despite his more conciliatory style, Prime Minister Mark Carney appears similarly eager to sacrifice Indigenous Nations’ rights to their territory and self-determination in the interest of resource extraction and economic growth. The prime minister has been meeting with Indigenous Nations to assuage their concerns about the Building Canada Act. However, the sales pitch – paired with the government’s speedy passage of the bill – has left many Indigenous leaders angry and unconvinced.
If Doug Ford is sincere in his regret, he will listen to the voices of First Nations leaders who have condemned the bill and called it an attack on Indigenous rights. He will recognize that rights cannot be negotiated away for the sake of expediency. And he will understand that Indigenous rights are not a barrier to progress. They are the foundation of justice and democracy in this country.
Anything less is not reconciliation but empty rhetoric.
Ketty Nivyabandi is the Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada’s English-speaking section.
