By Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
(ANNews) – Human rights organization Amnesty International has joined First Nations leaders across Canada in expressing concern about recently passed legislation that allows the federal government to fast-track certain infrastructure projects.
In a July 5 statement, Amnesty International Canada said that Bill C-5, also known as the One Canadian Economy Act, poses a “troubling threat” to Indigenous rights.
In addition to reducing barriers towards inter-provincial trade, Bill C-5 enables the government to label infrastructure projects, including dams, mines, pipelines and ports, to be in the “national interest.”
By doing so, the government is able to exempt the project from certain regulations, including the Fisheries Act, Marine Act, Species at Risk Act, Canadian Environmental Protection Act, Energy Regulator Act and Impact Assessment Act, and engage in consultations after a project is approved.
“Pushing through a transformative development bill, not to mention mammoth infrastructure projects, without respecting Indigenous rights does not advance national interests — it sabotages them,” said Ketty Nivyabandi, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada’s English-speaking section.
“Respecting human rights, including the rights of Indigenous Peoples, is essential to building a strong, just economy for all.”
Nivyabandi tied the legislation to “a rise of authoritarian practices around the world, which Canada is not immune to.”
“Canada must respond by championing an approach that puts partnership with Indigenous Nations, rule of law, human rights, and ultimately, people first,” she said.
The original version of the legislation enabled the government to exempt national interest projects from requirements under the Indian Act, but this provision was removed after the bill went through the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities on June 18.
A key concern of First Nations leaders was that fast-tracking infrastructure projects would violate the need to obtain “free, prior and informed consent” from Indigenous communities, as enshrined in several articles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which the Canadian government formally adopted in 2016.
The preamble to the portion of Bill C-5 which deals with infrastructure project approvals states the federal government’s general commitment to honouring Indigenous rights as set out in sec. 35 of the Constitution Act and UNDRIP.
NDP MP Leah Gazan, who is Lakota on her mother’s side of the family, proposed a series of amendments to include explicit references to UNDRIP and constitutionally protected Indigenous rights throughout Bill C-5, which were rejected in committee.
A day earlier, Gazan spoke at an Ottawa news conference alongside the Chiefs of Ontario, which represents 133 First Nations across the province, to outline their shared opposition to how quickly the legislation was being forced through Parliament.
First Nations leaders were given a summary of the bill one week before its introduction.
“We’re fast-tracking our way into the courts,” said Gazan. “We’re stalling progress. Why? Because this government is failing to uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples.”
Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict called C-5 a “direct attack against the sovereignty of all nations across Canada.”
“The government of Canada cannot choose when they uphold the honour of the Crown. They cannot choose when they stand by the signatories of the Treaty,” said Benedict. “It’s not a choice.”
Nishnawbi Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said he isn’t objecting to any particular proposed project. “It’s the whole process that totally excludes First Nations,” he said.
In the Senate, Nova Scotia Sen. Paul Prosper, who is Mik’maw, proposed an amendment to enshrine “free, prior, and informed consent” in the law.
Introducing his amendment on June 26, Sen. Prosper noted the “racist vitriol and threats” he received after calling for the legislation to be delayed and amended.
“Now, we are too far gone for Bill C-5 to be developed in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous peoples, but there is still an opportunity to ensure that this bill is amended in such a way that we embed our right to free, prior and informed consent, or FPIC, in this legislation,” said Prosper.
“FPIC is not a veto; it is a standard of treatment and a recognition of our inherent right to self-governance and self-determination.”
Prosper’s amendment was rejected, although it received support from 28 senators, and the bill was signed into law later that day.
“This hard discussion is moving to the next stage, but the honour of the Crown is still at stake,” Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse-Nepinak said in a June 27 statement responding to C-5’s passage.
“Canadians and Parliamentarians should know that First Nations are united. Our rights are not for sale.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney is hosting First Nations leaders for a summit on Bill C-5 on July 17—three weeks after the legislation was passed.
Participants are required to submit questions in advance.
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