Nine First Nations in Ontario that launched a constitutional challenge against a pair of federal and provincial laws meant to fast-track infrastructure projects are set to speak at Queen’s Park at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
The Indigenous communities said in the legal challenge filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that the federal law known as Bill C-5 and the Ontario law known as Bill 5 both represent a “clear and present danger” to the First Nations’ self-determination rights to ways of life on their territories.
CBC News will livestream the news conference here.
Bill C-5 allows cabinet to quickly grant federal approvals for big projects deemed to be in the national interest such as mines, ports and pipelines by sidestepping existing laws, while Ontario’s Bill 5 allows its cabinet to suspend provincial and municipal laws through the creation of so-called “special economic zones.”
The First Nations are asking the court for an injunction prohibiting the federal government from naming national interest projects and prohibition Ontario from implementing special economic zones.
