Government scrambles to contain fallout

First Nations leaders, including the Chiefs of Ontario, have demanded the bill be scrapped entirely, arguing the government has already breached its legal obligation to engage in meaningful consultation from the outset.

Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict, who met privately with Ford last week, described the discussions as frank, but necessary. That meeting, according to the provincial government, catalyzed a round of renewed engagement, with Greg Rickford, minister of Indigenous affairs, and Stephen Lecce, minister of energy and mines, pledging not to move forward with the Ring of Fire designation without further consultation.

“We will not use the authorities like a special economic zone until we've meaningfully consulted,” Lecce said.

Rickford added, “We are going to enunciate explicitly in each one that the duty to consult is there and it will be upheld to the highest standards. The aim is to make First Nations partners.”

Officially titled the "Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act", Bill 5 was unveiled at the Toronto Stock Exchange in April, with Ford and Lecce framing it as a decisive response to geopolitical tensions.

They also positioned it as a means of asserting control over Canada’s critical mineral resources.

“With President Trump taking direct aim at our economy, it cannot be business as usual,” Ford said at the time, referencing the US push to prioritize domestic mineral supply chains.

The bill grants the province sweeping new powers to revoke mining claims, restrict foreign ownership — particularly from “hostile regimes” — and override environmental and regulatory hurdles.

It also proposes replacing Ontario’s Endangered Species Act with a narrower Species Conservation Act, a change that environmentalists warn could spell extinction for at-risk wildlife.

“The definition of habitat is so narrow that what it means is less habitat than the species has now,” Laura Bowman of Ecojustice told CBC when the bill was introduced. “And less habitat than the species has now, for a species already in decline, virtually ensures extirpation or extinction.”

C$3.1 billion budget boost targets Indigenous inclusion

Even as heated discourse unfolds with Ontario's First Nations, the province unveiled last week a massive C$3.1 billion investment to supercharge the province’s mining and energy infrastructure.

The 2025 budget includes a tripling of the Indigenous Opportunities Financing Program, which has been expanded to support Indigenous participation across the mining, pipeline and energy sectors.

Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy emphasized that the goal is “unlocking the province’s critical mineral reserves,” while placing Indigenous partnerships “at the forefront of the province’s resource development strategy.”

The program is designed to offer loan guarantees that enable Indigenous communities to secure equity stakes in major projects — a model First Nations have long supported as a way to transform economic marginalization into opportunity.

National parallels in BC's Bill 15 battle

Ontario’s retreat on consultation provisions follows similar tensions in BC, where Premier David Eby is facing backlash over Bill 15 — a legislative proposal that would allow cabinet to fast track infrastructure and resource projects deemed of “provincial significance,” including critical minerals development.

Eby unveiled a broad vision this week to unlock billions in investments in Northwest BC, emphasizing partnerships with Indigenous communities and positioning mining as central to both economic recovery and climate transition.

But critics argue the rhetoric masks a legal and ethical failure.

“Trust has been broken between First Nations and the David Eby government,” Tsartlip First Nation Chief Don Tom said bluntly. Calling Eby a “snake oil salesman,” Tom accused the provincial government of undermining true consultation, while pushing legislation that could override Indigenous opposition.

Like Ontario’s Bill 5, BC’s Bill 15 is being slammed as a dangerous precedent that gives the government outsized power to override environmental protections and community consent.

Both the BC and Ontario governments are facing similar dilemmas on the acceleration of critical minerals development to meet global demand while tempering their legal and moral obligations to stakeholders.

The minerals — including nickel, lithium and rare earth elements — are essential to the green energy transition, forming key components of batteries, solar panels, and electric vehicles.

Still, First Nations are demanding that any progress must start not only with a recognition of their economic potential, but of their right to self-determination and free, prior and informed consent.