9 First Nations ask for injunction against Bill 5, say law represents 'clear and present danger'

Allison Jones · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jul 15, 2025 11:46 AM EDT | Last Updated: 23 minutes ago

Nine First Nations successful Ontario are asking a tribunal for an injunction that would forestall the national and provincial governments from moving guardant with immoderate of the astir contentious aspects of caller laws meant to fast-track infrastructure projects.

The Indigenous communities accidental successful the ineligible situation filed successful the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that the national instrumentality known arsenic Bill C-5 and the Ontario instrumentality known arsenic Bill 5 some correspond a "clear and contiguous danger" to the First Nations' self-determination rights to ways of beingness connected their territories.

Bill C-5 allows furniture to rapidly assistance national approvals for large projects deemed to beryllium successful the nationalist involvement specified arsenic mines, ports and pipelines by sidestepping existing laws, portion Ontario's measure allows its furniture to suspend provincial and municipal laws done the instauration of alleged "special economical zones."

The First Nations are asking the tribunal for an injunction prohibiting the national authorities from naming nationalist involvement projects and prohibition Ontario from implementing peculiar economical zones.

They accidental the laws are unconstitutional due to the fact that they interruption the Charter's close to life, liberty and information of the person, arsenic good arsenic equality rights.

Both the national and Ontario governments person said their laws are tools to counteract the effects of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs by allowing Canadian development, specified arsenic earthy assets development, to proceed much quickly.

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In a property merchandise announcing the tribunal challenge, First Nations chiefs said they are not against each development, but it indispensable respect their rights and impact due Indigenous consultation.

"This is not astir a conflict betwixt improvement and not," Chief Todd Cornelius from Oneida Nation of the Thames wrote successful the statement.

"It is astir doing things recklessly [versus] doing things right."

Chief Sylvia Koostachin-Metatawabin of Attawapiskat First Nation said that their mode of beingness is not "a pawn successful immoderate governmental game."

"Rushing headlong into large projects without knowing the costs, means the governments are playing a unsafe crippled with our lands and futures," she wrote.