Push back against Bill 5 continues to grow in Hamilton area

Justin Chandler · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 14, 2025 1:02 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Ron Walker travelled from St. Catharines, Ont., to beryllium 1 of astir 100 radical protesting Ontario's Bill 5 successful Hamilton past week.

The wide-ranging authorities gives furniture the powerfulness to suspend municipal and provincial laws for chosen projects done the instauration of alleged peculiar economical zones.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the caller tools volition assistance velocity up improvement and boost the state during Canada's commercialized warfare with the United States.

Walker says it's "overreach legislation" that puts radical and the situation astatine risk.

The world idiosyncratic astatine Brock University is simply a subordinate of Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4207. Growing up, Walker said helium knew of a assemblage that had been poisoned by a mercury leak — and thinks of cases similar that now, worrying that Bill 5 volition let builders and officials to disregard important protections.

"That's wherefore biology laws are needed," Walker said.

Protesters spot similarities betwixt provincial and national legislation

Walker is among the increasing section voices opposed to Bill 5. Before the measure was passed successful aboriginal June, Environment Hamilton criticized the Ford government.

Its enforcement manager was 1 of astir 2 twelve biology leaders who signed an unfastened missive to the province, saying the measure poses dangers to "the regularisation of instrumentality successful Ontario, to taxon astatine risk, to our nationalist wellness and safety, to Indigenous and Treaty rights, and to labour and employment rights."

Other section representatives to motion the missive were from Save Our Streams Hamilton and the Haudenosaunee Development Institute.

"Ontario indispensable respect our sovereignty and the rights of First Nations if they privation to 'unleash the system successful this province'," said Six Nations of the Grand River Elected Chief Sherri-Lyn Hill, successful a quality merchandise successful precocious May. 

The elected assembly called for the measure to beryllium paused until further consultation was done with the community. "Pushing Bill 5 guardant contempt wide and beardown absorption from First Nations and different groups cannot beryllium ignored. This is not the way guardant to First Nations Economic Reconciliation," the quality merchandise said. 

Many First Nations person threatened to blockade roads, railways and mines if the measure is not repealed.

Last week saw the largest nationalist protestation successful the Hamilton country to date, bringing environmental, Indigenous, labour and different groups together, on with immoderate country politicians. 

Researcher Courtney Skye, who is Mohawk, Turtle Clan, from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, was the archetypal to talk astatine the rally connected the forecourt of Hamilton City Hall.

She likened Ontario's Bill 5 to the national government's Bill C-5, which enables the national furniture to velocity projects done the regulatory process.

Earlier successful the week, Amnesty International Canada said Bill C-5 poses a "troubling threat" to the rights of Indigenous Peoples by not safeguarding their close to consent to developments affecting their territories.

The national authorities says it volition consult Indigenous Peoples.

"We're present with a national authorities and a state that person fundamentally said, 'Let's compression each past dime we tin earlier our clime collapses connected us,'" Skye said.

She works with Protect the Tract, a Haudenosaunee-led task dedicated to protecting the Haldimand Tract — the astir 950,000-acre agelong of the state acceptable retired successful the Haldimand Treaty of 1784 that curves from northbound of Orangeville to southbound of Dunnville.

She said Haudenosaunee radical volition "never wantonness our territories," and volition basal against developments they disagree with if legislators effort to propulsion them through. 

Hamilton 'birthplace for the question that's gonna stop' Bill 5: MPP

Resisting improvement was a communal taxable of speeches delivered by Hamilton Centre MPP Robin Lennox, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas MPP Sandy Shaw and Ontario NDP person Marit Stiles.  

Shaw pointed to efforts successful Hamilton to propulsion backmost against improvement successful the Greenbelt and to frost the municipality boundary. 

"Hamilton's gonna beryllium the birthplace for the question that's gonna halt and termination Bill 5. Am I right?" she said to cheers.

The rally included assemblage groups Hamilton 350, Environment Hamilton, Hamilton and District Labour Council, and Hamilton ACORN.

It happened metres distant from a protestation encampment wherever housed and unhoused protesters, immoderate with the Hamilton Encampment Support Network, person been demanding to talk with councillors astir encampment evictions. 

At 1 point, a pistillate who said she was experiencing homelessness interrupted the rally and shared however hard surviving connected the thoroughfare is.

Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner spoke aft her, saying the state should beryllium fast-tracking lodging alternatively than "projects for large corporations."

To cheers, helium pointed to the women who'd spoken, saying, "We volition termination Bill 5 and we volition get lodging for my person implicit here."

Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford and Mining Minister Stephen Lecce said successful precocious May that the state would amend Bill 5 to explicitly see work to consult provisions passim the legislation. That amendment did not extremity up making it successful the bill, however.

Lecce has besides said the situation and relations with First Nation communities remained important components. "We besides support protections for the situation and fulfil our work to consult — I deliberation we recovered that balance," helium added, before the measure was passed.

In an emailed connection this week, Hannah Jensen, property caput to the premier's office, told CBC Hamilton the authorities is upholding high biology standards and labour laws, portion reducing reappraisal times connected captious projects by 50 per cent. 

"As a adjacent step, we are moving with First Nation communities implicit the summertime to signifier the regulations and criteria to make caller peculiar economical zones and Indigenous-led economical zones. No zones volition beryllium created until consultation is completed," Jensen wrote.