Ontario lawsuit underscores Indigenous anger over being left out of resource decisions

Saugeen Ojibway carry nation is taking Ontario to margaret court, arguing decades of volunteer(a) common salt royalties and a pattern of exclusion from francis scott key decisions about stone and sand quarries in its territory reflect a broader problem: resource development that leaves Indigenous nations left out of the conversation.

The suit accuses the Ontario government of reaping decades of royalties from the world's largest salt mine in Goderich, Ont., while at the same time sidestepping the First Nation in the opening and operation of an some 500 sand and gravel quarries within their 1.5 million-acre traditional territory. 

Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON) is asking the court for $167.6 million in damages related to back payment of salt royalties, the alleged breach of the Crown's treaty obligations and a failure to offer meaningful consultation, according to the latest court filings. 

The case highlights renewed Indigenous outrage as Parliament Hill and the Ontario Legislature push to fast-track development through Bill C-5 and Ontario's Bill 5 — both of which have been slammed for weakening environmental protections and expanding Crown powers at the expense of Indigenous rights.

Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources said it would not comment, as the matter is before the courts. 

The new legislation will only deepen what has long been a sore point in the relationship between SON and the Crown, according to Chief Greg Nadjiwon of the Chippewas of the Nawash Unceded First Nation — a community that, along with the Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation, makes up SON.

"We don't receive any kind of fair payment for the extraction of resources in our homeland," he said. 

The lawsuit claims that, between 2004 and 2017, the Crown allowed hundreds of stone and sand quarries to open on SON's sprawling traditional territory, which spans from Tobermory in the north to Goderich in the south to Alliston in the west. 

Court documents suggest the quarries supply the province with some 300,000,000 tonnes of aggregate each year.

Aggregate is a vital raw ingredient in countless construction and infrastructure projects across Ontario — from the expansion of major highways such as the 401, to crossings, such as the Gordie Howe International Bridge, to the slew of skyscrapers that have sprouted like weeds as part of a recent vertical land rush in Ontario's major cities. 

As quarries have helped fuel an urban building boom, the Saugeen claim those operations have also had a damaging impact on their environment and culture — destroying wildlife habitats, threatening archaeological sites, disturbing ancestral resting places and razing forests that provide their people with traditional medicines.

"The landscape is changing on a daily basis," Nadjiwon said.

First Nations argue that both the federal and Ontario bills erode their constitutional right to be m,eaningfully consulted on projects in their traditional territories. 

Tensions have escalated and not just in courtrooms. 

Ontario Premier Doug Ford elicited fury this week while defending Bill 5 when he said he was willing to give First Nations what they want in exchange for their support on mining projects, but added they "can't keep coming hat in hand all the time to the government" for more money. 

The remark drew immediate backlash, with Indigenous leaders condemning it as racist. Amid mounting pressure, Ford apologized Thursday. 

"I get pretty passionate and I just want to say I sincerely apologize for my words, not only [did it] hurt all the chiefs in that room, but all First Nations."

Also on Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney defended Bill C-5, calling it "enabling legislation." He promised that Indigenous people would not only be consulted, they would be able to help define what he called "a nation-building project." 

"That is how you build a nation. That's very much how we've designed it," he said. "That's how we'll be moving forward." 

Except Indigenous leaders don't necessarily see it that way. 

Randall Kahgee, an Indigenous rights lawyer, band councillor and former chief of Saugeen First Nation says both pieces of legislation, which both give governments the option of sidestepping the consultation processes, are akin to stacking the deck in the government's favour. 

"This is the frustrating part. You seem to have some momentum and then someone changes the rules of the game or they shift the goal post." 

Kahgee says the legislation adds insult to injury, especially as Indigenous people often struggle to overcome a perception they are unwilling to do business, when it reality their communities are only evaluating ways to mitigate risk to their way of life. 

"Anything less than that is taking."

Reporter

Colin Butler is a veteran journalist with 20 years' experience in print, radio and television in seven Canadian cities. You can email him at colin.butler@cbc.ca.

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