Premier Doug Ford says he's hoping that the passage of Bill 5 — controversial legislation that would allow some mining and other projects to proceed quickly by bypassing provincial laws and regulations — won't lead to blockades.
"Hopefully, that's never going to happen," Ford said, when asked by The Trillium how he'd respond to blockades in protest of the bill. "I'd be very disappointed."
He and his minister of Indigenous Affairs criticized NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa on Tuesday for talking about the threat of another standoff, like the Ipperwash crisis, as a result of the bill.
"Bill 5 is more than just legislation; it is history repeating itself," Mamakwa said in question period.
He said one of the people who spoke at Monday's anti-Bill 5 rally at Queen's Park was the sister of Dudley George.
"Dudley George was a land defender who was killed by the Ontario Provincial Police for participating in the occupation of Ipperwash Provincial Park. If this government does not rescind Bill 5, First Nations are united and ready to defend their rights on the land," he continued.
"I ask the premier: Is your government ready to face the disruption that Bill 5 will cause?"
Mamakwa is one of a growing number of Indigenous political leaders who have warned that grassroots Indigenous people are planning "confrontations on the ground," blockades and a renewed Idle No More movement in response to Bill 5.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford replied: "I don’t think that we can advance a meaningful debate in this province or across the country if what the member is saying suggests that there will be that kind of confrontation. Nobody is interested in that. It doesn’t serve any purpose, not to mention the fact that it loses public support."
"People don’t mind peaceful protest, and the rally yesterday reminded us of the importance to various First Nations leaders to make sure that the duty to consult is protected and enshrined in that bill, but that after the duty to consult we ensure that full, meaningful economic partnerships and community partnership agreements offer the kind of prosperity for First Nations communities they rightly deserve," he continued. "Nothing is advanced through the threat of physical confrontation."
Ford also criticized Mamakwa for raising the spectre of Ipperwash.
"That's really unfortunate that the NDP member — I emphasize the NDP member — wants to speak this way. We want a collaborative relationship with First Nations communities. I've met with many, many chiefs, and it's really, really unfortunate that that member is speaking this way."
Speaking to reporters later, Mamakwa stood by his comments about Ipperwash.
"That's the warning," he said. "It's not me. I'm speaking for the people that are talking to me. That was the sister of Dudley George that spoke — and that's where we're heading."
"What are they going to do?" Mamakwa asked. "What is the OPP going to do to the First Nations, once they start fighting on the land? That's the scary part."
The death of Dudley George at Ipperwash Provincial Park in 1995 sparked a public inquiry into the Ontario Provincial Police's (OPP) response to the standoff, and the role of the Mike Harris Progressive Conservative government.
Asked about the premier's emphasis on Mamakwa's political party, the MPP said he is "a rights-holder first."
"I'm First Nations first. Nobody can take that away from me. That's who I am," he said. "And I think what I need to do is for the First Nations, people that are not being heard because they're not listening to the letters, the comments of what we're saying: that First Nations need to be at the table. They cannot be the menu."
