It almost goes without…

It almost goes without saying that Bill 5 is alarming from an Indigenous allyship perspective. Article 11 of UNDRIP, to which Canada is a signatory, states:

Indigenous peoples have the right to practise and revitalize their cultural traditions and customs. This includes the right to maintain, protect and develop the past, present and future manifestations of their cultures, such as archaeological and historical sites, artefacts, designs, ceremonies, technologies and visual and performing arts and literature.

The land-use planning process in Ontario has always had an uneasy relationship with UNDRIP, and with the Section 35 constitutional treaty rights of Indigenous peoples. In its Provincial Policy Statements, the province has acknowledged those treaty rights for over a decade, while simultaneously refusing to fully integrate them into the land-use planning process. Bill 5 makes the situation worse.

This Bill opens the door to corruption and will destroy the alliance between indigenous peoples and settler society.