Canada’s PM wants to fast-track ‘nation building’ – but can he convince indigenous First Nations?

Jeronimo Kataquapit, a member of Ontario’s Attawapiskat First Nation, is camped outside The Ring of Fire, a mineral-rich region located in remote northern Ontario. With just a canoe and a tent, the 20-year-old and his family have travelled more than 400 kilometres to protest a provincial law that designated the area a “special economic zone” for mining.

Now, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s “nation-building” law – his first major piece of legislation – is poised to put even more of a spotlight on the region. Dubbed the One Canadian Economy Act, the law was passed at a time when the country is involved in a costly trade war with the United States.

And while it could bring billions of investment into places like the Ring of Fire, it could also undermine indigenous nations’ rights to their own land, community members fear.

“Ever since these laws were passed it’s no longer about indigenous consultation, it’s about consent,” says Kataquapit. “Consent on whether you are allowed to come into our home territories, our livelihoods and build whatever you want. The time for dialogue is over, and now it’s time for action.”

No projects have been selected yet, but the government has hinted at a few items on its wish-list, including a pipeline along the British Columbia coast and a carbon-capture project in Alberta’s oil sands. The Ring of Fire, a 5,000 square-kilometre area home to significant deposits of chromite, nickel, copper, gold, zinc, and other minerals, has also been flagged as an area ripe for development in partnership with the federal government

But while Carney’s legislation was considered by many to be an early victory for the new prime minister, environmental groups have raised concerns that the law, and others like it, provide shortcuts to get through existing environmental processes. Meanwhile, indigenous leaders like Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict have argued the law undermines their territorial rights.

“We have environmental assessments based on indigenous teachings,” says Benedict. “We consider everything: air, land, water, medicines and animals. Time and time again we see project development that has not taken indigenous knowledge into consideration, and the project has essentially failed.”

Consultation with indigenous communities in Canada is not a courtesy, but law. The country’s constitution affirms indigenous rights and requires prior and informed consent on actions that affect their land and resources.

But what these consolations must entail has often been a fraught debate.

Sean Fraser, Canada’s justice minister, has said First Nations’ consultation “stops short of a complete veto” on projects. Meanwhile, critics such as indigenous governance expert Pamela Palmater argue the Supreme Court has made it clear that merely hearing out indigenous communities is not enough.

“The law is a duty to consult, accommodate concerns, and in many cases get consent,” she said last month on the political podcast The Breach.

When talks between the government and indigenous communities break down, it can be costly.

Court documents show that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police spent almost C$50m ($36m, £27m) policing resistance against pipeline projects in British Columbia.

While in 2020, a Wet’suwet’en First Nation-led blockade against national railways – a protest against a British Columbia pipeline project – is estimated to have cost hundreds of millions of Canadian dollars a day.

Pressure is now building on the prime minister to bring indigenous groups to the table.

Carney has said indigenous leadership is central to building a stronger economy, including through the One Canadian Economy Act and initiatives like the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program. On Thursday, Carney he will sit down with First Nations leaders and later this month with Inuit and Metis groups.

Chief of Assembly First Nations Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak told the BBC that she had requested the upcoming consultations herself. The Assembly of First Nations held a virtual forum with chiefs across Canada last week with Woodhouse Nepinak saying they are “united,” and have proposed amendments to the law which they plan to bring up on Thursday.

But that might be too late, for some.

Chief of Nishnawbe Aski First Nation, Alvin Fiddler, has warned that Carney’s law “will not apply in [their] territories”. Fiddler has also called for the resignation of Greg Rickford, Ontario’s Minister of Indigenous Affairs.

On Wednesday, nine First Nations from Ontario launched a constitutional challenge arguing both Ontario’s legislation, and Carney’s federal law, present a “clear and present danger” to their way of life and rights to self-determination.

Kate Kempton, senior legal counsel for the group, criticised the laws for giving the government “unfettered, unrestricted authority to wave a magic wand” and make development projects go forward, despite objections from indigenous communities.

Meanwhile, even indigenous leaders who are typically pro-development have expressed concern. Alberta Treaty Six Nations Grand Chief Greg Desjarlais, who is part of the Western Indigenous Pipeline Group, said he is disappointed in how Ottawa has handled the “nation building” law so far.

“It is 2025, First Nations need to be included in consultation, ownership and revenue sharing,” he told the BBC.

Still, some remain hopeful they can work with the government.

John Desjarlais (no relation), executive director of the Indigenous Resource Network, who is Metis from Saskatchewan, said that he is optimistic.

“We want economic development opportunities,” said Desjarlais. “We can develop in line with our indigenous community interests, addressing our issues, advancing opportunities, and still very much being stewards of the land.”