It appears that ‘The Stupid Factor’ is still in vogue with Bill 5 rammed through the Ontario legislature by Doug Ford and his Tory party minions, backed by greedy mining companies, all indifferent to the presence of First Nations Peoples, their treaty rights and determination to defend Mother Nature. This party has forgotten the deadly, violent standoffs at Ipperwash with the death of Dudley George and the stand-off by the Kanesatake resistance with the Oka Crisis. Mark Carney, take note!
Charlie, I want to add two things to the items in your post.
1. Bill 5 (now an Act) reduces nature's already existing legal rights:
(i) In Env Assessment law creatures and ecosystems have the legal right to have their presence and what they require to thrive known, and formally considered in advance of decisions about projects that might affect them.
(ii) In Endangered Species law creatures have the right to have their status and what they require to thrive determined objectively by the best science available, and the according right to be treated positively with respect for their existence and their ecological relationships.
2. As mining rights ownership and Ontario royalty rules stand now, Who will benefit from the profits from mining in the Ring of Fire?
One answer from AI : bit.ly/3SG3Sab [Note: AI yields various answers to this same question.]
I would hope that Doug Ford would be stopped. He isn't doing the right thing for all the people of Ontario and that's supposed to be his job. I would hope everyone will make their displeasure with him loud and clear to focus on a change to go in the right direction for everyone in Ontario.
Wyloo Mines In Australia the private nickel producer owned by billionaire Andrew Forrest, is shutting down its Western Australian mines due to a sharp slump in prices for the key transition metal. Why then has Wyloo invested 100 MILLION in the Ring of Fire to mine nickel? Why is the nickel being mined in The Ring of Fire, going to be processed and refined in Sudbury when Sudbury has 100 years of nickel still in the ground? Additionally Laurentian University has been working toward technologies that can process and refine $10 BILLION in nickel & copper from tailing resvoirs & slag. Does anyone know the answer to this skill testing question?
I have been waiting for what Doug Ford is trying to do. Personally I FEEL it is time to give indigenous peoples the respect and support that is given to almost every individual who make up Canada's unique multi-cultural society. Indigenous people were here before the first explorers and the land was thriving. A huge mistake was made once to the detriment if this country and its first peoples. Please do not make this mistake again. The road to reconciliation has already been hard and hurtful and it seems that the Ford government is about to do it again. This is not just in Ontario either. Wants or needs are two different things. The Ring Of Fire is a want for the wealth it contains, that is not a need.
Dialogue, honest communication, words shared among equals is what is needed. The cart is ahead if the horse and pushing this bill through so quickly should make everyone stand up and take notice. This also is not the first time Mr Ford has done something like this.
The process needs to slow down, bring everyone to the table and responsibly start the process among equals. When things get done in haste they are really hard to fix. Be honest, work together and create a future we, each and everyone if us can be proud of and will leave a legacy which will endure the test if time. Slow down. Every person is an equal partner in these decisions even when we don't like it.
It is long past time for Canada and the provinces to live up to their pledge to clean up the indigenous reserves; clean water a mimimum! The politicians at all levels feel the overall ambivalence of the Canadian public on these matters, then let it slide, and that must change. We cannot pat our selves on the back for resistance to the dangerous American administration while being apathetic to the basic needs of our indigenous Canadians.
Looking past just Doug Ford and his 'developer' friendly policies and focussing on indigenous housing/water/sewer community needs and the future opportunities of the indigenous youth - obviously this varies by community but, if the investment in communities included not just the first step - construction of housing and water/sewer systems - but extended to longer-term facility management. A Trained local workforce that managed these infrastructure investments to ensure they functioned properly, safely and maintained this infrastructure to ensure continued, proper function over time. Achievement: safe W&S systems, maintained houses, free of mould and decay and employing young folks into a respected/worthy career. It works well in the NWT. Facility/Property Management is a significantly large global community and well respected. Huge opportunity for any local community.
We need a grand alliance of First Nations, environmental groups, academics in the natural sciences, green industries, agricultural progressives etc. etc. to "raise the roof" at every instance of developers and others bypassing environmental safeguards under the bill 5 umbrella. The fight MUST NOT be over!
There are two possibilities. The first is organizing consumers into bargaining blocks so they can negotiate with commercial interests on a more level playing field. This low-hanging fruit can and should be taken up along with other forms of resistance. In addition, such groups would enable local businesses by providing producers with easy ways to get in touch with consumers. And this leads naturally into a flowering of local economies, which are synonymous with national independence even as they represent a way to engage with environmental problems.
The other benefit is that we can get up to such projects tomorrow, without asking permission or waiting for messiahs to point the way forward.
The strange thing about Doug Ford is he's a Conservative through and through and has always danced to his own agenda regardless how it would affect the People of Ontario . A leopard will never change its' spots regardless how much camouflage it hides under.
Check out what's happening in Nova Scotia. Our Conservative premier is suddenly and with no consultation pushing uranium mining and fracking, both of which have been illegal here for decades. He didn't campaign on that and, in fact, promised awhile back that the law banning them would stay in place. His developer buddies have benefited massively from other dubious laws. He could have been taking lessons from Ford and the rest. Our First Nations people and the rest of us are rising up, albeit in a very short time frame.
So true Mr. Angus.
Elizabeth Field
Perhaps not just the provincial, but the federal government will take this to court. It will end up with the Supreme Court and he will lose.
If we don't get rid of Ford, we will suffer the same consequences as the USA is feeling right now. Come on Ontarions, get out and vote this idiot out.
It appears that ‘The Stupid Factor’ is still in vogue with Bill 5 rammed through the Ontario legislature by Doug Ford and his Tory party minions, backed by greedy mining companies, all indifferent to the presence of First Nations Peoples, their treaty rights and determination to defend Mother Nature. This party has forgotten the deadly, violent standoffs at Ipperwash with the death of Dudley George and the stand-off by the Kanesatake resistance with the Oka Crisis. Mark Carney, take note!
Charlie, I want to add two things to the items in your post.
1. Bill 5 (now an Act) reduces nature's already existing legal rights:
(i) In Env Assessment law creatures and ecosystems have the legal right to have their presence and what they require to thrive known, and formally considered in advance of decisions about projects that might affect them.
(ii) In Endangered Species law creatures have the right to have their status and what they require to thrive determined objectively by the best science available, and the according right to be treated positively with respect for their existence and their ecological relationships.
2. As mining rights ownership and Ontario royalty rules stand now, Who will benefit from the profits from mining in the Ring of Fire?
One answer from AI : bit.ly/3SG3Sab [Note: AI yields various answers to this same question.]
I would hope that Doug Ford would be stopped. He isn't doing the right thing for all the people of Ontario and that's supposed to be his job. I would hope everyone will make their displeasure with him loud and clear to focus on a change to go in the right direction for everyone in Ontario.
Shame on his awful behavior.
Sounds like a change is needed.
https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/minerals-nickel-batteries-canada-climate-carbon-376f11fd?st=M2VAdN&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Wyloo Mines In Australia the private nickel producer owned by billionaire Andrew Forrest, is shutting down its Western Australian mines due to a sharp slump in prices for the key transition metal. Why then has Wyloo invested 100 MILLION in the Ring of Fire to mine nickel? Why is the nickel being mined in The Ring of Fire, going to be processed and refined in Sudbury when Sudbury has 100 years of nickel still in the ground? Additionally Laurentian University has been working toward technologies that can process and refine $10 BILLION in nickel & copper from tailing resvoirs & slag. Does anyone know the answer to this skill testing question?
The term "special economic zones" reminds me of the "special economic development zones," also known as ZEDEs, that were set up in Honduras: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/13/honduras-retakes-sovereignty-by-nixing-corporate-enclaves. I'm in the US and am not familiar with Bill 5 but the similarity of the names jumped out at me.
I have been waiting for what Doug Ford is trying to do. Personally I FEEL it is time to give indigenous peoples the respect and support that is given to almost every individual who make up Canada's unique multi-cultural society. Indigenous people were here before the first explorers and the land was thriving. A huge mistake was made once to the detriment if this country and its first peoples. Please do not make this mistake again. The road to reconciliation has already been hard and hurtful and it seems that the Ford government is about to do it again. This is not just in Ontario either. Wants or needs are two different things. The Ring Of Fire is a want for the wealth it contains, that is not a need.
Dialogue, honest communication, words shared among equals is what is needed. The cart is ahead if the horse and pushing this bill through so quickly should make everyone stand up and take notice. This also is not the first time Mr Ford has done something like this.
The process needs to slow down, bring everyone to the table and responsibly start the process among equals. When things get done in haste they are really hard to fix. Be honest, work together and create a future we, each and everyone if us can be proud of and will leave a legacy which will endure the test if time. Slow down. Every person is an equal partner in these decisions even when we don't like it.
It is long past time for Canada and the provinces to live up to their pledge to clean up the indigenous reserves; clean water a mimimum! The politicians at all levels feel the overall ambivalence of the Canadian public on these matters, then let it slide, and that must change. We cannot pat our selves on the back for resistance to the dangerous American administration while being apathetic to the basic needs of our indigenous Canadians.
Looking past just Doug Ford and his 'developer' friendly policies and focussing on indigenous housing/water/sewer community needs and the future opportunities of the indigenous youth - obviously this varies by community but, if the investment in communities included not just the first step - construction of housing and water/sewer systems - but extended to longer-term facility management. A Trained local workforce that managed these infrastructure investments to ensure they functioned properly, safely and maintained this infrastructure to ensure continued, proper function over time. Achievement: safe W&S systems, maintained houses, free of mould and decay and employing young folks into a respected/worthy career. It works well in the NWT. Facility/Property Management is a significantly large global community and well respected. Huge opportunity for any local community.
We need a grand alliance of First Nations, environmental groups, academics in the natural sciences, green industries, agricultural progressives etc. etc. to "raise the roof" at every instance of developers and others bypassing environmental safeguards under the bill 5 umbrella. The fight MUST NOT be over!
There are two possibilities. The first is organizing consumers into bargaining blocks so they can negotiate with commercial interests on a more level playing field. This low-hanging fruit can and should be taken up along with other forms of resistance. In addition, such groups would enable local businesses by providing producers with easy ways to get in touch with consumers. And this leads naturally into a flowering of local economies, which are synonymous with national independence even as they represent a way to engage with environmental problems.
The other benefit is that we can get up to such projects tomorrow, without asking permission or waiting for messiahs to point the way forward.
The strange thing about Doug Ford is he's a Conservative through and through and has always danced to his own agenda regardless how it would affect the People of Ontario . A leopard will never change its' spots regardless how much camouflage it hides under.
Check out what's happening in Nova Scotia. Our Conservative premier is suddenly and with no consultation pushing uranium mining and fracking, both of which have been illegal here for decades. He didn't campaign on that and, in fact, promised awhile back that the law banning them would stay in place. His developer buddies have benefited massively from other dubious laws. He could have been taking lessons from Ford and the rest. Our First Nations people and the rest of us are rising up, albeit in a very short time frame.