{"id":98481,"date":"2025-10-23T10:12:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T14:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=98481"},"modified":"2025-10-23T10:12:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T14:12:07","slug":"first-nations-leaders-condemn-ontario-legislation-they-say-could-backfire-on-major-project-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/23\/first-nations-leaders-condemn-ontario-legislation-they-say-could-backfire-on-major-project-development\/","title":{"rendered":"First Nations leaders condemn Ontario legislation they say could backfire on major project development"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0By Sam Laskaris, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com First Nations leaders believe damage has already been done by the passage of controversial Ontario legislation Bill 5, Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, 2025. But they remain hopeful that First Nations will have input into any project considered on their lands. The bill was passed by the provincial government this past June and works to speed up approvals for major infrastructure, mining and resource projects in Ontario by streamlining regulations. &#8220;The legislation has been passed,&#8221; said Marsha Smoke, Anishinabek Nation Southeast regional chief. She was speaking on a panel Oct. 16 at the Anishinabek Nation Economic Development Opportunities Forum held on Chippewas of Rama First Nation. \u201cThe regulations are already in the process of being drafted, so I don&#8217;t have&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription &#8211; Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2025%2F10%2F23%2Ffirst-nations-leaders-condemn-ontario-legislation-they-say-could-backfire-on-major-project-development%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0By Sam Laskaris, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com First Nations leaders believe damage has already been done by the passage of controversial Ontario legislation Bill 5, Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, 2025. But they remain hopeful that First Nations will have input into any project considered on their lands. The bill was passed by the provincial government this past June and works to speed up approvals for major infrastructure, mining and resource projects in Ontario by streamlining regulations. &#8220;The legislation has been passed,&#8221; said Marsha Smoke, Anishinabek Nation Southeast regional chief. She was speaking on a panel Oct. 16 at the Anishinabek Nation Economic Development Opportunities Forum held on Chippewas of Rama First Nation. \u201cThe regulations are already in the process of being drafted, so I don&#8217;t have... <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\"><div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\"><div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div><div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2025%2F10%2F23%2Ffirst-nations-leaders-condemn-ontario-legislation-they-say-could-backfire-on-major-project-development%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>First Nations leaders condemn Ontario legislation they say could backfire on major project development - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/23\/first-nations-leaders-condemn-ontario-legislation-they-say-could-backfire-on-major-project-development\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First Nations leaders condemn Ontario legislation they say could backfire on major project development - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0By Sam Laskaris, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com First Nations leaders believe damage has already been done by the passage of controversial Ontario legislation Bill 5, Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, 2025. But they remain hopeful that First Nations will have input into any project considered on their lands. The bill was passed by the provincial government this past June and works to speed up approvals for major infrastructure, mining and resource projects in Ontario by streamlining regulations. &#8220;The legislation has been passed,&#8221; said Marsha Smoke, Anishinabek Nation Southeast regional chief. She was speaking on a panel Oct. 16 at the Anishinabek Nation Economic Development Opportunities Forum held on Chippewas of Rama First Nation. \u201cThe regulations are already in the process of being drafted, so I don&#8217;t have\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/23\/first-nations-leaders-condemn-ontario-legislation-they-say-could-backfire-on-major-project-development\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-23T14:12:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/facebooklogo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"725\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"483\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/23\\\/first-nations-leaders-condemn-ontario-legislation-they-say-could-backfire-on-major-project-development\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/23\\\/first-nations-leaders-condemn-ontario-legislation-they-say-could-backfire-on-major-project-development\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lynda Powless\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458\"},\"headline\":\"First Nations leaders condemn Ontario legislation they say could backfire on major project development\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-23T14:12:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/23\\\/first-nations-leaders-condemn-ontario-legislation-they-say-could-backfire-on-major-project-development\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":744,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"National News\",\"ticker\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/23\\\/first-nations-leaders-condemn-ontario-legislation-they-say-could-backfire-on-major-project-development\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/23\\\/first-nations-leaders-condemn-ontario-legislation-they-say-could-backfire-on-major-project-development\\\/\",\"name\":\"First Nations leaders condemn Ontario legislation they say could backfire on major project development - 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