Summary
Premier Ford, our people have occupied these lands since time immemorial, long before your ancestors arrived on the shores of Turtle Island. As a signatory to Treaty 9, however you, as Premier of Ontario, have a sacred duty to uphold the terms of our Treaty with Ontario and partner with us in all decisions related to our lands and resources. We have stated in the past and do so again today: Resource development in our territory cannot occur without our full involvement and consent.
As northern, remote, fly-in communities, with limited access to the goods and services others in Ontario enjoy, our goals lie solely in making life better for our people. Our vision to bring electricity to WFNC communities was realized only recently—while the work required to bring other modern comforts continues. We have worked tirelessly in the last decade to develop a system of all-season roads to connect our communities to provincial highways. We have requested your government’s presence at our table but have yet to receive confirmation despite repeated requests. Studies have confirmed that permanent roads will make huge strides in our lives by lowering costs, connecting us to education and employment, and by improving health services and outcomes. Can you tell us Premier Ford, whether our priorities to build better lives for our people are not important to you? In your government’s haste to extract resources and make money from our territory, it seems you have forgotten about us—the people of Ontario’s remote North.
So let us be clear, Premier Ford. Before any development can occur, our own nation-building objectives must be realized. We must build roads and other important infrastructure to alleviate the sub-standard living conditions of our people. We must utilize our community-based land use systems to determine how, when, and where developments are going to occur. And we will protect and defend our people, our lands, our waterways and our way of life at all costs.
Along with our First Nations brothers and sisters, we call for the immediate repeal of Bill 5. You have an opportunity to reset your relationship with us by repealing the bill and negotiating a respectful way forward.