JASON SETNYK
Senator Bernadette Clement voiced strong concerns in the Senate about Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act, warning that the government’s push to streamline project approvals risks silencing the very communities most affected by its consequences.
“I understand the urgency of this legislation,” Clement said. “But we shouldn’t be rushing at the expense of actually listening to the people who will be most negatively impacted by this bill.”
A member of the Independent Senators Group, Clement supported an amendment by Senator Brian Francis Prosper that would have required Canada to obtain the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples. “This amendment makes it better,” she said. “It makes it better for Indigenous communities. It makes it better for the long-term view that we need to have when we legislate.”
Clement shared statements from several Indigenous leaders. Chief Henry Lewis of Onion Lake Cree Nation wrote: “We oppose this Bill in its entirety… We are not stakeholders. We are Nations.” Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro of Mikisew Cree First Nation warned of “human costs” and “profits over people.” Chief Gary Quisess of Neskantaga First Nation, under a 30-year boil water advisory, rejected the bill as an overreach justified by “emergency” rhetoric.
“This sometimes feels like an emergency, but is it?” Clement asked. “Growing our economy… requires a timely and efficient response, but it doesn’t require the trampling of Indigenous rights and our environmental protections.”
She also cited Pam Palmater, Chair in Indigenous Governance at TMU: “Environmental protections are not red tape. Indigenous rights are not red tape… Bureaucratic delay is red tape.”
Though the amendment did not pass, Clement emphasized, “I’m on the record.”
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