Ontario lawsuit underscores Indigenous anger over being left out of resource decisions

Colin Butler · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 20, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Saugeen Ojibway Nation is taking Ontario to court, arguing decades of unpaid brackish royalties and a signifier of exclusion from cardinal decisions astir chromatic and soil quarries successful its territory bespeak a broader problem: assets improvement that leaves Indigenous nations near retired of the conversation.

The First Nation spoke to CBC News connected Wednesday, the archetypal clip it has spoken publically astir the contented since filing its suit successful Ontario Superior Court past July.

The suit accuses the Ontario authorities of reaping decades of royalties from the world's largest brackish excavation successful Goderich, Ont., portion astatine the aforesaid time sidestepping the First Nation successful the opening and cognition of an immoderate 500 soil and gravel quarries wrong their 1.5 million-acre accepted territory. 

Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON) is asking the tribunal for $167.6 million in damages related to backmost payment of brackish royalties, the alleged breach of the Crown's treaty obligations and a nonaccomplishment to connection meaningful consultation, according to the latest tribunal filings. 

The lawsuit highlights renewed Indigenous outrage arsenic Parliament Hill and the Ontario Legislature propulsion to fast-track development done Bill C-5 and Ontario's Bill 5 — some of which person been slammed for weakening biology protections and expanding Crown powers astatine the disbursal of Indigenous rights.

Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources said it would not comment, arsenic the substance is earlier the courts. 

Quarries fuelled Ontario's gathering boom

The caller authorities volition only deepen what has agelong been a sore constituent successful the narration betwixt SON and the Crown, according to Chief Greg Nadjiwon of the Chippewas of the Nawash Unceded First Nation — a assemblage that, on with the Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation, makes up SON.

"We don't person immoderate benignant of just outgo for the extraction of resources successful our homeland," helium said. 

The suit claims that, betwixt 2004 and 2017, the Crown allowed hundreds of chromatic and soil quarries to open connected SON's sprawling accepted territory, which spans from Tobermory in the northbound to Goderich in the southbound to Alliston in the west. 

Court documents suggest the quarries supply the province with immoderate 300,000,000 tonnes of aggregate each year.

Aggregate is simply a captious earthy constituent successful countless construction and infrastructure projects crossed Ontario — from the enlargement of major highways specified as the 401, to crossings, specified arsenic the Gordie Howe International Bridge, to the slew of skyscrapers that person sprouted similar weeds arsenic portion of a caller vertical onshore rush in Ontario's major cities. 

As quarries person helped substance an municipality gathering boom, the Saugeen assertion those operations person besides had a damaging interaction connected their environment and civilization — destroying wildlife habitats, threatening archaeological sites, disturbing ancestral resting places and razing forests that supply their radical with accepted medicines.

"The scenery is changing connected a regular basis," Nadjiwon said.

First Nations reason that some the national and Ontario bills erode their law close to beryllium m,eaningfully consulted connected projects successful their accepted territories. 

Tensions person escalated and not conscionable successful courtrooms. 

Ontario Premier Doug Ford elicited fury this week while defending Bill 5 erstwhile helium said helium was consenting to springiness First Nations what they privation successful speech for their enactment connected mining projects, but added they "can't support coming chapeau successful manus each the clip to the government" for much money. 

The remark drew contiguous backlash, with Indigenous leaders condemning it arsenic racist. Amid mounting pressure, Ford apologized Thursday. 

"I get beauteous passionate and I conscionable privation to accidental I sincerely apologize for my words, not lone [did it] wounded each the chiefs successful that room, but each First Nations."

Also connected Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney defended Bill C-5, calling it "enabling legislation." He promised that Indigenous radical would not lone beryllium consulted, they would beryllium capable to help define what helium called "a nation-building project." 

"That is however you physique a nation. That's precise overmuch however we've designed it," helium said. "That's however we'll beryllium moving forward." 

Except Indigenous leaders don't needfully spot it that way. 

Randall Kahgee, an Indigenous rights lawyer, set councillor and erstwhile main of Saugeen First Nation says some pieces of legislation, which some springiness governments the enactment of sidestepping the consultation processes, are akin to stacking the platform successful the government's favour. 

"This is the frustrating part. You look to person immoderate momentum and past idiosyncratic changes the rules of the crippled oregon they displacement the extremity post." 

Kahgee says the authorities adds insult to injury, particularly arsenic Indigenous radical often conflict to overcome a perception they are unwilling to bash business, erstwhile it world their communities are lone evaluating ways to mitigate hazard to their mode of life. 

"Anything little than that is taking."