(Toronto, Ontario) Osgoode Hall Law School’s Environmental Justice and Sustainability Clinic (EJSC) has made a submission to the United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRC), cautioning that recent federal and Ontario legislation designed to “fast-track” energy and infrastructure development projects violates international human rights law. 

The submission, made in advance of Canada’s seventh periodic review by the HRC, highlights how the federal Bill C-5, the Building Canada Act (BCA), and Ontario’s Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act (POUEA), including Schedule 9, the Special Economic Zones Act (SEZA) compromise Canada’s obligations under Articles, 1, the right to self-determination, and Article 25(a), the right to democratic participation, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). 

The submission documents how both Bills, now passed into law, provide their respective executive branches with wide discretionary power to bypass or short-circuit legal and regulatory safeguards, environmental protections, impact assessments, and consultation practices, including those that otherwise would otherwise trigger processes for addressing the rights and interests of affected Indigenous peoples. 

“By removing mechanisms that trigger the consultation process, including the need for permits and approvals, the [newly enacted legislation] effectively erases constitutionally-required opportunities for Indigenous voices to be heard,” writes lead author and EJSC student Ally Manzie. 

Legal Advocates for Nature’s Defence (LAND), an environmental law non-profit and MiningWatch Canada, a non-governmental organization, supported the submission to emphasize a shared concern regarding the erosion of Indigenous self-determination and democratic participation affecting Indigenous Peoples in Canada. 

“Bill 5 is another attempt to evict Indigenous rights and nature from law. To safeguard the immense climate and cultural value the North holds for our health and well-being, we must respect communities’ rights, including Indigenous law and sovereignty,” shares Kerrie Blaise, Founder and Legal Counsel of LAND. 

“Prime Minister Carney and Premier Ford need to understand that the safeguards on Indigenous and democratic rights they are moving to override or bypass are not inconvenient “red tape” but are important enough to be protected under international human rights law,” says MiningWatch Canada’s Co-Manager, Jamie Kneen.

The submission calls on the Committee to recommend that the Canadian government take the following actions: 

• Recognize the violations both the POUEA, including the SEZA, and the BCA have on the public and Indigenous Peoples and their ability to engage in democratic processes, as well as exercise self-determination;
• Appropriately consult with and seek the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent of the affected and impacted Indigenous communities as a way of supporting their Self-determination;
• Restore public participation in project approval processes; and 
• Repeal and or amend (with the full and equitable participation of Indigenous Peoples and the public) both the POUEA and BCA, restore the self-determination and democratic rights of Indigenous Peoples and Canadians.

The Environmental Justice and Sustainability Clinic operates out of Osgoode Hall Law School under the direction of Professor Dayna Nadine Scott. It has a mandate to work towards remedying environmental injustice and promoting the transition to a more sustainable society and economy through experiential education.