Members of GREAN call for a halt to Bill C-5

An open letter to Huron-Bruce MP Ben Lobb:

We are alarmed and angered that the federal Conservatives are supporting the Liberal government’s plans to bulldoze through Bill C-5, an undemocratic bill that bypasses environmental protections, ignores Indigenous rights and overrides laws to speed up major infrastructure projects.

This obvious power grab makes a disgraceful assault on Canada’s environment and shows profound disrespect for treaties that allow Canadians to share the land with Indigenous Nations. The key rights stated in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) include the right of Indigenous Peoples to free, prior and informed consent and self-determination regarding the lands, territories, resources and environment.

Disregarding consent continues the abhorrent colonial legacy of abuse and genocide that founded this country and goes against the UNDRIP Act of 2021, passed by the Government of Canada. Have you consulted with the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, located in your riding, for its consent to the changes to land management contained in Bill C-5?

Your agreement, Mr. Lobb, to limit debate on a bill that threatens eco-systems and accelerates fossil fuel extraction when Canada is literally on fire with 130 active wildfires that are incinerating the lungs of the world, is unconscionable, to say the least.

Your decision to support this bill will lead to more smoke-advisory summers, climate disasters and continued threats to life on this planet. Must the communities of Huron-Bruce be forced to evacuate their homes before you see the destruction Canada’s current political decisions are causing?

It’s shameful and disingenuous to use the current threats from United States president Donald Trump as cover to push forward this bill, which will do more to enrich the oil and gas industries than to provide a healthy, prosperous future for Canadians.

We implore you to consult with environmental experts who are promoting affordable and reliable green-energy technologies to power a flourishing future for our country. And, we petition you to do the honourable thing and consult with Indigenous communities to learn from their wisdom about how to live in harmony with our planet.

We will be watching how you vote this week and cheering on any efforts you make to slow this process and uphold your obligations to Indigenous Peoples and our environment.

Susan Hundertmark, Rebecca Garrett, Jim Hollingworth, Willi Laurie, Christine Roberts, Rita Groen and Tony McQuail
Members of Growing Rural Environmental Action Network (GREAN)
Huron, Bruce and Perth counties