
<html><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><div style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space; position: relative;"><div><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div><div class="row" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-right: -15px; margin-left: -15px;"><div class="tsArticleContainer star true" data-length="30" data-lpos="asset|body" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Merriweather Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><div id="asset-content" data-asset-uuid="b131364c-46a8-4324-8665-465af8daeb37" class="tsArticle" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; margin-top: 24px;"><div class="asset-body" style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 690px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%; margin: 0px auto; position: relative !important;"><div id="article-body" data-tier="1" itemprop="articleBody" class="asset-content subscriber-premium" data-lpos="asset|body" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="inline-asset inline-article subscriber-hide tnt-inline-asset tnt-inline-relcontent tnt-inline-article tnt-inline-relation-child tnt-inline-presentation-short-summary tnt-inline-alignment-default tnt-inline-width-default" style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 690px; float: right; clear: right; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-bottom-width: medium; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-color: currentcolor; margin-bottom: 24px !important;"><article id="card-summary-c77843cd-2e47-4252-a633-d3e1b5bf3e48" class="tnt-asset-type-article clearfix card summary has-image letterbox-style-white tnt-section-politics tnt-sub-section-provincial" style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 690px; margin: 0px; position: relative; padding: 10px 0px; border: medium !important;"><div class="card-container" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="card-image" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow: hidden; position: relative; float: left; margin-right: 24px; width: 128px !important; height: 90px !important;"><div class="media-preview-c77843cd-2e47-4252-a633-d3e1b5bf3e48 media-preview article-asset" data-aspect="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><figure class="photo layout-horizontal letterbox-style-white" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; width: auto; float: none;"><div class="image" data-toggle="modal" data-target=".modal-c77843cd-2e47-4252-a633-d3e1b5bf3e48" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/first-nations-chief-warns-of-fierce-resistance-to-premier-doug-fords-mining-bill/article_c77843cd-2e47-4252-a633-d3e1b5bf3e48.html" class="tnt-asset-link" aria-label="First Nations chief warns of ‘fierce resistance’ to Premier Doug Ford’s mining bill" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none;"></a></div></figure></div></div><div class="card-body" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px 10px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 103.492645px;"><div class="card-labels" style="box-sizing: border-box; gap: 4px; margin-bottom: 4px; align-items: center; flex-wrap: wrap; display: flex !important;"><div class="card-label-flags" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-size: 10px; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: 0.5px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 4px; text-transform: uppercase; font-feature-settings: "clig" 0, "liga" 0; font-family: var(--font-daily-sans);"><span class="tnt-flag label label-flag-section" data-trust="" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; padding: 0px; font-size: 0.625rem; line-height: 1rem; color: rgb(104, 104, 104); text-align: center; white-space: nowrap; vertical-align: baseline; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent;"><a href="https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(104, 104, 104); text-decoration: none;">PROVINCIAL POLITICS</a></span></div></div><div class="card-headline" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><h3 class="tnt-headline" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: var(--font-daily-serif); line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; font-size: 20px; word-spacing: -0.5px; letter-spacing: -0.25px; display: flex; padding-bottom: 16px; flex-direction: column; align-items: flex-start; gap: 8px; align-self: stretch; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.15);"><a href="https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/first-nations-chief-warns-of-fierce-resistance-to-premier-doug-fords-mining-bill/article_c77843cd-2e47-4252-a633-d3e1b5bf3e48.html" class="tnt-asset-link" aria-label="First Nations chief warns of ‘fierce resistance’ to Premier Doug Ford’s mining bill" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none;">First Nations chief warns of ‘fierce resistance’ to Premier Doug Ford’s mining bill</a></h3></div></div></div><div class="clearfix" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></article></div></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: var(--font-daily-text); overflow-wrap: break-word;">If the Tories ignore the latest protests, the next step could be “conflict on the ground,” warned Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: var(--font-daily-text); overflow-wrap: break-word;">The fundamental legal problem is that Ford’s proposed law amounts to a law unto itself. It would remove guardrails and gut regulations in designated “Special Economic Zones,” which draw their inspiration from China’s growth experiments — where the regular rules don’t apply.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: var(--font-daily-text); overflow-wrap: break-word;">The legislation confers authority on the minister of economic development to select “trusted proponents” for “designated projects,” unencumbered by any provincial law or municipal bylaw. The premier has boasted about designating these special zones just about anywhere — from tunnelling under Highway 401 to paving over pockets of the province or stripping topsoil in Northern Ontario.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: var(--font-daily-text); overflow-wrap: break-word;">Formal regulations are missing from the legislation, and will not be spelled out by cabinet until after the bill becomes law — adding to the uncertainty and apprehension. The entire project is based on trust and premised on imprecision.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: var(--font-daily-text); overflow-wrap: break-word;">Facing a firestorm of protest this week, the Progressive Conservative government tried to have it both ways.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: var(--font-daily-text); overflow-wrap: break-word;">First, the Tories unveiled a laundry list of amendments to their legislation — which only seemed to underscore its flawed conception. Second, while offering tighter language to respect Indigenous consultation, the government closed off further debate — rejecting committee hearings in Thunder Bay where more First Nations voices could be heard.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: var(--font-daily-text); overflow-wrap: break-word;">The Tories then insisted the bill must be voted into law urgently by the end of next week. But that only provoked a filibuster by opposition New Democrats.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: var(--font-daily-text); overflow-wrap: break-word;">Why the rush? Summer break is coming up for government MPPs, whose dislike of regulatory delays is exceeded only by their distaste for vacation delays.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: var(--font-daily-text); overflow-wrap: break-word;">More seriously, Ford’s argument is that business as usual won’t cut it during a tariff war launched by Donald Trump. And so government as usual must be cut back to reduce red tape, rein in environmental assessments and streamline approvals.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: var(--font-daily-text); overflow-wrap: break-word;">Critics argue that this is a contradiction: Fighting Trump with Trumpian tactics that remove governmental guardrails will only make Ontario more like Trump’s America.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: var(--font-daily-text); overflow-wrap: break-word;">All that said, the debate about cutting red tape is not black and white. In politics and economics, there are shades of grey.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: var(--font-daily-text); overflow-wrap: break-word;">While Ford’s NDP opposition critics are quick to condemn his antics, their fellow New Democrats governing in Manitoba and B.C. share the goal of streamlining development approvals. Liberal opposition MPPs at Queen’s Park are also cutting more slack to their federal counterparts in Ottawa.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: var(--font-daily-text); overflow-wrap: break-word;">When King Charles outlined the Liberal government’s economic agenda in this week’s throne speech — with dozens of Indigenous leaders listening in person — the promises proved uncontroversial.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: var(--font-daily-text); overflow-wrap: break-word;">“Speed is of the essence,” the speech argued. “The government will also strike co-operation agreements with every interested province and territory within six months to realize its goal of ‘one project, one review.’”</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: var(--font-daily-text); overflow-wrap: break-word;">But the King’s speech was accompanied by caveats: “The time needed to approve a project will be reduced from five years to two, all while upholding Canada’s world-leading environmental standards and its constitutional obligations to Indigenous Peoples.”</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: var(--font-daily-text); overflow-wrap: break-word;">Ottawa is promising faster reviews, but also pledging that it won’t cut corners. Which explains why the Liberal PM and the NDP premiers are still getting the benefit of the doubt, while Ford keeps demanding a blank cheque.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: var(--font-daily-text); overflow-wrap: break-word;">They all want to make haste, but Ford makes waste more than most. His missteps on the Greenbelt’s protected zones were a precursor to his mishandling of Special Economic Zones.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: var(--font-daily-text); overflow-wrap: break-word;">Even if Ford had crafted the most far-sighted plan for economic development, he’d still be seen as suspect, because he’s burdened by his Greenbelt boondoggle. That credibility deficit reminds everyone why they should be so wary of his latest plan.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: var(--font-daily-text); overflow-wrap: break-word;">Everyone, including Indigenous leaders, wants to see duplication and delay reduced — now more than ever. The bigger problem is that no one wants to entrust Ford with the task — now or ever.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: var(--font-daily-text); overflow-wrap: break-word;"><br></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: var(--font-daily-text); overflow-wrap: break-word;"><b>The Waterloo Record:</b></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div class="asset-masthead" data-lpos="asset|header" style="box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none; margin: 0px auto; width: 690px; padding: 0px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Merriweather Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><header class="asset-header" style="box-sizing: border-box; width: min(960px, 100%); max-width: none; margin: 0px auto;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><h1 itemprop="headline" class="headline" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 44px; margin: 20px 0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