Joint Statement by the Ontario Federation of Labour, Nishnawbe Aski Nation on the Protecting Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025
We, Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation and President Laura Walton of the Ontario Federation of Labour, stand together in firm opposition to the Protecting Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, 2025 (“Unleashing our Economy Act”).
We call upon you, united and unequivocally, to repeal this legislation and start again.
The Unleashing Our Economy Act is a direct threat to the hard-fought rights of workers and to the inherent and treaty rights of First Nations.
For First Nations, this legislation is yet another attempt to sidestep Ontario’s constitutional duty to consult and accommodate. It exposes our traditional lands to unchecked “development” without our Free, Prior and Informed Consent; ignoring our inherent rights, our constitutional rights, and the spirit and intent of our treaties. It is a continuation of colonial policy dressed in the language of economic growth.
For workers, the Unleashing Our Economy Act, doesn’t unleash our economy, it unleashes a race to the bottom. It prioritizes deregulation over safety. Profits over fair wages. And corporate interests over standards of living. The proposed legislation opens the door to a rollback of fundamental labour protections. It empowers corporations within “Special Economic Zones” to run roughshod over workers’ rights to fair wages, collective bargaining, job security, and safe working conditions. As the recent tragedy at West Red Lake Gold shows, now it not the time to weaken protection for mine workers.
We understand your desire to cut red tape. But we are all treaty people, and our treaties are not red tape.
We understand the need to build the projects Ontario needs, quickly. But we reject the false choice between unfettered economic development and rights. A just and prosperous Ontario must be built on respect—for Indigenous sovereignty, for workers’ rights, and for the land and waters that sustain us all.
We call on the Government of Ontario to repeal the Unleashing Our Economy Act and develop new legislation in true partnership with First Nations and labour organizations.
For more information please contact:
Michael Heintzman,
Director of Communications
Cell: (807) 621-2790
mheintzman@nan.ca