Ontario Premier Doug Ford apologized on Thursday afternoon for comments he made suggesting First Nations leaders “can’t just keep coming hat in hand all the time to the government.”
At Queen’s Park, Ford emerged from his meeting with Anishinabek Nation leaders and said he was sorry for what he said on Wednesday.
“I want to sincerely apologize for my words,” he said. “Not only if it hurt all the chiefs in that room, but all First Nations.”
After he apologized, Ford shook hands with several First Nations leaders, repeating his words. His apology came after comments he made on Wednesday that set off a major backlash from Indigenous leaders.
Speaking at an unrelated event in St. Catharines, the premier said he was “bending over backwards to take care” of First Nations, whom he said he treated “like gold.”
The premier went on to describe a conversation he said he had had with his minister of Indigenous affairs, Greg Rickford.
“Treat them well, give them whatever they want for them to prosper,” Ford said he told Rickford.
“But there’s going to be a point where you can’t just keep coming hat in hand all the time to the government. You’ve got to be able to take care of yourselves.”
Speaking at Queen’s Park on Thursday, Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige said she felt the apology was “sincere” from Ford.
“We are looking at today as a new day going forward,” she said, adding that First Nations leaders attending the meeting were not “expecting an apology because of how we feel we’ve been treated.”
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Ford said the meeting had gone well and described it as “heartfelt.”
The premier’s initial comments on Wednesday were met with fury from First Nations leaders, with some demanding an apology.
Before the meeting, Ontario NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa, who is the only Indigenous member of the legislature, said they were “racist” and the premier should retract them.
“We are not beggars,” he said on Thursday. “Today, I would ask for his apology for those racist comments. I ask not as an individual, not as First Nations, but for the people of Ontario.”
Debassige said the meeting was requested by First Nations leaders and was not specifically about Bill 5, but rather broader treaty rights.
“The premier has corrected himself on the ‘hat in hand’ comment and has committed to working with us as a good treaty partner and has owned what he said,” she said.
The focus on the relationship between Ford and some First Nations was sparked as his government passed legislation designed to speed up mining projects.
The law, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, or Bill 5, allows for the creation of special economic zones.
Those are areas where environmental, municipal, labour or other laws could be sidestepped entirely by companies selected by Ford’s cabinet.
The law has been met with fierce opposition, particularly from First Nation groups that fear their treaty rights could be at risk and have accused the government of abandoning its duty to consult.
The bill officially became law at the start of the month, as First Nation leaders threatened they could launch a summer of disruptive protests in response to the legislation.
A similar proposed law at the federal level has been met with the same threat.
Ford had previously said the mineral-rich Ring of Fire in northern Ontario would be the first place he designates as a special economic zone. He promised to spend the summer consulting with First Nation leaders.
On Thursday, Debassige said the Anishinabek Nation “remained opposed to Bill 5,” something she said had been repeated to the government.
“The premier has made certain commitments that we’re not going to speak to today,” she said.
“We remain steadfast in supporting those rights, and how our First Nations are going to work with the Crown, and I can share, the premier has committed to continue and having that ongoing dialogue with our rights holders in a respectful way.”
She said the meeting at Queen’s Park on Thursday was “not consultation on Bill 5.” She said it was “an initial meeting” First Nations leaders had requested.
“I agree, I agree,” Ford said.
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