The NDP stands in solidarity with Indigenous peoples opposing Bill C-5
OTTAWA—On Wednesday June 18, 2025, NDP MP Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre) issued the following statement:
“Bill C-5 violates the democratic process, Indigenous constitutional rights, critical environmental protections, and workers’ health and safety. The fact that the Liberals are trying to rush this bill through parliament is unconscionable and unacceptable.
Yesterday First Nations from across Ontario showed that they agree. Along with my NDP colleagues, I joined hundreds of Indigenous people protesting on Parliament Hill, demanding that the government stop fast-tracking this unconstitutional bill and undertake the necessary consultations with Indigenous rights holders before it is passed.
Outside of the House of Commons, I stood with NDP MPs Lori Idlout and Jenny Kwan alongside Elders, grassroots advocates and leaders of the Chiefs of Ontario who were clear in their message to the Liberal government: nothing about us, without us. They voiced to all parliamentarians that they are opposed not to economic growth, but to the blatant violation of the government’s constitutional obligation to respect their treaty rights and obtain their free, prior and informed consent (FPIC).
The Liberals devoted inadequate time to hear from expert witnesses on the potential consequences of this bill. The committee provided just 5 minutes for remarks from the Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse-Nepinak. When I asked her about the bill’s disregard for FPIC, she voiced that First Nations were not given adequate time for the government to uphold its constitutional obligations to obtain free, prior and informed consent, calling on the government to extend consultations to Indigenous rights holders over the summer to ensure that they are properly consulted and accommodated.
This Liberals were elected on a promise to stand up to Trump’s authoritarianism, not to take a page out of his handbook. The government must uphold democracy and constitutional rights, and stop shielding this bill from the public scrutiny that it deserves."
Today, Winnipeg community members are again reminded that despite what big oil and their partners in parliament want, we literally cannot ignore the climate crisis.
OTTAWA – On Wednesday, NDP MPs Lori Idlout (Nunavut) and Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre) requested an emergency debate calling on the Speaker to allow Members of Parliament to uphold the Canadian human rights principle to ensure Indigenous children, through Jordan’s Principle and the Inuit First Child Initiative (ICFI), have equitable access to government-funded services.
Leah Gazan, NDP MP for Winnipeg Centre Released the Following Statement in Response to Today’s Cabinet Announcement