TIMMINS – Tristan Ashishkeesh is urging Indigenous communities and allies to blockade highways, railways, and fisheries as a way to oppose two controversial resource development bills.
Ahishkeesh arrived in Toronto last week after he and a small group of protesters walked 700 kilometres from Timmins. An Aug. 8 rally at Queen’s Park, attended by more than 80 supporters, capped a three-week trek that began July 15 as a peaceful protest against Ontario’s Bill 5 and the federal Bill C-5.
“This is a time in history where we can make a change,” Ashishkeesh told supporters at the rally. “We do this for the land we love. The water we love. The air that gives us breath.
He urged Indigenous communities and allies to escalate protests against Ontario’s Bill 5 and the federal Bill C-5.
“Calling on them to change. Calling on them to have a turning point in history, to walk with us and be an example for the world. To show the world that a government and Indigenous people can work together,” he told the crowd.
“But more and more, we’re getting steamrolled … I’m doing a call out. A call out to the chiefs across Canada. A call out to the warrior societies. Go! Blockade the highways! Blockade the railways! Wherever there’s any kind of fishing, go and blockade it … Do it in a peaceful way. Stand your ground. Have your voice heard. Do not be silenced anymore.”
Ashishkeesh, who resigned as executive director of the Ojibway Cree Cultural Centre, completed the walk with Sage Iahtail and Todd Spence. Craig Koostachin also began the trek but withdrew after a doctor warned him of serious health risks from the physical strain.
The Queen’s Park rally was organized in partnership with Youth Rising Together and Okiniwak. The day featured ceremony, song, and education, with attendees including Mushkegowuk Council Grand Chief Leo Friday, Deputy Grand Chief Amos Wesley, and Chief Sylvia Koostachin-Metatawabin of Attawapiskat First Nation.
Ontario Green Party members and supporters, as well as representatives from Garden River First Nation, were also present.
The two pieces of legislation have drawn sharp criticism from Indigenous leaders and environmental advocates.
Bill C-5, the One Canada Economy Act, gives the federal cabinet the power to fast-track approvals for major projects — such as mines, ports, and pipelines — considered to be in the national interest, bypassing existing laws. Ontario’s Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, similarly allows the provincial cabinet to override provincial and municipal laws by designating “special economic zones.”
The group’s journey from Timmins to Toronto covered hundreds of kilometres over more than three weeks, with supporters joining at various points along the route. For Ashishkeesh, it was as much a spiritual undertaking as a political statement, a way to bring attention to issues they believe governments are trying to push through quietly.
While the Aug. 8 rally marked the end of the walk, Ashishkeesh told TimminsToday it was only the beginning of a broader movement to resist the bills.
His speech called for co-ordinated, peaceful but disruptive actions that, he said, “the Ontario and federal governments won’t be able to ignore.”
