A tent city complete with a “sacred fire” is now occupying the north lawn at Queen’s Park in downtown Toronto, home to the Ontario Legislature Building.

The unhappy campers are upset that the provincial government is moving forward to develop the Ring of Fire region in northern Ontario. This area is home to billions of dollars’ worth of critical minerals.

Signs abound stating, “Kill Bill 5.” No, these are not advertisements for an upcoming Quentin Tarantino sequel. Rather, Bill 5, which was passed earlier this month, gives the provincial government the power to suspend provincial and municipal laws for chosen projects in areas deemed to have economic importance. It is this legislation that will allow development of the Ring of Fire.

The opposition to this mega-project consists of an odd coalition of First Nations members, environmentalists, and professional protesters. About 20 or so were airing their grievances when we paid a visit to the tent city last Tuesday.

However, it was extremely hard for us to make sense of their opposition to the Ring of Fire project. That’s partly because the protesters’ ringleader informed us that “people were too tired to talk.”

That was a fascinating statement given that the demonstrators we spotted on site were either sitting around or doing drugs. Hard to believe such activities are so energy-draining, but never mind…

The largest banner at the encampment was one stating “Stop economic genocide.” Huh? How is developing a mining mega project equivalent to “economic genocide”? Indeed, the development of the Ring of Fire will enrich nearby First Nations communities and it will provide excellent jobs to First Nations individuals in their own communities. Where, pray tell, is the downside? (We wanted to be educated, but as previously mentioned, the demonstrators were “too tired” to come on camera...)

And really, how many Indigenous people do these demonstrators speak for? We don’t think it is the majority of First Nations people who actually like the idea of economic prosperity.

The encampment also demonstrates that the ongoing two-tier law enforcement in Toronto continues to thrive.

There are probably about a dozen sections of the Trespass Act being violated, but police continue to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear. Why would that be?

In the final analysis, it will be interesting to see if this encampment grows in the days and weeks ahead. We’re sure it’s only a matter of time before the pro-Hamas people show up to display their Palestinian flags and chant genocide. Naturally, due to identity politics and other optics, law enforcement won’t “whack ’em and stack ’em” and nobody is going to have their bank accounts frozen – which is what we witnessed during the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa some three years ago.

One final thought: there is such perverse and profound irony at this encampment. There is an illegally parked fossil fuel-burning GMC pickup truck on the lawn. As well, the tents on display are made from synthetic materials. But we thought these people are anti-resource development? We thought they don’t like the idea of exploiting critical minerals? Hopefully in the future – when they are not “too tired” from sitting around and doing drugs – they can take the time to explain their logic process…

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