'Youth keep getting stronger': Fight against Bill 5 continues

KINGSTON - When Ramon Kataquapit took the stage in Kingston on Monday night, he spoke about ladders. Not the kind used for climbing rooftops, but the kind each generation builds for the next.

About 200 people filled the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts on Sept. 29 to hear from Indigenous leaders fighting Ontario’s controversial Bill 5.

For 23-year-old Kataquapit, the founder of the Indigenous youth organization Okiniwak, the work is about more than resistance, it’s about carrying forward generations of struggle and healing.

“Youth keep getting stronger,” he told TimminsToday. 

“I come from generations of intergenerational trauma. But there’s much more than that. It’s intergenerational healing. What keeps me hopeful is that the next generation is going to go so far … I like to think about it as a ladder to the moon. Each generation builds another rung.”

SEE: 'Upsetting and disheartening': Northern First Nations youth call Bill C-5 a threat to their future

Kataquapit said his own mother and grandfather helped him climb his ladder despite their experiences with residential schools, boarding homes, and assimilation policies. That history, he explained, is part of why he views Bill 5 as a dangerous extension of colonial control.

“We’ve always been experimented on, whether physically or through legislation,” he said. 

“These bills can set a dangerous precedent for the future … I know that it’s not a fight against First Nations versus Canada, but it’s the people versus law.”

Monday’s event was part of the four-day series, Standing for the Land: Taking on Bill 5, organized by Kingston residents with support from Treaty 9 leaders in Northern Ontario. 

The bill, passed earlier this year, allows the government to exempt regions from provincial laws and environmental protections through the creation of “special economic zones.” One proposed zone is in the Ring of Fire, a mineral-rich area in Treaty 9 territory that is home to vast peatlands and the Omushkego Cree.

While the bill has sparked rallies across the North, Kataquapit said government silence has been frustrating.

“Despite all these overwhelming responses for the repeal of the bill … It feels like it went on deaf ears, which is why we have to turn up the response to something the government can’t ignore,” he said.

SEE: Bill 5 sparks outrage among Treaty 9 leaders
RELATED: 'Stand your ground': Activist calls for Bill 5 protests to be escalated

The Kingston visit, he added, helped set “a foundation for a new way of bringing awareness,” one rooted in building lasting connections with communities beyond one-off rallies. He and others plan to continue their push into larger southern cities like Toronto and Ottawa.

For Tristan Ashishkeesh — who resigned as executive director of the Ojibway Cree Cultural Centre to lead a more than 700-kilometre walk from Timmins to Toronto — the trip to Kingston brought mixed emotions.

“I feel great joy that the Canadians down here in the south are coming out … Their questions are, ‘What do we do next?’” he said. 

“The second emotion I feel is sadness, because in Timmins up north, we don’t have that. The North … it is still a very racist area.”

SEE: First Nation group nearing end of 700-km protest walk to Toronto

He said the solidarity he witnessed in Kingston was powerful.

“Coming here and seeing these people, it gives me joy, because it tells me we’re not alone … Seeing that support is beautiful, and it makes me excited to see what they’re going to do with the First Nations people here.”

Ashishkeesh also called on non-Indigenous allies to raise their voices.

“Do not be afraid to stand up to your government. If you bring out that kind of work, it’s going to have double the impact with what we’re doing … We need to start doing this work together,” he said.

The Kingston events were organized by local residents including Kristen Lowitt, who teaches environmental studies at Queen’s University.

She said the effort grew out of conversations with Treaty 9 leaders and a desire to support them from southeastern Ontario.

“We developed this relationship with folks in Treaty 9 and thought this was one way of trying to contribute as the Kingston community,” Lowitt said. “It’s critically important to bring this movement from the North to people here.”

Lowitt stressed that Indigenous leaders are too often dismissed.

“These are not just protesters. They’re not radicals. They are people trying to protect their lands and their communities and their homes. We’re really building relationships that allow us to work together,” she said.

Monday’s panel closed to a standing ovation, but both Kataquapit and Ashishkeesh made it clear that this is only the beginning. 

“When youth put their mind to anything they can accomplish big things,” Kataquapit said. “Their voice matters. Don’t let any kind of legislation or oppression weigh you down.”