Indigenous, labour, and environmental groups unite against Bill C-39 with mass rally in Toronto as part of a Week of Action

TORONTO, Oct. 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Indigenous leaders across Canada have called for an Idle No More 2.0 in the midst of attacks on Indigenous communities, namely from the federal government’s “Building Canada Strong Act” (Bill C-39). In response, rallies are being held across the country as part of a National Week of Action for Indigenous Sovereignty, including in Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Toronto.

The Toronto rally is a collaboration by Indigenous, labour, and environmental organizations which are uniting their voices to fight back against Bill C-39.

Rally speakers include prominent leaders from various sectors, including representatives from the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL), Toronto and York Region Labour Council, Steelworkers Toronto Area Council (STAC), Idle No More Ontario, and Greenpeace Canada.

Organizers are concerned about the implications of Bill C-39 for First Nations jurisdiction, environmental protection, and workers’ rights. The proposed legislation would expand federal authority to designate projects as ‘Regions of National Interest,’ accelerating industrial project approvals and exempting them from environmental assessments and labour protections as well as consultation and consent by impacted Indigenous communities.

Bill C-39 proposes a one-year framework for federal project reviews and decisions, making Indigenous participation and environmental scrutiny subordinate to government and industry timelines. Accelerated decisions can leave communities confronting lasting harm to watersheds, wildlife, harvesting grounds, and sacred places long after political deadlines have passed.

Crystal Sinclair of Idle No More Toronto says:

“Bill C-39 infringes on Indigenous rights - which are non-negotiable. Land and water must be protected at all costs and there has to be a plan for sustainable development across the country in consultation with Indigenous communities who will be affected. Canadian policies should protect people and workers, not line the pockets of resource extraction corporations. Indigenous communities will no longer accept projects without Free, Prior, and Informed Consent.”

Bill C-39 also limits the right to strike for federally regulated sectors. This represents about one million workers in key sectors of the Canadian economy. Under Bill C-39, once a strike or lockout is underway, the minister could direct the Canada Industrial Relations Board to resume operations, extend a collective agreement, and impose a binding method of settling the dispute if the minister decides the work stoppage “adversely affects or may adversely affect the national interest.”

Carolyn Egan, president of the Steelworker Toronto Area Council remarks:

"We stand firmly against Bill C-39's proposed strike-ending powers and reject an ‘open-ended’ test as a basis for terminating strikes. We will support unions that determine they must resist unjust orders that take away their right to strike. We stand in solidarity with Indigenous people and climate justice advocates who are calling on the federal government to rescind Bill C-39."

The bill allows cabinet to create sacrifice zones, where projects can be approved without environmental safeguards. Conditions of approved projects could be changed, weakened or removed after approval. Cabinet would be able to remove conditions on environmental permits whenever it wants. The bill could mandate a one-year timeline on major project approvals, and construction could start before they are finished. The bill also weakens the Species at Risk Act and protections for fish and fish habitat.

Keith Stewart, Senior energy strategist at Greenpeace Canada comments:

“You don't build a stronger nation by bulldozing nature or Indigenous rights. What Mark Carney calls cutting red tape, the rest of us call stripping away protection for the clean water, majestic orcas and beautiful old-growth forests that we cherish and want to pass on to our kids.”

Background:

• Rally event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1605909100766073/
• Organizing groups include Idle No More Toronto, Idle No More Ontario, 8th Fire Rising, Rising Tide Toronto, Steelworkers Toronto Area Council, and Ontario Public Service Employees Union Indigenous Circle, with support from Stand.earth and Greenpeace Canada.
• Other rallies part of the Week of Action include those that happened in Winnipeg on Saturday, Ottawa on Monday, Ottawa on Tuesday, and Aamjiwnaang First Nation (near Sarnia) on Wednesday.
  
  

For more information:

Michelle Robidoux, Steelworkers Toronto Area Council (STAC), 416-856-5008, michelle.robidoux@sympatico.ca   

Source: Steelworkers Toronto Area Council (STAC)