Opposing Canada’s Approval to Fast-track Resource Project

August 3, 2025 By: Sochibueze Ajoku

Title: Canada approves law to fast-track resource projects, faces Indigenous opposition (Reuters, June 26, 2025) – Canada approves law to fast-track resource projects, faces Indigenous opposition | Reuters
This legislation empowers the federal government to speed up resource project approvals—including pipelines and mines—by reducing constraints like inter-provincial trade barriers and cabinet discretion that can override existing laws and consultation protocols. Critics warn it may undermine constitutionally protected consultation and accommodation rights for Indigenous communities, as well as weaken environmental assessments.

I oppose this bill because it appears to bypass crucial environmental review processes and erode Indigenous consultation rights. Resource projects rushed through without meaningful engagement can produce irreversible ecological and cultural harm. If anything, I believe this law increases the urgency for environmental and Indigenous communities to use every method available—including, if necessary, resistance—to defend their lands and ecosystems. Unit 3 documentaries highlight how civil disobedience has historically been essential in environmental advocacy – especially when legal avenues and political systems fail to prevent ecological destruction. Protests like those against old-growth logging in Clayoquot Sound or pipeline resistance at Fairy Creek have captured public attention, shifted discourse, and eventually influenced policy.

A recent example that underscores the power of civil disobedience is the Fairy Creek old-growth logging protests on Vancouver Island. From 2020 into 2021, thousands of land defenders – including Indigenous groups – engaged in blockades and nonviolent resistance, resulting in over 1,100 arrests. The scale of the protest disrupted commercial extraction, drew national attention, and helped push the provincial government toward revising its logging policies and committing millions toward old-growth conservation. This recent case shows that civil disobedience can be an effective strategy when other mechanisms fail—drawing public awareness, challenging business-as-usual, and compelling policy reconsideration. While the success is not always immediate, the Fairy Creek actions sparked tangible commitments from the B.C. government and amplified Indigenous stewardship voices that would otherwise be ignored.

If the new fast-track law reduces opportunities for environmental review and consultation, then the historical record suggests civil disobedience may become even more necessary. Drawing on the lessons from Unit 3, grassroots resistance—even at the cost of personal risk—can be effective in forcing public debate, elevating Indigenous land claims, and protecting biodiversity.

I stand with Indigenous and environmental advocates who contest this kind of legislation. Based on both documentaries and recent events like Fairy Creek, I believe civil disobedience has played—and continues to play—a vital role in driving positive change when formal processes are stacked against ecological and social justice.