First Nations talk Bill 5 in northern Ontario – The Narwhal

May 8, 2025

The Protecting Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act exempts industry from provincial regulations — putting Indigenous consultation, and much more, at risk in northern Ontario

Donny Sutherland’s childhood was defined by the countless hours he spent playing manhunt and other playground games in Constance Lake First Nation. As soon as school let out, Sutherland and his buddies would race into the lush medley of poplar, pine and spruce, rolicking through the brush, sweat and laughter filling the air.

But in 2021, a life-threatening fungal infection swept through his community, claiming five lives and sickening many others, including Sutherland’s brothers. Blastomycosis is a pulmonary illness caused by a fungus that grows in moist areas, particularly soil or decaying vegetation. The exact origins of the blastomyces have yet to be identified, and a paranoia lingers among the members of Constance Lake First Nation like a sliver embedded deep below the skin.

Sutherland shares a common hypothesis with many of his community’s members, that rotting wood left by industry is the host of the fungal outbreak.