He pointed to how the Building Canada Act facilitates settler-colonialism, warning crowds of how the rise of data centres and the natural resources used to power AI tools could continually impact the world around us.
“The Building Canada Act is a legal tool facilitating the procurements of natural resources needed to meet the ever-growing demand for AI,” Kosseim said.
For Albert Lalonde, project lead with the Climate Conscience Lab of the David Suzuki Foundation, joining together as advocates and citizens is key to opposing the Act. He said that the way the legislation currently stands risks sweeping infrastructure projects being imposed on First Nations communities without their informed consent.
“It’s the culmination of colonial logic, which amounts to saying ‘You’ve already been conquered, now shut up. You have no rights,’” he said.
“There’s no mechanism to ensure input.”
Gabriel characterized the Act as a continuation of Canada’s ongoing colonial legacy, and another way to exert control over First Nations and their land.
“The Canadian constitution does not protect our rights, because we have to go to court to define them. One of the things that I think is really important for people to understand is that colonialism is something that we are living as Indigenous people on our reserves,” she said. “Our reserves, our lands, which are small, postage stamp-sized lands that we are allowed to live on.”
She said change needs to happen at a fundamental, systemic level.
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“It’s not enough to sign petitions, and demonstrations are not enough,” she said. “The system is broken. The Indian Act is broken. It’s never been right.”
The day finished with a round dance, with organizers and attendees joining hands in a circle and dancing in front of Place du Canada, the clouds finally clearing and the sun beating down on participants.
Gabriel closed out the event with a message of hope.
“This is a beautiful planet. We can breathe. We can grow gardens,” she said.
“Walk side-by-side with us to protect this Earth, because it’s so precious, it’s so valuable, and it’s so beautiful.”