By Mike Aiken
Miner and News
Tuesday July 18, 2006

Staff Sgt. Leslie Rice from the communications unit in Orillia said allegations only aboriginal people were charged in connection with the incident weren’t true.

“That’s not the case,” she stated. “I’m not sure where they’re getting that information from.”

Environmentalists joined with treaty rights activists last Thursday when they blocked the highway west of Airport Road, as part of a long-standing dispute over clear-cutting on traditional lands.

Press releases issued by environmental groups over the weekend included a series of allegations against police.

Grassy Narrows resident and activist Judy Da Silva said the officers had committed an act of war by raiding the First Nation without permission, so they could lay charges against protesters.

The Rainforest Action Network said police were racist, since they only arrested aboriginal people. A third release said a woman traveling with a Six Nations delegation miscarried after she was arrested, because the OPP had used excessive force.

Rice said the police force had started an investigation into the conduct of their members, and she didn’t have any information on the specific allegations.

About 100 supporters from across North America had gathered at the Slant Lake blockade site near Grassy Narrows last week, and they blocked the Highway 17A bypass around Kenora for about 12 hours last Thursday. Nine people were charged following the blockade on the highway. They have been charged with mischief.

Const. Sue Cain, acting communications officer for the Kenora OPP detachment, said the officers didn’t go onto the First Nation to lay the charges, they didn’t target only aboriginal protesters and she denied charges that officers denied medical help for a pregnant woman during her arrest.

Grassy Narrows First Nation is located about 90 minutes northeast of Kenora, and it has been the focus of international attention as it deals with both clear-cutting and the lingering effects of mercury contamination in its food supply.

OPP staff said they hoped to release a list of names of those charged Tuesday. They have been released pending their next court appearance, scheduled for Sept. 18 in Kenora.