Aug 29, 2006

John Tory Speaks out on Caledonia

For half a year, the southwest Ontario town of Caledonia has become increasingly paralyzed and polarized by the occupation of a proposed housing development by a group of aboriginal protesters who claim ownership of the land.

Yesterday marked the six-month anniversary of this stand-off. And whatever the merits of the competing claims, it has become increasingly threatening to aboriginals and non-aboriginals alike.

There is no question that the situation is delicate. But there is also no excuse for the breakdown in the rule of law. The government has an obligation to protect all Ontario citizens from harassment, violence and intimidation -- and today, it is clear that the people of Caledonia on both sides of the barricades cannot count on this protection from the McGuinty government.

It is a fundamental rule of society that the law is the same for everybody. No matter how passionate the belief in a cause, nobody has the right to ignore the law just because they disagree with it or find it inconvenient. It does not matter whether you are in Caledonia, downtown Toronto or anywhere else in Canada: Violence and lawlessness are never acceptable tools for making a political point.

While I continue to appeal for calm on both sides of the barricades, I worry about the long-term impacts of the stand-off not only on the community directly affected, but on all of Ontario.

Despite the claim by Monte Kwinter, Ontario's Minister of Community Safety, that "there is no occupation" at Caledonia, I can attest -- as someone who has been in the area on five separate occasions -- that the occupation remains very real.

Whether one accepts the government's recent position that the First Nations people are there lawfully or whether one still sees it as an occupation, Mr. McGuinty should be showing some leadership by insisting on a minimum standard of behaviour as a precondition to continued negotiations.

Instead, such a standard has been entirely lacking -- even after attacks on police officers; the shutting-down of a railway line; a physical assault on a visiting camera crew; the swarming of an elderly couple that had approached too close to the barricades and First Nations people having stones thrown at them.

To insist -- as I have repeatedly -- that acts of civil disobedience and disorder on all sides must stop immediately is merely consistent with what is expected in a civilized society. And the same is true of my call on Mr. McGuinty to insist on removal of the barricades that still divide Caledonia. If the situation is as Mr. McGuinty's lawyers suggest (i.e., no longer an occupation), why are barricades needed just a few yards away from where children will soon be returning to school?

Of course, the much better solution than pretending the dispute is resolved would be to place the land in the the hands of an independent trustee pending the outcome of land claims negotiations, and to ask everyone to vacate the property in the meanwhile.

These actions would not only restore the rule of law in Caledonia -- they would do so in a manner that in no way would incite anyone to commit further acts of violence. For the Premier to assert otherwise is absurd, and it implies that whenever such threats are made, our response should be to concede.

I am not asking Mr. McGuinty to request or direct the police to do anything. I am merely asking him to show some leadership by saying he will only enter negotiations with those who hold respect for the law and for each other.

Our First Nations people have many legitimate issues which have been inadequately addressed over long periods of time. Indeed, they are the intended beneficiaries of legal agreements and court decisions that have not been followed, which demonstrates an equally unacceptable disrespect for the rule of law.

By showing some leadership and insisting on minimum standards of behaviour as a precondition to negotiations, Mr. McGuinty will only be inciting people to do what is right. He will be encouraging everyone to uphold and promote respect for our laws and the cherished processes we have in place to deal with them. I thought that was what a premier was supposed to do.

- John Tory is the leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party.