Canadian Press
Globe and Mail
May 1, 2006 | 4:50pm EDT
Caledonia, Ont. - Financial aid will be flowing from the province to the developer embroiled in an aboriginal land dispute in southern Ontario, but the company insists the money is not a buyout.
"We did accept the offer," Don Henning, owner of Henco Industries, said of the provincial government's funding assistance.
"It'll help us pay the costs and expenses that we've incurred over the past two months as a result of the native occupation."
Neither Mr. Henning nor Ontario Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Ramsay would say how much the aid package is worth.
Henco is developing a subdivision called Douglas Creek Estates on the contested 40 hectares in Caledonia.
Six Nations members have been occupying the site since Feb. 28, arguing that the land belongs to them. They say they agreed to lease the property for a road in 1835, and dispute arguments that it was later sold to the Crown.
The aboriginals have proposed the provincial government buy out Henco in a bid to settle the dispute.
However, Henco says the aid announced Monday is only interim help, and the company wants work to proceed on the planned 250 homes.
"We've always stated that our goal is to continue to work on our subdivision," Mr. Henning said. "That remains to be our position."
He said the company, which has said it is on the verge of bankruptcy, had no choice but to accept the offer.
"The amount that was offered in no way represents the losses that we have incurred as a result of the occupation," Mr. Henning said.
"It doesn't cover the losses that we expect to suffer as the occupation continues, either."
Mr. Ramsay said the deal with the developer will give all parties more time to find a solution.
"With that developer facing potential bankruptcy in a couple of weeks, that was a big concern to us," he said. "What it really is, is just some temporary bridge financing."
Former Ontario premier David Peterson was appointed on the weekend to work with the Six Nations and the Caledonia community to find short-term solutions to the crisis. He was to meet Monday with the parties involved after informal talks Sunday.
"Mr. Peterson will focus on urgent concerns, aiming to restore calm and return the community to normal conditions," Mr. Ramsay told the Ontario legislature Monday afternoon.
The standoff escalated April 20, when provincial police raided the site and arrested 16 protesters. Police were pushed back later that same day after hundreds more protesters arrived on the scene from a nearby reserve.
The aboriginals then set up blockades across the main road through the town and into the disputed territory.
Five days later, about 500 non-aboriginal locals stormed a police line, demanding the blockades be removed and the road reopened.