Antonella Artuso - Queen's Park Bureau Chief
Toronto Sun
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Residents of Caledonia met with Premier Dalton McGuinty yesterday to complain of fear and lawlessness in their hometown.
The residents had been picketing McGuinty's fiscal gap summit at the Toronto Metro Convention Centre all morning, seeking a resolution to a First Nations land claim that has literally divided their community.
McGuinty said he granted the residents an audience because he wanted firsthand knowledge of their concerns.
"I was also pleased to be able to inform them that the OPP had made yet another arrest earlier this morning arising from an incident a couple of (weeks) back," McGuinty said yesterday. "And they seemed to take heart in that new information."
OPP charged Ken Hill, 47, of Ohsweken with two counts of assault stemming from a clash between protesters and Caledonia residents at the First Nations barricade in the town on June 4.
The residents held a rally and press conference at Queen's Park later yesterday, where they called on the province to get things back to normal in Caledonia.
Sandra Watson, whose home backs onto the disputed land occupied by Six Nations protesters and supporters, said she's seen "terrible" acts of lawlessness over the past four months.
"The OPP are there keeping the peace, but they're not enforcing the law," Watson said.