OPP Commissioner's resignation welcomed and mourned in Caledonia, Ont.

Canadian Press - July 28, 2006

TORONTO (CP) - The sudden resignation of Gwen Boniface was both lamented and lauded Friday in Caledonia, Ont., where the embattled Ontario Provincial Police commissioner has been accused of allowing chaos to reign in a five-month aboriginal standoff.

Boniface, a 30-year veteran of the force, announced she is stepping down as the province's most senior police officer to join a newly established three-person panel that will provide oversight of Ireland's 13,000-member National Police Force.

Her resignation comes as Six Nations protesters continue to occupy the Douglas Creek Estates housing development in the southwestern Ontario town of Caledonia, claiming the land was wrongly taken from them by the Crown more than 200 years ago.

And while the Ontario government insisted her departure had nothing to do with accusations the police have turned a blind eye to lawlessness in Caledonia, some say her departure is proof that the handling of standoff was botched.

"It's been clearly demonstrated that the process OPP chose to follow here in Caledonia is not the correct process," said Ken Hewitt of the Caledonia Citizens' Alliance.

"Only the leaders can be held accountable for that."

Some Caledonia residents circulated an Internet petition earlier this month calling for Boniface's resignation and alleging she failed to protect the townspeople, as well as the town's power station, bridges, roads and homes during the protest.

The dispute, which began in February and has erupted several times in violence, saw the town cut in half by aboriginal blockades which have since been dismantled. Caledonia Mayor Marie Trainer said Boniface bears responsibility for what she called the "chaos" in the town.

"The native population have been feeling they can do anything, anytime, anywhere to anyone and the police will only watch," Trainer said.

Boniface's departure will allow everyone to "start with a clean slate," she added.

But aboriginals still occupying the subdivision say Boniface's departure is a blow to the delicate peace in the town.

Janie Jamieson, spokesperson for the aboriginals occupying the subdivision, said Boniface understood the dynamics of the dispute and didn't enforce the law blindly by forcibly evicting protesters who remain at the site.

"It's a shame," Jamieson said. "She seemed really dedicated to having patience and letting the land issue be resolved. Hopefully the next person will have the same peaceful resolve she had."

A new commissioner who fails to understand that aboriginals don't recognize Canadian law could be risking rebellion across the country from those who support the occupation, Jamieson added.

"That's all it would take," she said.

Boniface joined the OPP in 1977 and was the first woman to become commissioner of the 7,000-member force when she rose to the position in 1998. She was in Ireland for the official announcement of her appointment and was unavailable for comment Friday.

Community Safety Minister Monte Kwinter said her decision was both a personal and professional one. Although Boniface was recently appointed to another three-year term, Kwinter said the Irish government made her an offer she couldn't refuse.

He said the Caledonia occupation, and the personal criticism accompanying it, had nothing to do with her resignation.

"In any dispute, there are those people who point fingers," Kwinter said. "That personal criticism was ill-placed. She was doing her job."

Kwinter said she will stay on as commissioner until early October to ensure a smooth transition. In the meantime, an extensive, Canadawide search will begin shortly to fill the position, he added.

Conservative Leader John Tory urged the Ontario government to review what's happened so far in Caledonia.

"There are more questions raised by the resignation than are answered," he said.

In a statement earlier this month, Boniface said she is proud of her force, and dismissed accusations that her officers treated aboriginals differently.

"I think the right decisions have been made and they've been carried out by competent men and women in the OPP," she said.

Boniface conceded the standoff is a sensitive issue, but denied that protesters were exempt from the law.

"I think that what's quite clear is that on aboriginal rights issues, there are aspects that you must consider,"' she said.

Joseph D'Cruz, professor at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, said Boniface leaves a "significant legacy." He said she has helped the rank and file to better understand aboriginal culture while also recruiting and promoting aboriginal officers.

"Her leadership will be remembered for that change in culture and not for Caledonia at all," he said.