"We will act as expeditiously as possible," Attorney General Michael Bryant said yesterday, noting a hearing could take place within days to determine whether the order should be suspended until a full appeal can be heard.
An appeal to formally overturn the order could take place in a few weeks or months before the Ontario Court of Appeal.
"One of the grounds of the appeal will be that the court has no jurisdiction to order the parties to cease negotiations, which we will argue is in the public interest and the best way to resolve this dispute," Bryant said.
Tensions have flared between Caledonia residents and natives since Tuesday's ruling by Superior Court Justice David Marshall, who said native protestors must obey previous court orders to leave the site as a way of restoring the rule of law in the strife-torn community of about 10,000 near Hamilton.
In response to friction from the ruling, the Ontario Provincial Police deployed extra officers to the area last night.
Six Nations protestors have been occupying the former Douglas Creek Estates housing development, which is now owned by the province, for more than five months. They argue the land is theirs as part of a much larger land claim.
The federal Conservative government joined the province in saying it doesn't think Marshall's order would help end the dispute. Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice said Ottawa fully supports Ontario's decision to appeal the Cayuga judge's decision, adding that forcing the natives off the disputed property will resolve very little.
"It is an unusual decision, and quite frankly we are anxious to get back to the negotiating table to keep moving forward with progress that we were making," Prentice told the Toronto Star.
"This is a difficult dispute. It goes back in Canadian history over 200 years, so it is not going to be resolved overnight."
But until the appeal can be heard, Marshall's decision has effectively halted the negotiations between the federal and provincial governments and the Six Nations. Negotiations were set to resume Aug. 24, when natives and the two levels of government were to present their respective documentation as to who owns the land.
Prentice emphasized that the protestors are not doing anything wrong as long as the province says it's okay for them to occupy the former housing development.
Bryant was clearly pleased with the federal support — which resulted from telephone calls between Premier Dalton McGuinty, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Prentice — given strong backing for the judge's ruling from Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory.
"Ontarians and Canadians should know that the Prime Minister and the premier are ... of the view that peaceful resolution is the right approach to take," Bryant said.
Tory said he doesn't care that he's on a different side of the fence from Harper and McGuinty.
"There were incidents taking place (Tuesday) night that if you did it on the corner of ... College and University (in Toronto), you'd probably be placed under arrest," Tory said.
Ontario NDP Leader Howard Hampton, a former attorney general, said while the government can argue Marshall does not have the jurisdiction to halt negotiations, "what is completely within his jurisdiction is to order that the law now be enforced."
In Caledonia, citizens were angered at news of the province's plan to appeal the decision. "No one wants to take responsibility for this," said Ken Hewitt of the Caledonia Citizens' Alliance.
"How can you negotiate when they say they're not getting off the land?"
Hewitt said that in spite of continuing talks between the province, Ottawa and Six Nations over the disputed land development at the edge of town, the conclusion is "foregone."
"It would appear that they've (protestors) made it very clear this is their land."
At the site, Six Nations protestors stood behind a broken hydro tower that had been dragged across the entrance, bearing a cardboard sign with a message for the judge: "David Marshall, we own the land where you lay your head. We are not Canadians, but true North Americans."
The comment is part of ongoing criticism protestors have levelled at Marshall since he first got involved in the case in the spring. They argue that because Marshall lives on land bordering the Grand River — which is called the Haldimand Tract and is central to the natives' land claim — his court orders have had a hidden agenda designed to serve his interests.
The tract covers an area 10 kilometres on each side of the Grand River, amounting to about 385,000 hectares.
Marshall has previously denied the accusation in court. Until yesterday, he has not responded to the Star's requests for an interview. Asked for comment yesterday, a spokeswoman said, "He would be glad to, although he feels it would be inappropriate for a justice to make a comment."
At the protest site, Six Nations spokesman Clyde Powless applauded the province's decision.
"It seems to me the province is stepping up," he said.
Asked why protestors won't clear off the land while negotiations continue, Powless said that "everybody in the six-mile (10-kilometre) tract can clear out, then when we see whose land it is, they can come back."
Former premier David Peterson, the province's appointed negotiator at the outset of the conflict, said the situation in the town is still "tender," and he called Marshall's decision "extremely unhelpful."
OPP Acting Supt. Doug Babbitt called for "calm and common sense" to prevail.
"Anger and violence will not resolve this situation."
With files from Richard Brennan