Caledonia march ends in brief standoff with OPP; Protesters go nose-to-nose with police

Gregory Bonnell
The Sudbury Star
October 16, 2006

A march organized to condemn government and police response to an aboriginal occupation descended into a tense standoff with police Sunday after hundreds of protesters attempted to storm the contested land.

In what has become a familiar sight in this southern Ontario town, non-aboriginals angered by the occupation squared off with police who had formed a line some 300 metres away from the Six Nations camp.

While several men stood nose to nose with provincial police officers in acts of defiance and two were arrested after crossing the police line, the group slowly dispersed during the course of the two-hour standoff.

A third man was arrested for attempting to cross the line and two women were arrest for intoxication, police said in a release. The road was cleared of both protesters and police by 6 p.m.

"We're pleased that, with a few exceptions, citizens remained peaceful," said Acting Commissioner Jay Hope.

Although there have been several similar incidents since the occupation began in February, a fragile truce had been established with ongoing negotiations between Six Nations, the province and Ottawa.

Many people, including police and residents, blamed the shattering of that peace Sunday on rally organizer Gary McHale, who lives some 110 kilometres away in Richmond Hill.

"We're left to clean up the mess that he started," said Jim Erwin, 25, who was among the men who faced off with police.

"I hope to stand on that site with (Six Nations) and protest the government with them," Erwin said in explaining why he attempted to cross the police line.

The march came following several urgent warnings from provincial politicians and police that it could potentially inflame passions and lead to bloodshed.

"It was a tense day," said provincial police Sgt. Dave Rektor. "It's just sad when someone has a personal agenda with no regard for anyone else."

The march began with a rally about one kilometre away, where speakers complained the provincial and federal governments have abandonded both the town and their duty to uphold the rule of law.

The ongoing occupation shows the government supports a two-tiered legal system, McHale said to enthusiastic applause.

After the rally, McHale led several hundred people to an elementary school bordering the Six Nations protest site. The school has installed several security cameras and built a 2 1/2 metre fence to block any view of the occupation.

That's when several groups broke away from the main march and ignored McHale's pleas to stay clear of the site.

Rektor said he wasn't surprised agitators ignored McHale's directions.

"We were worried about that. That was one of our greatest fears," he said.

Six Nations spokeswoman Janie Jamieson, who was at a "potluck for peace" held on the occupation site Sunday afternoon, said they weren't overly concerned by the protest.

"Everyone is just walking around over here, eating, talking and laughing," Jamieson said in a telephone interview while the non-aboriginal protesters clashed with police. "If anything happens, we're prepared for it."

At the rally that preceded the march, caledonia resident AnneMarie VanSickle - whose home backs onto the occupation site - invited Premier Dalton McGuinty to stay the night at her house and experience the occupation first hand.

"Premier McGuinty, you sir are a medical anomaly. The fact that you can stand when you don't have a spine," VanSickle, 38, said to cheers from the audience.

McGuinty has not visited the town of caledonia during the occupation, insisting progress is being made through negotiations and that it's the role of police to keep the peace.

VanSickle, who said her elementary school-aged children are afraid to be home alone, also took aim at Prime Minister Stephen Harper for engaging in negotiations with Six Nations while caledonia is "held hostage."

The Six Nations claims the contested land was taken from them more than two centuries ago. The protesters say Six Nations agreed to lease the property for a road in 1835 and dispute arguments it was later sold to the Crown.

"It was a tense day."