Feds won't meet with Ramsay over standoff bill

By Marissa Nelson and Daniel Nolan
The Hamilton Spectator(Nov 1, 2006)

Ontario Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Ramsay was stood up when he travelled to Ottawa to meet his federal counterpart to discuss the Caledonia standoff.

Federal Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice refused to meet with Ramsay last night because of what his office called "grandstanding" by the province over the eight-month native occupation of a housing site.

Earlier in the day, Premier Dalton McGuinty had complained Ottawa has not given "a penny" to Caledonia and said the occupation won't be resolved unless Ottawa demonstrates some resolve, conviction and determination.

Ramsay, who was to discuss with Prentice having Ottawa pick up some of the $39.3 million it has cost Ontario taxpayers to deal with the standoff, said he was disappointed Prentice cancelled. The total costs were revealed by Queen's Park yesterday.

"This is another example of the federal government failing to live up to its obligations to the people of Ontario," Ramsay said in a statement.

Ontario has said Ottawa needs to do more because it's a land-claims issue. Ottawa has been at the negotiation table with Ontario and Six Nations officials, but Prime Minister Stephen Harper reaffirmed last week his views the standoff is a provincial policing issue. Protesters say Six Nations never surrendered the land, but Ottawa says it was surrendered in the 1840s.

"Families, particularly those in the Caledonia area, find themselves caught in a dispute between the federal government and Six Nations," Ramsay said.

Meanwhile, Ontario Opposition leader John Tory said he would call an inquiry into the standoff if he becomes premier. Tory said costs could be as high as $65 million and he mocked Ramsay's journey to Ottawa as an attempt to "pass the buck."

While McGuinty said Ottawa hasn't spent any money, The Spectator learned in the summer the RCMP paid for its officers to go to Caledonia in the spring. The cost included 3,350 hours of overtime that could be between $116,500 and $188,000.