December 19, 2006 - 10:26 am
By: CHINTA PUXLEY
Canadian Press
Residents who have been living with the ongoing Six Nations occupation in Caledonia, Ont., can expect compensation cheques within the next few months, Ontario's minister responsible for aboriginal affairs said Tuesday.
David Ramsay said he knows homeowners in the southwestern Ontario town are "anxious" to receive the cash they were promised back in June.
The hold-up now is determining whether homeowners will be compensated for "inconvenience" and emotional suffering or whether the package will simply be based on extra expenses incurred during the 10-month occupation, Ramsay said.
"I'd like to see it sooner rather than later," said Ramsay, adding the package should be finalized before March. "People are anxious now. We've obviously raised expectations because we have talked about it. We want to get this finished up as soon as possible."
The province has been consulting with homeowners about what should be in a compensation package, Ramsay said. The government hasn't determined how much money will be set aside for compensation or who will be eligible, he said.
"We will make sure we get it right," Ramsay added.
Ramsay promised compensation to homeowners in June and refused at the time to rule out even purchasing some of the homes that border the disputed land. The occupation has since cost the province almost $40 million to compensate businesses, purchase the disputed land and pay for a provincial negotiator.
Haldimand Mayor Marie Trainer said residents have almost given up on getting any help from the province. Since the occupation began, homeowners near the disputed land have had to shell out money for medication, security systems and even had to move out when the roads were barricaded were up, she said.
Many have also suffered psychologically, she said, and should get some recognition of that.
"It is (needed) just to show that somebody cares," Trainer said. "Right now, they feel like they've been abandoned. Nobody seems to be helping them. Nobody is doing anything for them. It seems like everybody has just left them."
While Trainer said residents would welcome compensation, she said it would only be meaningful if the province sets aside at least $2 million - the amount doled out to compensate local businesses and the county for lost revenue.
"If you give them $500, that would be like slapping them in the face," she said. "That's an insult."
Six Nations protesters have occupied the former housing development site since February and say they won't leave until the land is returned to them.
The 10-month occupation has turned violent at times, with clashes between residents and Six Nations protesters. The two sides have often been kept apart by provincial police and both have agreed to a "no-go zone" around the occupied land.
That didn't stop a local house from being vandalized on the weekend with swear words and "racist go home" scrawled on the walls. Police said they are treating the incident as a break-and-enter.
The vandalism followed a weekend protest that saw two men arrested for trying to hang Canadian flags near the disputed land.