The year is coming rapidly to a close and there are many things that have not changed for the people of Caledonia in 2006.
* Natives continue to occupy Douglas Creek Estates, the former housing development they took over last February.
* Marie Trainer is still -- or again -- mayor, despite having put her foot solidly in her mouth last spring.
* The Ontario Provincial Police continues to have a significant presence in the community. The OPP has indicated its goal is to keep the peace. Its new commissioner, Julian Fantino, continues to insist -- as did his predecessor Gwen Boniface -- there is no two-tiered justice system in place.
* Native flags fly around the disputed land, Canadian flags do not.
* The standoff is not solved, life has not returned to normal, tension remains high.
That is, perhaps, the pessimistic view of the ongoing dispute in the town south of Hamilton, a community that has grown rapidly over the past decade as new housing developments sprang up. For many Caledonia residents, though, it is difficult to find silver linings in the situation.
Residents near the site say their neighbourhoods have suffered harassment and intimidation. Argyle Street was blocked to traffic for 34 days; power was out after a hydro transformer caught fire in May; there were concerns about the safety of children at a school backing onto the site at the start of the school year.
It has also been a difficult and uneasy time for natives, those occupying the site and those living in the area. Natives on the site were sharply awakened the morning of April 20 by OPP officers trying -- unsuccessfully -- to clear the site. Natives report racial slurs and intimidation. Those occupying the site live a makeshift life in partially built houses.
Agitators -- both native and non-native, local and non-local -- have not helped the situation with their inflammatory rhetoric and the force of their numbers on several occasions. There have been several serious clashes.
Certainly, not all Caledonians oppose the native occupation of the disputed land. Some actively support the natives' quest for fairness in settling land claim issues. That support is shared by non-natives across the country as Caledonia has been in the national and even international spotlight over this occupation.
Much of the past 10 months has been disruptive, fraught with anxiety and scary. But there have also been some encouraging moments.
* The Argyle Street blockade came down largely because people from both sides of the blockade worked together to establish trust and, perhaps, the beginning of some mutual understanding. The dismantling of the blockade was, physically and symbolically, a big step toward calming tempers that had flared dramatically several times.
* The provincial government eased tensions and helped clarify negotiations by compensating developers who had been building new homes on the disputed land. That step helped define the process and identify the players involved in reaching a resolution.
* The provincial government also provided financial assistance to local businesses who took the pain from the standoff's economic blow. Some homeowners are to receive some compensation in the new year.
* Despite keeping a low public profile, negotiations have continued since the summer. Representatives of the provincial and federal governments and a range of native representatives are working through the complex issues surrounding ownership of the land. Certainly it would be better if things were moving more quickly, but that is likely expecting too much, given that most native land claims take years to settle. It is encouraging to hear from both native and government spokespeople that progress is being made.
The Spectator's editorial board has consistently advocated negotiation as the only way to achieve a lasting and peaceful solution to the standoff in Caledonia. There's no question the residents of Caledonia have been caught in the jaws of a historically complicated dispute between natives and government. There's no question that local people on both sides of this dispute hoped for a speedy resolution to reduce tensions in the community. Those at the bargaining table must move into 2007 determined to resolve this painful impasse. That's in everyone's best interest.