BY KAREN BEST
Thursday, January 11, 2007 - 09:00
Haldimand Review
Julian Fantino was ready to rebuild confidence in the Ontario Provincial Police, restore the image of a wonderful town, and continue enforcing the law equally in Haldimand County. A self-described hands-on guy, he said he will continue to make frequent visits to the municipality and, in particular, to Caledonia.
Since he began his job on Oct. 30, the new OPP commissioner has emphasized the OPP's role of maintaining peace in Caledonia and has deflected criticism for police application of the law.
"The law of the land is applied equally in this country. (First Nations) are no different when it comes to the requirement of being law abiding," said Fantino told The Chronicle. "We don't deal with their DNA. We just deal with the activity."
At ease with municipal councillors and the media, this is a man that does not mince his words.
Mayor Marie Trainer characterized his approach aptly when she said, "He's a sharp shooter and a no-nonsense person."
She and other council members said they are optimistic and hopeful after meeting with Fantino in a two-hour closed council session on Jan. 9. He said it was a professional courtesy to meet with council to emphasize OPP commitment to maintaining safety and security in Caledonia. The commissioner said he learned that council wanted more timely information from OPP. In turn, council members bluntly relayed their concerns, said Coun. Lorne Boyko. They spoke about the situation as it existed on that day, he said.
Fantino said he has seen it with his own eyes. On his second day on the job, he was in Caledonia.
"I wanted to immerse myself," he said, adding the best way to gain an intimate understanding of the situation was to do it on the ground. Since then he has been in town numerous times and he will be in Caledonia during major events, he said.
Fantino's approach is significantly different that his predecessor's. For months, Gwen Boniface was silent on the Caledonia land dispute, which began on Feb. 28. Some Six Nations persons began to occupy the Douglas Creek Estates subdivision construction site which they said was never surrendered to the Crown. The Ontario and Canadian government contend it was. The 200-acre parcel is part of the Haldimand Tract granted to Six Nations for allegiance to Britain in the American War of Independence.
After assessing Caledonia policing in November, Fantino said he recognized the need for change.
He asked the Ontario government to finance a permanent complement of officers for the town. Last week he announced receiving $20 million for officer placement and support staff up to April.
He also received another $1.6 million for cruisers and for renovations to the current Haldimand County OPP detachment office in Cayuga or for another building. Under the new system, continuity in policing will be established at the same level now in place, he said.
Ontario taxpayers are covering these costs.
Fantino said the new system is a contingency based on the assumption that the land dispute will go on for awhile. The extra officers will receiving new postings when policing is scaled down in Caledonia, he said.
"I hope that is very soon," he said.
Ten months of bringing in officers to fill 2,500 postings in Caledonia was expensive and placed pressure on other detachments, said Fantino. Officers, who will range from recruits to seasoned personnel, are volunteering to come to Caledonia, he said.
When officers move into the community, they will develop trust and rapport with residents, he said. Officers need to be seen as community people who are engaged and involved, he said.
Coun. Craig Grice, who represents the Caledonia ward, said the new commissioner has his work cut out for him.
"It's a very real perception that policing isn't happening in Caledonia," he said, hoping that Fantino can live up to his words. " I don't need extra policing. I need policing. Period. I want Caledonia residents to feel safe."
In his interview with The Chronicle, Fantino said the perception that police are applying the law unequally comes from a lack of understanding. More than 30 officers were injured keeping the peace and 60 offences were laid against 31 individuals, he said. Warrants were issued and investigations are ongoing.
"We're doing the best we can," he said. "We have achieved relative peace here."
The community can be assured that officers are taking the situation very seriously, he said.
People have misdirected responsibility for resolution of the situation on to OPP while officers work in a very volatile and emotionally-charged environment, said Fantino. Unduly maligned, officers can be sure their commissioner is behind them, he said.
"I'm a hands-on type of guy," he said. "I believe you have to be out where people are doing the heavy lifting. They need that kind of support."
He said he will also support individual officers who are willing to sue organizers of events that create agitation. In a separate action, OPP are seeking legal advice to hold Gary McHale civilly responsible for costs resulting from his activities, said Fantino.
Interlopers like him pursue their own agendas that threaten fragile normalcy and have the potential to escalate the situation into violence, said Fantino.
He said he would not respond to McHale's offer to call off the Jan. 20 flag event if the commissioner explained why native flags could go on poles across from DCE and Canadian flags could not.
"I don't want to give him any credibility to something intent on causing anarchy," said Fantino.
He said if anyone believed that raising flags had anything to do with patriotism, he had a piece of swamp land to sell real cheap.
McHale puts peace on edge but does draw attention to Caledonia's problems, said Grice.
After the meeting with the commissioner, Trainer said her council had high expectations of Fantino.
"We have more confidence that we will move forward and regain confidence in OPP. I have a feeling the commissioner is going to fight for us."
Boyko said OPP are being proactive in what they are doing but could not give details due to confidential information released to council by Fantino. Grice said he was hopeful that OPP plans could restore Caledonia's reputation as a caring community and a great place to visit and to do business.
"I'm optimistic that peace will remain the order of the day," said Boyko. "That's all we can do is maintain the peace while the government resolves the underlying issue that got us to this point," he said. "I think it's time for council to step up and put pressure on people at the (negotiating) table."
The town itself needs a boost, said Fantino. The community has been cast in a bad light by media, he said.
"We need to free up this community from this difficulty and this can only be done by policy makers," he said.