Protest planner seeking partners

Sun, January 14, 2007

A Londoner likely to be jailed for a protest in Caledonia next Saturday wants others to join him.

By JOHN MINER, FREE PRESS REPORTER

Already arrested once in defiance of a police warning, a Londoner is vowing to return to Caledonia in a repeat bid to hoist the Canadian flag there.

But this time, Mark Vandermaas is trying to recruit others to join him next Saturday near the site of a controversial native occupation.

Vandermaas says he's ready to be jailed again and hopes to find 50 others willing to be arrested at a planned protest.

"We are in the process of identifying people willing to come forward and go to jail with us," he said. "We already have a number of people that are prepared to be arrested."

Authorities have suggested provocation isn't welcome.

Police would prefer outsiders stay away from Caledonia, an Ontario Provincial Police spokesperson said.

"Interlopers that have their own personal agenda cause more problems than good," said OPP Sgt. David Rektor. "It is unfortunate they choose this as Ground Zero for their own agenda."

Vandermaas and fellow protest leader Gary McHale of Richmond Hill plan to lead a group of people in raising a Canadian flag next Saturday across from the disputed Douglas Creek Estates subdivision.

The subdivision south of Caledonia has been occupied since last February by natives from the adjacent Six Nations reserve who claim the land belongs to them.

Vandermaas and McHale were arrested in December when they approached the site carrying Canadian flags after being warned not to do so by police.

No charges were laid.

Rektor said there's a fragile peace in Caledonia and many people there would like outside protesters to stay away.

"It's just when people want to incite problems and antagonize, that is when the temperature rises a little bit and we have to react accordingly to keep the peace," he said.

But Vandermaas, editor of the Voice of Canada website that calls for an end to the native occupation of the subdivision, said he's received grateful e-mails from Caledonia residents thanking him for taking action.

Both Vandermaas and McHale say police have been ignoring law-breaking by natives in Caledonia, creating a two-tier justice system.

A spokesperson for the natives argues that, pointing to natives who've been arrested and charged.

A licensed realtor, Vandermaas said he's determined to keep campaigning against the lack of police action to protect Caledonia residents and now works full-time without pay on the issue.

"I am prepared to go to jail for the rest of my life if I have to. The rule of law in Canada and the right to be equal before that law is much more important than my freedom and I don't say that lightly," he said.