Landowner hires lawyer Clayton Ruby

By Jeremy Ashley

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 - 10:00
The Belleville Intelligencer

DESERONTO — A Kingston developer at the centre of a native land dispute pledged Tuesday to forge ahead with his $35-million development plans for this waterfront community.

And to help him in his fight, Intergroup Financing AG president Tim Letch has hired prominent civil rights lawyer and environmental advocate Clayton Ruby to represent him in any ensuing court proceedings to keep and develop the land.

“You know what I’m going to do? I’m going to go into a courtroom in a suit and tie and resolve this,” Letch said from his Kingston offices Tuesday.

“I’m tired, as are the people who actually live in Deseronto ... I want to get this moving along and develop a project to benefit the community at large.”

In October last year, Letch’s firm announced plans to build on a waterfront portion on the east side of Deseronto — a 15-acre $35-million development hailed by municipal leaders at the time as a sign “Deseronto is open for business.”

In the weeks following the announcement, however, protesters who said they represent the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte held a blockade-style demonstration, claiming the land is owned by Mohawks as part of what’s known as the Culbertson Tract, a 925-acre parcel starting at the Bay of Quinte and stretching north three concession roads. The unresolved land claim, which was filed in 1995, essentially bisects the town of Deseronto.

Municipal officials in Deseronto quickly disavowed any involvement in the project and earlier this month a federal negotiator was appointed to negotiate a settlement.

However, the appointee is only dealing with the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte to resolve the ordeal, Letch maintained, which prompted the developer to contact Ruby’s firm in Toronto.

“I feel that we have been misrepresented as to who owns the land. I could go on and on and on, but the bottom line is, I own the land,” Letch said.

“So the lawyer of record for Intergroup Finance AG will be Clayton Ruby.”

A member of the Order of Canada, Ruby is known for his role in a number of high-profile cases including representing Nova Scotia native Donald Marshall Jr., who was wrongfully-convicted of murder. Ruby also gained noteriety negotiating a settlement for three surviving Dionne quintuplets who were removed from their parents by the provincial government in 1934 and put on display. Ruby also obtained an acquittal for Guy Paul Morin, who was wrongfully accused of murdering a child.

Letch and his company, meanwhile, have been left on the hook for any expenses incurred during the process, said the developer in an interview.

“No one has got a dime (invested) in there but me,” he said. “We’ve had lines of credit in place since Nov. 15 and now the government is dragging its feet ...

“So who is the only one losing money in this deal? It’s not the town of Deseronto — they flip-flop day-to-day. It’s not the County of Hastings. It’s not the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte. I’m taking the loss here.”

“The Indians don’t have a dime there, they’re just coming after what we’ve got.”

However, despite the financial losses incurred over the two-month period since the ordeal began, Letch is adamant the project will move ahead.

“This deal is not falling apart for me — I am going to go in, dig the ground up and build houses on my property. I just stopped because the government asked me to stop. I just got off the phone from the town today, and they can’t stop us from digging — so it could be any day that I will go in.

“I’m also not happy with my side of the story being misrepresented in the press,” he said, complaining the militant protesters received the majority of the attention from national media. No one cares about the real story behind this — the guy losing money from his own pocket.”