Caledonia standoff nears first anniversary

CHINTA PUXLEY

Canadian Press-posted Globe & Mail
Feb 26, 2007

Even as Canada's longest-running aboriginal standoff closes in on its one-year anniversary, the Six Nations occupation of a former housing development site near Caledonia, Ont., isn't going to end any time soon, warns federal Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice.

Negotiators trying to end the year-long occupation and resolve the 200-year-old land claim are still working on peripheral parts of the claim, and have a long way to go before they can end the standoff.

They are dealing with "intractable" and "challenging" issues stemming from one of the oldest land claims in Canada, Mr. Prentice said.

"We'd be happy to be further toward the completion," he said in an interview. "But it is a complicated matter. I've always known that it would be a challenging situation that would go on for some time."

The occupation that began when a small group of aboriginals blocked construction on the housing development in the town south of Hamilton "could have been far worse," Mr. Prentice added. Negotiations have brought relative stability and calm to the small town, he said.

Compared to the armed standoff between Mohawks and the Canadian army in Oka, Que., that killed a police officer 17 years ago, Caledonia has been handled "in a very responsible way," Mr. Prentice said.

"If people are patient, we will get this resolved."

But patience ran out a long time ago in the community that has been living for almost a year with the sometimes-violent occupation and national scrutiny.

Caledonia residents are expressing their anger and frustration in anniversary cards for Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.

The 2.5-metre cards feature pictures of both men wearing clown wigs and the words "Unhappy First Anniversary." Each one carries hundreds of signatures.

Janie Jamieson, a spokeswoman for the protesters, said the occupation embodies too much for Six Nations to back down now.

The prosperity Canada enjoys comes at the expense of the country's first nations, putting aboriginal pride and dignity at stake, Ms. Jamieson said.