Caledonia homeowners scoff at compensation

Compensation for homeowners near aboriginal land occupation an insult, critics say

April Lindgren
Monday, March 19, 2007
The Canadian Press

CREDIT: Simon Hayter / National Post Politcal activist and rally organizer Gary McHale leads hundreds of angry protestors at a rally in Caledonia against the native occupation of a disputed tract of land on Oct. 15, 2006.

Original Link

TORONTO — More than a year after the confrontation began, 135 homeowners living next to land occupied by native protesters at Caledonia, Ont., are going to receive provincial government compensation of between $2,000 and $6,000 each.

The payments, worth a total of about $430,000, were greeted with derision by the homeowners, who say it comes nowhere near compensating them for the emotional and financial impact of the standoff taking place in their neighborhood.

"My property isn’t worth a thing," homeowner Dave Brown said in an interview after hearing he is entitled to $6,000 in compensation.

"We’ve tried to sell it. The real estate agent told us it was worth $555,000. Now I’m asking $240,000. What happens is that people have made a couple of appointments here and there to view it but then they don’t show."

Brown’s girlfriend Dana Chatwell described the compensation as "a joke." She said she believes the native protesters were responsible for an unsolved break-in at their home in December that resulted in the house being "totally trashed."

"They’ve spray painted the walls saying racists go home, they’ve called me every name in the book."

The couple are among 20 Caledonia residents living closest to the disputed lands who will be compensated $6,000. Another 80 will receive $3,000 while about 35 households will get $2,000.

The Ontario government said the payments are designed to reflect the impact of the ongoing standoff on homeowners and reflect how close their homes are to the disputed land.

Municipal Affairs Minister John Gerretsen described the payouts as "fair" and cannot be appealed.

"It’s the first time that compensation of this nature has been given to people who are directly affected by these kinds of protesting activities," he said. "It was a difficult decision to come to."

Six Nations protesters occupied the disputed land in February 2006, insisting that the property was illegally taken from them. With tensions between the aboriginal protesters and local residents of Caledonia running high, the province last year decided to purchase the disputed land from the housing developers involved. The property is being held in trust until the land claim negotiation is completed.