Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Owen Sound Suntimes
The blockade of the CN rail tracks by native protesters on the weekend pointed out three salient facts.
First, an innocent public - thousands of Via Rail customers had travel plans cancelled or disrupted on the first nice long weekend of 2007 - paid the price extracted by the illegal actions of Mohawk protesters.
Second, OPP officers who stood by while this unnecessary action took 30 hours to play out, have their hands tied by a government that is paralyzed when it comes to any protest by Aboriginals (see Caledonia for further proof). They didn't act even after a court injunction to disperse the blockade was delivered by the sheriff into the hands of leader Shawn Brant.
Third, the duly elected chief and band council of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte are not willing to act when some of their own stage renegade actions.
What should be done? Why not arrest the renegades? Why are they above the law? If the protesters were non-aboriginal, the jail cells would be waiting.
But after the Ipperwash tragedy and the shooting of Dudley George by an OPP officer, it's apparently hands off when it comes to illegal aboriginal demonstrations, no matter the consequences those activities have on innocent people.
We can understand the frustration of native peoples. They were horrendously treated by the government over many years. Native children torn from families, forced into church-run schools where they were sometimes sexually abused, sometimes physically abused, and at all times forced into a foreign life at odds with their traditions.
There is no excuse. There can be no excuse.
The apologies, the compensation, are inadequate. But what else can be done?
Canadians are basically a peaceful people, and that includes all races that go to make this multicultural country among the best in the world.
But there are elements that would erode that peace, and they are not all foreign.
Shawn Brant is a charismatic, articulate and intelligent individual. He draws younger natives to his camp.
What could be more exciting than taking part in actions that defy authorities, and get splashed on television and in newspapers all across the nation?
But the lanky, long-haired camouflage-dressed Brant is a professional agitator. When some offices were occupied at Queen's Park a few years ago, Brant was there. When the CN lines were blockaded about a year ago to show solidarity with natives in Caledonia, Brant was in the forefront. And now this.
He claims he has a mandate from the people, but Chief R. Donald Maracle says he and the band council don't support Brant's tactics and have spoken out against escalating the protest.
In reality, Brant is doing his people a disservice. His actions erode any sympathy with the general population when he creates economic chaos by blocking 25 freight trains a day on the busiest stretch of rail in Canada. Likewise when thousands of people in heavily populated areas such as Toronto and Montreal have their lives disrupted for no good reason.
And there is no good reason. The government and the chief and band council of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte are negotiating the ownership of 900-odd acres of land the natives say was taken from them illegally. Representatives from the Mohawks and the federal government say they are making progress.
And then along comes Brant and actions that he claims are targeted to speed up negotiations. Wrong, sir. You win no ground with these actions.
It is time that the renegades were reined in by authorities. The law, should apply equally to all, with no exclusions.