May 24, 2007 12:23 p.m. EST
Danielle Godard - AHN Staff Writer
Hagersville, ON (AHN) - A native protest held in Hagersville fizzled out almost as quickly as it started Wednesday, temporarily stalling land-claims talks and worrying the locals about other possible summer protests.
About two dozen Six Nations protesters moved onto a Hagersville townhouse site currently planned to be housing for seniors in order to protest against the development on land the Six Nations claim as their own.
Around 7 a.m., about two dozen Six Nations protesters moved onto the Hagersville site, which is now being developed as a townhouse complex for seniors, but until recently had been slated to become a new playground.
Ontario's Aboriginal Affairs Minister, David Ramsay, was appalled by the protest.
"This kind of behaviour is not acceptable. We should have peace and we should not have any further escalation," said Ramsay.
"In fact, we said we felt that this was so counterproductive that it was not going to be any use to continue the side-table consultations today," he added.
The developer visited the blockaded site early Wednesday and told protesters that he would halt building on the townhouses and head to the negotiating table with officials from the Six Nations and provincial and federal governments.
Protesters were satisfied with the offer and left peacefully.
For 15 months, Six Nations protesters have occupied a partially developed subdivision site in Caledonia as the government continues to be stalled in talks with the native group.
Aboriginal groups across Canada have pledged to step-up land claims protests everywhere in order to force a sense of urgency on the government to resolve the 800-odd outstanding land claims.