June 19, 2007
Winnipeg Free Press
By Paul Samyn
OTTAWA -- With the threat of native rail and road blockades looming, the Assembly of First Nations and the RCMP have signed a protocol aimed at ensuring protests don’t turn ugly.Surrounded by the scent of burning sweetgrass, AFN national chief Phil Fontaine and interim RCMP commissioner Beverly Busson hailed the pact as key to maintaining good relations between natives and the Mounties.
“We are proud to be a part of supporting the national day that First Nations are celebrating their place in Canada and to their right to acknowledge and demonstrate peacefully,’’ Busson said Tuesday.
“We will be working very hard to make sure that the day is a successful day and everyone’s rights are respected.’’
With native anger simmering on a number of fronts, the June 29 so-called national day of action is a potential trigger for a long, hot summer of demonstrations.
The protocol signed lays out ground rules for dealing with any crisis that may emerge, including the provision for a joint AFN/RCMP response team.
“The purpose of this protocol is to establish trusting and reciprocal relationships among the parties with the goal of addressing issues of mutual concern and preventing crisis situations from arising in First Nations communities and resolving any crises that may arise at the earliest possible opportunity,’’ says the text of the agreement which marks a renewal of a previous pact.Fontaine defended events planned for June 29 and beyond as key for natives to get movement on issues such as poverty and land claims.
“We need immediate and urgent action and we have come to the point where we believe that the only way we can get the government to act in a responsible and appropriate way is to reach out to Canadians and we are trying to do it in the most respectful and peaceful way possible. That is what June 29 is about,’’ Fontaine said.
In Manitoba, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is planning a peaceful event at The Forks, including speeches, entertainment and an informational tent.
There is talk that Chief Terry Nelson’s threat of rail blockades by members of Rouseau River First Nation may not happen.
Fontaine made clear that no one should be allowed to get in the way of the Constitutional rights of natives to demonstrate.
“People have a right to demonstrate and to protest and if they so wish to engage in civil disobedience, they can as long as they are prepared to accept the consequences. I think we have to be very careful that those rights are not denied to one segment of the Canadian population.’’
Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian Fantino, who is currently dealing with the native protest at Caledonia, was part of Tuesday’s signing ceremony and echoed the spirit of co-operation that Busson and Fontaine expressed.
“We are looking forward and planning for a peaceful event and we have every reason to believe that will be so and we will deal with exceptions for what they are -- exceptions,’’ Fantino said.