Brock Harrison
Kingston Whig-Standard
Friday, September 07, 2007 - 00:00
Local News - As premier, John Tory says he would enforce a "one law for all" legal system and apply it to aboriginals who occupy lands as a form of protest against proposed developments, such as the uranium mine near Sharbot Lake.
Speaking to reporters from Osprey Media newspapers by telephone, the provincial Progressive Conservative leader suggested he would establish a zero-tolerance policy on aboriginal land occupations if he is elected premier of Ontario on Oct. 10.
"We can't have even legitimate complaints settled by people taking the law into their own hands," Tory said in response to a Whig-Standard question about the six-week-old uranium mine blockade by local Algonquins in North Frontenac.
The Algonquins have set up a campsite on the private property, where Oakville-based Frontenac Ventures has staked several uranium mining claims. They say they are protecting their land, which is a disputed territory subject to ongoing land-claim negotiations, from environmental harm.
Tory says he would have "firm but friendly" conversations with aboriginal leaders to tell them his government would not stand for such tactics. He didn't elaborate on what that meant.
Late last month, Superior Court Justice Gordon Thomson issued a temporary injunction against the Algonquins, ordering the blockade to end.
The injunction has been ignored to date and the blockade is now in its sixth week.
Tory said he views blockades like the one in North Frontenac the same way as several other ongoing aboriginal occupations in the province against housing developments.
"I won't just sit back and [these occupations] go on in place after place after place. The results of that are very predictable."
Tory also admonished Premier Dalton McGuinty for not using the courts or the "moral authority" of the premier's office to end land disputes.
Algonquins on the site are asking for a government-ordered moratorium on uranium mining. Tory would not say if he would issue such a moratorium, but hinted against it.
"On the flip side, it's important in eastern Ontario that we try to look for opportunities to create jobs and do that in a way that is balanced," he said.
On Kingston's chronic bed shortage, Tory reiterated what he has said during previous visits to Kingston General Hospital, saying a Progressive Conservative government would expand home care and invest in long-term care beds to free up acute-care beds.
"Everything you do has an impact on some other part of the health-care system," Tory said. "By making the investments we are proposing in long-term care ... we can have acute-care beds available for that which they're needed."
On coal-fired power plants, Tory vowed he wouldn't close a single one until another power source could be secured to replace the coal plant.
He said Ontario's sometimes-faulty electricity supply is scaring off big manufacturers wary of losing money and production time due to unexpected power interruptions.
Tory also said a Conservative government would move to loosen regulations on manufacturers to attract more jobs.
"From what business people have told me, Ontario has become a less and less attractive place to invest because of the level of regulation and taxation."