Posted By John Paul Zronik
Sept. 18, 2007
Brantford Expositor
A local builder says he'll forge ahead with work on a Grand River Avenue housing project today, despite the threat of a Six Nations protest.
Mike Quattrociocchi, owner of Mayberry Homes, said he can't wait any longer to continue construction of four duplexes his company is building at Grand River and Jarvis Street.
"I'm bringing it to a head," Quattrociocchi said Monday. "I'm tired of delays. We are forging ahead at all costs and I won't stop."
A small group of native protesters shut down construction at the building site on Sept. 4, claiming the project was on Six Nations land and that the developer required permission from the Six Nation's Confederacy before continuing work.
Quattrociocchi met with Confederacy representatives following the protest and said he was asked by natives to pay more than $50,000 if he wanted to proceed with the housing project. Quattrociocchi refused to pay and later likened the Confederacy's request to "mafia" extortion.
Confederacy representatives said they haven't asked the developer for "any specific amount" of money. They have released a protocol requiring developers to pay a "fee" - a percentage based on a project's value - to build on land they claim.
So far, delays caused by the native protest have cost Quattrociocchi $20,000, he said.
Last week, the builder confronted Premier Dalton McGuinty during an election campaign stop in Hamilton, asking the Liberal leader what he intended to do about native protests at local building sites.
Since that time, the developer has faced criticism that his protest was motivated by connections with the provincial Progressive Conservative Party. Quattrociocchi is an executive on the Brant PC riding association.
On Monday, Quattrociocchi said his actions have nothing to do with political affiliation. He said his motivation is a lack of answers from government officials about the situation he faces.
"If the Conservatives were in power, make no mistake, I would have confronted them," he said. "The fact of the matter is (government officials) have been ignoring me for the past month.
"If they hadn't ignored my calls, I wouldn't have gone down to confront McGuinty."