Monte Sonnenberg
Wednesday September 19, 2007
Simcoe Reformer
But Ontarians at least can thank the provincial Liberals for laying down a marker that will help voters distinguish them from the pack in the Oct. 10 election.
Elections are about leadership. Sometimes they are only about leadership. Parties with sound policies sometimes fall short because voters find their leaders lacking in this vital area.
The incumbent Liberals were forced to speak about leadership this weekend following a serious assault in Caledonia. Native youths allegedly beat a developer into unconsciousness on Thursday.
The assault occurred after natives occupied a subdivision site because they decided the developers were not respecting new land-use controls that Six Nations has claimed in southern Ontario.
Aboriginals are slowly but surely sterilizing development in communities along the Grand River. They are emboldened by the fact that - after 18 months of confrontation - no one at the provincial or federal level will stand up to them.
Six Nations’ latest gambit is the establishment of a native land-use authority that claims varying degrees of control over the entire length of the Grand River. In the area of Brant County, Brantford and Six Nations itself, natives have served notice that they intend to annex undisclosed expanses of land. Ontario is confronted with a coup from within and no one in a position of authority is willing to react. We are without government.
The beating of the developer in Caledonia forced the provincial leaders to state where they stand on the question. The stand taken by the McGuinty Liberals is an eye-opener. Astonishingly, treasurer Greg Sorbara said Monday that the McGuinty government will not participate in future negotiations regarding native land claims in Ontario, will not direct police operations related to native confrontations, will not get involved in disputes between residents and will not react to media reports and commentary on this explosive state of affairs. In short, a total and complete abdication of responsibility.
The McGuinty Liberals are the government of record at Queen’s Park. Presumably, they are standing for re-election because they want to lead this province. But if they get the votes necessary to form a government, they will not lead on this vital question. Because the issue involves a native land claim, the McGuinty government claims it is up to the federal government to solve the problem. Ottawa is the level of government that deal with native affairs, we are told, therefore they can carry the can.
Nero fiddling while Rome burns: It’s an odd pose to strike in the middle of an election campaign. If Ontarians want it, they can have it. But chances are pretty good voters will want someone at the top who is engaged by serious challenges like this. Though they have no documentation to back it up, natives in Six Nations have decided they deserve a say, compensation and significant ownership rights in a swath six miles on either side of the Grand River from Dunnville to the highland of Dufferin County. Nearly 900,000 people in 38 municipalities live in the Grand River watershed, which is 300 kilometres long. They are threatened with insurrection. Yet our buck-passing provincial government does nothing but enable their antagonists.
Whether the province likes it or not, this is very much a provincial issue. It is a provincial issue because it impacts on so many areas of municipal and provincial jurisdiction. It impacts on new development, new assessment, property values, property taxes, public security, law and order, transportation, security of energy supplies, mineral rights, water rights, wildlife management and so on. Queen’s Park says it is Ottawa’s responsibility to solve the problem. But does anyone know that Six Nations wants a solution? Maybe it is having too much fun with the vacuum the McGuinty Liberals fostered at the outset of this crisis.
If this is your idea of leadership in the 21st century Ontario, prepare to have the meat picked off your bones.