PC leader pushes tougher law in Caledonia

Mon, September 24, 2007

By ANTONELLA ARTUSO, SUN MEDIA

London Free Press

CALEDONIA -- A Conservative government would rewrite trespass laws to give police more powerful tools to end "illegal occupations" such as the 18-month native blockade of the Douglas Creek Estates here, John Tory says.

Yesterday, the PC leader said he'd broaden the definition of trespass to include illegal occupations and apply the law to any person or group that encourages such actions and the people who are on site.

Caledonia was thrust under the national spotlight after Six Nations native protesters took over a housing site under construction on Feb. 28, 2006.

Numerous clashes, vandalism and protests televised nationwide have followed.

Yesterday, Tory held a round-table meeting with the local PC MPP in the last legislature, plus the Haldimand County mayor and a small group of residents and business people who say their community remains a virtual war zone and they feel as if they've been abandoned by the provincial and federal governments.

Under Tory's plan, maximum trespass fines would be $2,000 for individuals and $25,000 for organizations for each day an occupation defies a court order to stop, he said.

"It is unacceptable that residents live in the shadow of razor-wire fences," he said. "It is unacceptable that 37 OPP officers have been injured -- six of them seriously -- while on Caledonia assignment and several cruisers have been swarmed and damaged."

Tory's decision to take his campaign to Caledonia drew a furious reaction from Liberal Deputy Premier George Smitherman, who accused him of using the situation to his political advantage.

"(John Tory) is so desperate that he is willing to jeopardize a fragile peace for his own personal gain," Smitherman said.

Tory said he's made seven previous visits to Caledonia to hear residents' concerns, and tried without success to meet with native representatives, while Premier Dalton McGuinty has yet to appear.

Haldimand County Mayor Marie Trainer said the community's economy has lost an estimated $40 million in new development as a result of the crisis and housing developers are now being told they must negotiate with the Six Nations Confederacy before building.

"The rule of law must apply to all residents of Ontario," she said. "Those radicals have got to be stopped . . . and then we can sit down and talk to one another."

Parent Anne Marie Vansickle said her two children go to an elementary school with an OPP presence before and after school and during recess.

When she and three women crossed over onto the Douglas Creek estate, 53 OPP officers arrived to escort them off, she said, but have done next to nothing when there have been dangerous incidents involving protesters.

Once, the OPP told them they'd need a special pass on their car dashboard to access their own home, she said.

"We feel abandoned and hopeless," Vansickle said.

Tory said police need a clearer legal framework to hold people accountable for their actions.

A tougher trespass law would ensure court injunctions are respected and enforced, he said.

Members of the Six Nations community have said they don't view their presence on Douglas Creek as an "illegal occupation" because they have a legitimate land claim.