CALEDONIA, ONT.–More than 100 people attended a rally in Caledonia yesterday aimed at putting the issue of native land occupations on the political radar on the eve of Ontario's election.
A man was taken into custody after pushing past a police barricade near the Stirling Woods subdivision – scene of a native occupation that turned violent last month.
He has been charged with obstructing police and assault with intent to resist arrest and was set for a bail hearing in Cayuga.
The demonstration was organized by Gary McHale and Mark Vandermaas, who are not residents of Caledonia, but have organized several rallies since natives moved onto the former Douglas Creek Estates subdivision 19 months ago.
They have set up websites condemning the OPP and government's handling of the standoff.
Yesterday's protest began outside the Caledonia Lions Hall.
Speakers included Joe Gualtieri, whose brother Sam was found beaten unconscious Sept. 13 after confronting native protesters in the house he is building for his daughter in the subdivision.
The 52-year-old builder has since returned to his Caledonia home and is recovering from head trauma and fractured bones.
"My family's gone through one month of hell," Joe Gualtieri told the crowd. "You've been through 19 months of this."
Gualtieri said that while his family supports the rights of Caledonia residents to live free of fear and intimidation, they do not support civil disobedience or violence of any kind. He urged the protesters to act peacefully and rationally.
Gualtieri called for a public inquiry into the handling of native occupations and for more transparency around negotiations between natives and government representatives.
Vandermaas, who lives in London, Ont., said the OPP's failure to enforce the law has hurt local natives as much as Caledonia residents because it led to lawlessness.
McHale, who lives in Richmond Hill, condemned Premier Dalton McGuinty for not visiting Caledonia and accused politicians of being "too spineless to speak out against what they know is wrong."
The demonstrators then made their way to the nearby development where organizers hoped to plant a Canadian flag, but were stopped by a barricade with about 20 OPP officers.
Several scuffles followed as a few tried to push past the police line.
One protester was taken into custody after walking through the line, while another was escorted back.
The development was the scene of a native occupation in September that ended after a tentative deal was struck between developer John Kragten and traditional Confederacy leaders. That deal collapsed.