CALEDONIA, Ont. - Ontario's minister of Aboriginal Affairs said First Nations protesters occupying a disputed tract of land in the town of Caledonia, Ont. - 30 kilometres south of Hamilton - will not be forcibly removed by Ontario Provincial Police.
Michael Bryant stressed the need for short- and long-term solutions to the 21-month old dispute as he wrapped up his first trip to Caledonia Monday.
Bryant met with politicians, religious leaders and residents and spoke of the need to move forward and not be "paralyzed" while negotiations continue.
After meeting with community members informally he said he heard "loud and clear" the concerns of residents but said force would serve no purpose while negotiations continue with the federal and provincial government.
"Whether people leave the land voluntarily today or involuntarily today, what do we do then tomorrow?" Bryant said after his final meeting. " We have to find a long-term solution. This talk about removing people is just a blind alley. It is taking us nowhere."
Bryant did not meet with Six Nations protesters but said a meeting was being scheduled with the Haudenosaunee Iroquois Confederacy and Six Nations Chief-Elect Bill Montour for when he is formally installed in his new role in December.
Haldimand County Mayor Marie Trainer said the county would present the province with an economic revitalization and recovery plan in the New Year to address a decline in tourism and economic development.
Trainer also said the county has made overtures to start a dialogue with First Nations groups but acknowledged the tense relationship will take years to recover.
"It has gone on so long that the tempers, the feelings have become very strong," said Trainer. "People who maybe were sympathetic with the First Nations are, now it's gone on so long, they are angry."
More than two-dozen protesters carrying signs saying "Frustrated, Forgotten, Fed Up" and "One Law for All" came to meet Bryant to express their displeasure at the pace and progress of negotiations.
"This thing is getting worse not better," said 20-year resident, Pat Woolley. "You can't allow this thing to go on. I've always brought my children up to believe we are all equal under the law. My frustration with this Liberal government is that we're not seeing this transpire in this community."
Six Nations protesters claim a 40-acre housing development site near the Southern Ontario town is part of a parcel of land granted to them more than 200 years ago and was wrongly taken from them. They've been staging demonstrations and have barricaded parts of the area since February 2006.