I am writing after hearing the news of the sentencing of the protesters at Robertsville, near Sharbot Lake, for contempt of court after they went against a court injunction. All involved understood that contempt of court was a serious offence but from what I have been reading on the government websites and the website of Frontenac Ventures Corporation (FVC) themselves, this was a situation where the people only had one course of action and that was to protest.
The judge was unfairly harsh in his sentencing, especially when you consider that a man who was convicted of hit and run causing death in the past year or so received only a six-month sentence for his crime in Ontario.
Not only jail time and hefty fines attached but the judge has declared that he will not accept the mining act defence in which there must be consultation with the aboriginal people when mining claims are on unsettled Crown land. This is not justice.
His actions take us right back to the beginning of human rights when people had to fight to have their rights recognized differently than "normal" Canadian people and also wipes all the work done for aboriginal people's fight for self government.
There are a few other things that your readers may not be aware of: 1) Under the Mining Act, the company that buys the mining rights is also able to buy the rights to private properties. This means as a land owner you own just that, the companies purchase the rights to look for minerals in your land, they can go in and dig it up and tear up whatever is in their way. They are still required to get permission from the land owners but refusal is limited and this did not happen in the case of the home owners in Robertsville. The company violated the law and the only ones being held accountable are the protesters.
2) Also under the Mining Act, these companies not only get the rights to the land but they get the rights to the land under the water, so they can dig up the waterfront too. Uranium is the worst as it is radioactive and once disturbed stays active for many years. Every citizen of every city should be concerned about this and should contact their city and government officials and ask them to place a moratorium on uranium mining. Not for a year or two, but for as long as humanly possible.
Also, send "shame" to the judge in Kingston for his biased sentencing of protesters who did try to work things out legally, and his failure to punish FVC for its actions.
Peter Vance
Trenton