John Burman
The Hamilton Spectator
CAYUGA (Mar 28, 2008)
A Caledonia couple has won what could be a precedent-setting court declaration that they own the land they paid for, and that no one can trespass and claim they have an interest in the lot.
Chris and Lisa Syrie's Argyle Street property backs onto the disputed former Douglas Creek Estates.
Chris Syrie, who bought the lot in 2005, had planned to build a music centre on it before native protesters occupied the former subdivision and development was frozen. He won the declaration in Superior court in Cayuga yesterday after no one objected to his claim.
Six Nations' elected band council, the Haudenosaunee traditional council, Haldimand council and the federal and provincial governments were served notice of the hearing.
The Haudenosaunee council, which has spearheaded land "reclamation," did not respond and did not appear in court.
The elected Six Nations council did not object, but sent a lawyer to make sure the declaration did not remove the land from future compensation consideration as part of the council's 1995 land claim regarding the Plank Road (Argyle Street).
The provincial and federal governments did not object.
Syrie is now studying what use he can make of the property into which he has sunk $200,000. He's also considering some sort of gathering on the land to mark the decision, which could ignite a response from natives.
In January, when he went to the site located a couple of hundred feet west of the entrance to the disputed subdivision, native protesters swarmed the property. Syrie says when he asked police to tell them to leave, nothing happened because the OPP believed the protesters enjoyed what is called a "colour of right" or "claim of right" -- an honestly held belief they have a claim to the land.
Now, says Syrie, because Six Nations band council and the Haudenosaunee council did not object to his declaration of "fee simple" -- that he has title and use of the land -- trespassers would not enjoy a "colour of right" defence.
Because the provincial government did not object to the declaration, Syrie says the next time he calls the OPP, he will expect them to remove anyone interfering with his legitimate use of the land.
Syrie said he believes the decision by Judge James Turnbull could prompt worried property owners in disputed areas of the Haldimand Tract, from Lake Erie to the headwaters of the Grand River, to take similar action.
It remains to be seen how this will affect the way OPP and several municipal police forces handle friction between property owners and developers and natives.
"(The OPP is) very interested in what happened in court and until all the details are disclosed, we may or may not be in a position to comment," OPP spokesperson Constable Paula Wright said last night.
Syrie's lawyer John Findlay said the land has been "worthless" and the declaration is a step toward making use of the property or bolstering his argument for compensation from the province.
When Ontario bought the Douglas Creek Estates site, it effectively "expropriated" Syrie's land without compensation because development of the lot depends on drainage systems in the subdivision which have not been completed, he said.