By Bill Jackson
While
Those rumours turned to reality Tuesday morning as about a dozen OPP cruisers cordoned off Highway 17 (Talbot Street) in Cayuga and spread over the grounds of JL Mitchener school as this newspaper was preparing to go to print.
Ruby Montour supported by a dozen native protesters showed up at the Cayuga site and confronted developer Mike Corrado.
Corrado told the Regional News that he had agreed to halt development yesterday, but intended to continue building today. Montour has given him two weeks notice to commence "meaningful discussions" with Haudosaunee Development Institute. Corrado said he has agreed to hold discussions, but is not certain what's going to happen two weeks from now. He planned to attend yesterday's meting with Bryant.
Last Thursday, a small group of local residents, including Haldimand's mayor and two local councilors showed up at the site on which work to construct 44 units was still running at full tilt.
A week prior, several Six Nations representatives, including Ruby Montour, had told developer Mide Corrado that if he didn't stop work and consult with the Haudenosaunee Development Institute that has been set up to deal with developers in the Grand River watershed, they would be back to shut him down permanently.
Last weekend a planned pig roast on a property abutting the Douglas Creek Estates native occupation site in Caledonia went off without a hitch, diffusing any fear of a potential flare-up with Six Nations residents who were also holding an event to commemorate the events of April 20, 2006 – the day OPP officers attempted to raid the DCE site and remove protesters who pushed them back with brute force, sparking a summer of violence and confrontation. Several OPP officers were sent to the hospital after sustaining injuries in that melee.
Another small group of Caledonians bused it down to Queen's Park last Sunday to commemorate what they called the second anniversary of anarchy. But only 20 people joined
Haldimand Council members did not show up at the Queen's Park rally last Sunday. Neither did members of
Some areas in Haldimand are still without OPP enforcement and ongoing protests over land is stifling development in the
"We are here today not because we agree or disagree with land claims, but to expose the mafia-style coercion tactics these criminals engage in and the McGuinty Government's toleration of it," said Kinrade in his opening speech.
Kinrade highlighted the beating of a local home builder, the attempted murder of law enforcement officials and OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino's threat to remove the OPP from Haldimand, which was directed at the county's council.
Vandermaas recently filed a human rights complaint against Fantino after being arrested for attempting to erect a Canadian flag near the provincially owned DCE occupation site that is a "no go zone" for provincial police. Because Mohawk Warriors and other native flags were allowed to be erected on the provincially owned property, Vandermaas thinks it proves the OPP are guilty of two-tiered policing.
However Bryant recently accused Vandermaas of dividing the town of
"I know a lot of people in
Vandermaas rhetorically asked the small gathering at Queen's Park what the Liberal Government would do if someone from Mike Harris' former PC Government had attacked a native human rights complaint.
Last week in the
"The alleged provocation is a potluck dinner," Bryant replied, stating that similar events in the past have been peaceful and that non-native residents have taken part.
"I say to the member he doesn't support negotiations between Haudenosaunee Six Nations and the government. He doesn't seem to support a potluck dinner. Is there any doubt that people continue to think that this is a party consistent with the reports in Ipperwash?"
"The OPP has clearly become an enforcement of a political party," said McHale, who is still barred from entering
The McGuinty Government would be outraged if black people were arrested for standing on the street, McHale added.
"We don't have that right, they don't have that right."
The rather small contingent at Queen's Park, minus McHale, made its way back to
The event was held partly to celebrate the birthday of a relative but also to raise money for a defense fund belonging to the group
Many individuals who have been charged with offenses following the events of the past two years don't have enough money to pay for their own court costs.
Kinrade pointed out the province granted natives $200,000 to help them fight charges against them in court and said "we want non-native protesters to have access to the same legal funding and court advocacy that Mr. Bryant has made available to native protesters."
Approximately 75 people attended last weekend's pig roast which was preceded by a garage sale that also helped raise funds for non-native defense.
Lisa Parent said the event on DCE earlier in the day was also sparsely attended and she reported that only 20 cars showed up on what was a beautiful, sunny, spring day.
Chris Syrie, who owns a piece of land next to Brown and Chatwell, was having a bonfire which people attending the barbecue enjoyed.
Syrie had been confronted by several natives in the past who disputed his ownership of the land, but recently received a Supreme Court judgement confirming that he has legal title to the property.
If native protesters should step on his property again, Syrie would expect the OPP to arrest them for trespassing. And that includes anyone, he noted, not just natives.
"I do not have a racist bone in my body. Never have, never will."
Syrie pointed out that he bought the property with the understanding that it would connect to a drain swell as part of a subdivision on the DCE site. He's come to the conclusion that it will probably never be a subdivision and is currently in the process of getting a surveyor to see if there's a way to construct a building. The county will want proper drainage and storm water plans to issue a permit and the circumstances impose a huge hurdle for someone who wants to develop, he said, adding that the province should come up with a plan to compensate all affected developers to re-engineer their plans. Syrie's already spent thousands and notes he's a guitarist who owns a local music store, not a land claims negotiator, nor a government official.
Haldimand Mayor Marie Trainer, who was at the Cayuga development site last week to support developer Mike Corrado, said she wants to hear details of the moratorium before giving an opinion.
Haldimand is also waiting to hear back on its official plan which still hasn't been approved by the province. The county has been waiting more than a year to get it approved.
Recent discussions with Six Nations representatives regarding the plan were cancelled by the natives, Trainer said.
Corrado emphasized that the has no issue with Six Nations but doesn't plan to pay money to the Haudenosaunee Development Institute that has been accused of extorting money from developers, including a $7000 application fee.
"The government should be dealing with it, not Mike Corrado," he said.
'Nobody puts food on my table except for me."
Corrado said there are different rules of engagement for police when natives occupy a piece of property, compared to non-natives.
He responded to Six Nations representatives in writing last week and copied government officials.
"We plan to finish our project," he said.
And after seeing almost 40 people out to support him from the local community, he concluded, "I think the people of Haldimand have had enough."