City council could find out today if its strategy to squelch protests by Six Nations Confederacy activists is right, when all eyes are on a judge to either grant or deny an injunction allowing police to remove anyone who interferes with work at key development sites.
Lawyers for the city and the Confederacy will be in Superior Court for a second time this morning on the city's application for an injunction meant to enforce bylaws prohibiting activities that interfere with work on construction in three designated areas:
- Oak Park Road and Fen Ridge Court in the northwest business park, where construction has been stymied by activists on a $10.4-million hotel by Bawa Hotels Canada Ltd., and an adjacent insulation manufacturing operation offering 200 jobs and a North American headquarters by Ireland-based Kingspan Group PLC;
-Wayne Gretzky Parkway and Henry Street, where construction activity on a $40-million power centre by First Gulf has has been stopped for months;
- And, Erie Avenue and Birkett Lane, where city crews have been able to begin work on water and sewer service connections for a 99-home subdivision by Cambridge Heritage Management Corp., the first of several projects on the books for the area.
The outcome of the city's case for an injunction could be the latest milestone in a strategy by the city, on the advice of its law firm Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, to clamp down on an activist group led by Floyd and Ruby Montour, whose blockades to draw attention to unresolved Six Nations land claims have effectively halted work on high-profile projects at the three sites.
While the lawyers are in court, the Montours and their supporters will likely be across the street in Victoria Park, where at least two rallies are expected. One is organized by Six Nations in support of the celebrated protest leaders, along with a "peace rally" by Brantford-area non-aboriginals who hope to shake hands with the natives; and there's an expected appearance from a group led by Gary McHale, a perennial protester who reaps sentiment against native protest activities and purported inaction by police forces.
Coun. James Calnan, the acting mayor while Mayor Mike Hancock is out of the country, said Thursday that council is determined to resolve a "crisis" that is threatening to drive away development and cause the city irreparable financial harm.
"It's a course of action that we see as necessary," said Calnan.
He rejected the perception that the city's actions are aggressive.
"We see it as more of a position in which we are being affirmative and moving from strength," he said. "We have a feeling of being aggrieved. That's why we are seeking these remedies.
"We understand the people of Six Nations when they talk about their grievance concerning all the unsettled land claims, but this is a community in crisis and we need to seek resolutions that are helpful."
It is clear from activities at city hall that the stymying of construction at several sites and the need to head off a feared meltdown from the business community have been at the root of council's activities for months.
Councillors remain resolutely tight-lipped about all the closed-door sessions they have conducted on the issues and say "everything comes only from the mayor." But information from sources at city hall indicates that council's course of action stems from a feeling that higher levels of government have left the city to handle a crisis alone.
Council found itself in a political quagmire when Hancock called a closed-door session in late March to determine how to handle a gathering storm of protests at various sites. The meeting ended in acrimony and indecision as some councillors walked out angry, with some saying they felt gagged.
A couple of weeks later, however, they rallied around a resolution from Coun. Vince Bucci, crafted with the help of the legal department, which set out the city's position on a number of issues surrounding the land claims issue, the protests and the HDI.
But the protests continued to keep the construction crews at bay. Companies, particularly those who had bought land from the city in the northwest business park, were threatening to walk from sites they couldn't develop.
Hancock and council were working on a plan to have the city, Brant MPP Dave Levac and either Aboriginal Affairs Minister Michael Bryant or his top staff talk regularly with the aggrieved developers to keep up their confidence and offer solutions - also in the hope that the government and negotiators in the ongoing land claims talks would feel the impact.
But that co-operation wasn't always coming from the province.
Sources says that in important conference calls in April involving city officials, Bryant, Kingspan and Bawa, it became clear that no help was coming from Queen's Park, and certainly not from Ottawa, which has responsibility for the land claims negotiations.
In closed-door briefings on the calls, it became clear to council that Brantford was on its own.
Council directed staff in a closed session to seek a new course. They came back with a recommendation to hire Fasken Martineau, which has built a reputation and case history on helping municipalities handle native actions and getting injunctions that have sent some to jail.
After hiring the firm with still undisclosed retaining arrangements, council took its advice and developed a four-part strategy:
- Write a letter to the Six Nations Confederacy and Floyd and Ruby Montour, asking them to stop. That move was rebuffed;
- Pass two twin bylaws, one prohibiting the activities of the HDI, and theother activities that interference with work at the three designated areas;
- File the injunction;
- And hope for enforcement from police.
Calnan said council has confidence in the strategy.
"They're doing a remarkable job, we're pleased with the firm," said Calnan.
"In a case as important as this, it was necessary to take a bold step. We are satisfied that we are getting good advice."