A link between a native protester, the owner of disputed lands in Deseronto and a police officer was called into question by the presiding judge in court here Monday.
And with the revelations, which surfaced during the first day of Shawn Brant's criminal trial on weapons charges, came a suggestion from Justice Stephen Hunter that the Napanee developer behind a controversial housing development on disputed native lands in Deseronto wanted to work with protesters to further common interests.
In fact, developer Theo Nibourg's testimony about meeting with native protester Shawn Brant at a Napanee restaurant only days before heated demonstrations and blockades in Deseronto last April, caused Hunter to wonder aloud about the intentions of each side.
"Both of you had a common goal -- to move the federal government," Hunter said.
"That's correct," Nibourg answered.
Hunter said the optics of such a meeting -- a native protest leader and a developer, both with a vested interest in disputed lands -- would suggest that each would say to the other "you do what you do and we'll do what we have to do -- let's get it done."
However, when asked, Nibourg denied there was any collusion between protesters and his company.
Nibourg said his relationship with Brant began shortly after a confrontation on a parcel of property he owns in Deseronto -- land that is part of the Culbertson Land tract, a piece of land currently the subject of a native land claim.
On April 10, Nibourg's workers went to the site to begin clearing brush and complete surveys on the 25-acre parcel on which he
hoped to establish a residential waterfront development.
Soon after the arrival of construction crews, Nibourg said a group of native pro-t esters approached a n d
demanded the work stop. The atmosphere at the
scene, he testified, "was quite explosive ... they were in your face," before workers agreed to leave the scene.
Initially, Nibourg said he planned to return to the site with "about 30 people" on April 21.
"We were planning to clean up the brush and garbage and complete the survey," he said.
In the meantime, he fired off letters to politicians saying he and his workers would access the property despite the threat of violence.
During the following week, given the publicity the move created, Nibourg thought "it was necessary to have a face-to-face meeting (with Brant) to see if we could find a common resolution."
On April 13, four key players in the dispute -- Theo Nibourg, his son Emile, Brant and protester Dan Doreen -- met at Nibourg's restaurant in Napanee.
The meeting was cordial, "very civil, very controlled," Nibourg recalled, but didn't offer specific details of the gathering.
Defence lawyer Howard Morton implied Nibourg simply wanted to orchestrate a monetary buyout from the federal government -- a suggestion the developer didn't outright deny.
Any settlement, including a cash settlement, "might be an option," Nibourg said.
However, OPP Insp. Pat Finnegan presented a distinctly different view of the conversation at the Smiling Wilderness restaurant -- one told directly to him by Shawn Brant.
Brant, who is on court-imposed conditions to report to the Napanee OPP detachment weekly, asked to see Finnegan to tell him about the meeting with Nibourg.
During his conversation with the officer, Brant appeared to distance himself from Nibourg's supposed propositions, Finnegan said.
Brant said Nibourg "wanted to work in concert and stage some kind of protest on the development," Finnegan testified.
The suggestion appeared to irritate the native protester, Finnegan said.
"He was quite offended," the officer recalled, adding that Brant told Nibourg, "If you want somebody to play Indian for you, you've got the wrong guy."
Finnegan, who is the Napanee OPP detachment commander, said he told Brant of the OPP's plans to use video and photographic equipment to document any wrongdoings during future protests.
"And I asked Shawn if he would please pass this information along," he said.
"The last thing that we want to see is anyone from his community or our police service to get hurt."
Finnegan said he also informed Brant of the police concerns about any upcoming protests -- and the fact that no protester would be charged if a peaceful protest was held on Nibourg's land.
It's kind of a running joke between police and some protesters, Finnegan explained.
"You show up and have a peaceful protest, we'll control the traffic and we'll buy the coffee."