Workers drove earth movers and other heavy equipment off the Kingspan Insulation construction site following an otherwise uneventful protest on Friday.
“This is a good first step if they stay out,” Steve Powless said as the big machines rolled through the gates and made their way down Fen Ridge Court just after noon hour.
Powless was among more than 50 people from the Six Nations who gathered outside the gates of the site early Friday.
There was talk that Six Nations people would set up tepees or tents to occupy the site. But no tents or tepees were on the site Friday morning although there were some Six Nations Confederacy flags attached to the fence surrounding the site.
Powless said the land belongs to the people of the Six Nations who have a duty to protect it. There has been too much development and it’s moving too fast, he said.
“Everyone, including you, should be worried about what is happening to the land,” Powless said to an Expositor reporter. “We can’t drink the water or eat the fish.
“We have to protect the land for us and future generations.”
Powless said people from Six Nations will be maintaining a presence around the Kingspan site but added that they weren’t looking for a confrontation.
His comments came after a six-hour stand-off between workers and a group of people from the Six Nations.
City police officers were in the middle of the two groups who were at opposite sides of the gate at the site on Fen Ridge Court.
The protest began early Friday and, although the gate to the site was open, nobody — workers and native people — went on to the property.
Police established a noticeable presence but spent most of the morning monitoring the situation and carrying messages back and forth between representatives of the natives and the workers.
More Six Nations people showed up at the site and they stayed close to their vehicles which were parked at the end of the court. There were several quiet discussions between police officers and representatives from both groups but the protest remained peaceful.
Later in the morning, Sheriff John Dobson arrived. Accompanied by a city police officer, Dobson approached the group from the Six Nations.
The Six Nations people turned around and walked away and kept their backs to Dobson while he read the interim injunction imposed by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
The injunction prevents people from interfering with development on the Kingspan site and several other construction sites in Brantford.
After reading the injunction, Dobson posted copies of it on a hydro pole and a sign by the front gates of the site.
Both copies were subsequently torn down and left on the ground. Then, shortly after noon hour there was a break in the impasse.
A man likely representing the contractor on the site, accompanied by a police officer, approached the Six Nations group. He told them that some workers would be going onto the site and that they would take the heavy equipment off the property.
A few minutes later, a procession of heavy earth-moving equipment moved from the site and down Fen Ridge Court.
It’s unclear what impact Friday’s developments will have on the project and the city.
Based in Ireland, Kingspan Insulation is planning to build a plant that manufactures insulation panels for the building industry as well as its North American headquarters in the city’s northwest business park.
The development is expected to create about 200 jobs.
In a prepared statement released Friday afternoon, Insp. Kent Pottruff said there were no arrests. However, he said “police have a responsibility to comply with lawful orders of the court. Therefore, investigators will be reviewing the circumstances of (the) protest to determine the most appropriate course of action.
The police will continue to take a carefully measured approach that balances individual rights with the need to preserve the peace, protect the public and maintain officer safety. Unlawful acts will be investigated and the appropriate course of action will be taken after giving consideration to all aspects of the situation, including the potential for escalation and the risk to the public and the responsibility of police to comply with court orders,”Pottruff said in the statement.
Steve Charest, a local developer and leader of the Haldimand Tract Good Neighbours Coalition, said Friday's developments magnify the need for everyone, native and non-native alike, to work together for the good of the community.
"We all need to rise above the situation and stand together and urge the federal government to speed up the land claims resolution process," Charest said.