should freeze development on all lands in the city under claim by Six Nations, a city councillor says.
Coun. James Calnan said Thursday that he will ask council to support that position when politicians return from a summer break in August.
The Ward 4 councillor also questioned whether seeking a court injunction barring native protests in the city has only served to inflame an already tense relationship between Brantford and Six Nations.
"What we really need to start doing is talking about the conditions of a ceasefire, the conditions of a lasting peace," Calnan said. "What we have to do is put a moratorium on development on land under claim."
He said a condition of enacting his proposal for a development freeze would be that Six Nations files no additional land claims within city limits.
REGRETS EARLIER DECISION
The councillor also said council made the decision to seek a court injunction barring native protests -- a temporary one was granted by an Ontario Superior Court judge in early June -- knowing it would provoke a reaction from Six Nations. Council in May voted unanimously in favour of seeking the injunction.
"It would be worthwhile to revisit our logic in seeking the injunction," Calnan said. "I don't know if it was the right thing to do in the end.
"We have to accept that there is disputed land and there are areas we recognize are clearly theirs."
Coun. Jennifer Kinneman, the city's acting mayor, said she is surprised by Calnan's proposal.
"I'm somewhat taken back by Coun. Calnan's position because he voted in favour of the injunction," Kinneman said. "I'm not aware that under the Municipal Act that we have the authority to stop development.
"Unless the province instructs us to handle development in a different manner, I don't know how we could go forward with something like this."
This week, a man was arrested when a protest turned violent at the construction site of Kingspan Insulation's warehouse and head office on Fen Ridge Court in northwest Brantford.
The site is one of a handful included in a temporary injunction granted at the city's request to prevent native protests from holding up work. However, construction equipment has been moved off the site.
Calnan said he's had a change of heart over the injunction because he believed the court action would be followed by a promise of peace between Brantford and Six Nations, which he said has failed to materialize.
"When I first understood the approach was going to be one of conflict, I said we needed a strategy with two parts," he said. "The second part was an olive branch, a promise of peace, and I haven't seen that yet."
Calnan said city council's actions on the issue of Six Nations protests, including seeking the court injunction, have been undertaken with the mind-set that Brantford is in conflict with Six Nations. He said there are other areas in the city not under claim by Six Nations that could be developed.
"Everything we've done has been predicated on the idea of conflict," he said. "We could certainly take steps that don't provoke reaction."
EVERYTHING UNDER REVIEW
Three major parcels of land in the city -- the 1,800-acre Eagles Nest Tract in Eagle Place, the 7,000-acre Johnson Settlement in the city's northeast and the 807-acre Brantford Town Plot -- are currently the subject of Six Nations land claims.
But on Thursday, Phil Monture, a member of Six Nations land claim negotiating team, said the historic purchase and sale of all lands within the city are being examined by Six Nations as part of the land claims negotiation process.
"All of the lands under the control of the City of Brantford are being looked at right now," Monture said. "And all of these lands are subject to the court case filed in 1995 by the Six Nations elected council.
"It's all under scrutiny -- every single lot, every single transaction, every single payment."
Calnan said he doesn't expect much support from council for his proposal to freeze development on land under claim, but he intends to press forward.
"Quite honestly, I think I'm going to find myself alone on this," Calnan said. "But you do something because it's right, not because you think it's going to be popular."
Kinneman said discussing the idea isn't without merit.
"I think any question that comes forward is valid to discuss," she said. "When you're dealing with an issue as complicated as this, I think every road should be explored.
"But at the end of the day, the issue is the land claims and that is not something the municipality has a role in negotiating. I would like to see the fed-e ral government, the provincial government and Six Nations get back to the table."
Land claims negotiations between the federal government, provincial government and Six Nations broke off on June 7 and are expected to resume later in the summer.