I talk to people who say that natives should just let it go. The native concerns are hundreds of years old and since the arrival of the white people, they have been lied to and cheated out of the things that you and I take for granted -- their land, their children, proper health care, education and the opportunities we all have.
This is a federal matter and, if the feds aren't up to it, then everyone must make compromises until a settlement can be reached. I, for one, think that the kind of development that has occurred in this area is far less desirable than the wait for something better and we all know there is something far better than what we've been given.
Whatever their motives, at least the natives have the power to speak for many of us who believe that the kind of mindless growth that continues, without much resistance, is having a huge environmental impact on all of us. Do we really need more cars, more roads, more big box stores, more drive-throughs, more cheaply built and chemically laced houses, more pollution and an absolute disregard for the land, air and water?
Equality and fairness and good stewardship are pursuits that this council seem to have forgotten. At least one councillor has finally shaken his head and found a brain. The others, who may refuse to consider a freeze on lands under claim and continue their sleazy tactics to develop everything in sight, will find that their counterparts are every bit as determined for their rights.
Have we learned nothing from Oka or Caledonia? Council's injunction has no relevance to the land claim issue except to escalate and force confrontation here. What a surprise.
This council has done everything to sidestep the rights of the Six Nation people including conspiring with the county to make large portions of this land part of municipal Brantford. Is there any intelligence to be found here when you hear that the injunction was a unanimous decision? Shame. How could council decide to sell land under claim and issue building permits for it without expecting recourse?
Why is this council so hell-bent on development in spite of our close proximity to the Haldimand Tract and the legitimate claims of our native peoples? "Let's get these buildings up before the natives can organize so it will be too late to litigate." What's the hurry? The land will be there tomorrow and so will the developers, hopefully, with a better plan. Their entire approach is dumbfounding to me.
I would like council to go on public record, instead of making decisions behind closed doors, to state what their intentions are, and here's a new concept for them, and their plans as to their intention of the land claims matter and the development of this area.
This council is a poor excuse of an elected body whose purpose is to serve and protect the rights of all, not just those who have lots of coin.
Negotiations 101. The best solution for most of our problems here in Brantford is a clean sweep of this council.