What about OPP contract?

Letter from Lisa Parent

September 10, 2008

Dear Mayor and Council,

On Monday the OPP did nothing to remove the four natives who decided to erect a barricade on Argyle Street and subsequently tossed debris off overpasses on the bypass including burning tires on the road. The facts:

The OPP video truck was busy videotaping Caledonia residents rather than those actually committing the crimes a quarter mile down the road or on the bypass, making identification of the real criminals more difficult, when the OPP assured this community it would videotape crimes on the bypass to ensure debris tossing would end. One can only wonder why.

The OPP were present at Argyle Street while the blockade was erected and a nearby resident threatened by the criminals but the OPP stood by and watched rather than coming to the resident's assistance.

The OPP again placed themselves facing Caledonia residents while allowing natives to repeatedly approach the residents to taunt them including allowing two native women to take pictures and videotape residents at Canadian Tire a good quarter mile from the barricade.

While the OPP went out of their way to keep Caledonia residents away from the blockade they allowed a woman in a car with a Haudenosaunee flag to approach the Caledonia residents from behind and when a young man grabbed the flag from her car they charged him.

With the OPP contract due to expire on October 1, 2008 I have two questions for you, the Mayor and Council:

Are you planning to renew the contract?

Are you going to insist that the language of the contract is revised to prevent the OPP from using loop-holes to allow them to selectively police this County?

Since the contract is about to expire these questions are important to the residents of Haldimand County.

Lisa Parent

Caledonia