By Bill Jackson - The Regional
Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett has asked that the McGuinty government restore
Trainer said that her assistant was in contact with the ministry this week regarding a dte for a meeting with Aboriginal Affairs Minister, Brad Duguid.
During Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory's last visit to Caledonia on Oct 24, in support of local residents living near the disputed land, Trainer shared an email she received from the deputy minister of aboriginal affairs that said the ministry was "considering what would be appropriate to do" given the situation and that the minister was looking at a possible meeting the following week. The meeting still hasn't happened.
Dave Brown and Dana Chatwell's home off
The couple has been served with a statement of claim and notice of sale by a mortgage lender, that is currently being appealed with the help of a lawyer who did not return calls from The Regional News.
Others in the vicinity, including residents off Sixth Line have been without provincial policing for the past three years after the road was declared a no-go zone for OPP officers.
"Anyone in the area understands that Dave (Brown) and Dana (Chatwell) and the 14 houses along the 6th Kline, and houses back in there, need to have the opportunity to move if they so wish," Trainer said. "Hopefully we'll get somewhere."
Last month, Barrett put forth a resolution in the
"My fear is that the current government continues to ignore this situation with hopes that the people of
Barrett believes that returning DCE to its original state is the only way to resolve the on-going land dispute.
Barrett's resolution reads: "That in the opinion of the House, families adjacent to the Douglas Creek Estates subdivision in Caledonia must be offered adequate and appropriate compensation, beyond anything negotiated to date, for their subjection to social, economic and psychological distress since the illegal occupation by native activists on February 28, 2006; so-called OPP 'no-go zones' must be eliminated and OPP patrols and protection restored to these zones, as well as to the subdivision; and the subdivision must be restored to its former status as a residential subdivision."
Earlier this month
On Monday, Haldimand's
Haldimand was opposed to provincial modifications to the plan that would restrict future growth, but after waiting two years for plan approval that is only supposed to take 180 days, Grice said he doesn't expect any further concessions from the province regarding boundary expansion.
He also doesn't believe that anything will change for residents living near the disputed land because it would set a precedent for the province.
"I can tell you I thought I had Dave and Dana out of there last year, but that never happened. I talked to my contact at Aboriginal Affairs and they were saying 'Oh year, be patient you should hear something relatively soon.' Well, does relatively soon mean within a week, within a couple days?"
Still, Grice wishes that the had more news to share.
"It always seems to be 'Yup, we've got something on the works, we've got something on the go," he said.
Meanwhile, land claim negotiation between Six Nations and the federal government have been stalled for months.
Chief Federal Negotiator Ron Doering said that he hopes to resume discussions before the end of the year.
"I think we'll be back at the table pretty soon. Both sides are just getting organized, getting some dates and things like that, so we should have something to report to you soon," he said.