OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino paid an informal visit in early 2007 to the native occupied land in Caledonia formerly known as the Douglas Creek Estates.
Ontario's top cop climbed into a truck with a couple of First Nations men and drove around the perimeter of the 28-hectare tract that is now called Kanonhstaton. A handful of native people continue to live on the reclaimed land as guests of the provincial government, which paid about $16 million for the development property in 2006.
Fantino is one of the defendants in a $7 million lawsuit filed by a Caledonia family whose home borders the contentious site. He testified about his tour of the occupied land in a pretrial proceeding in January.
Lawyer John Evans, who represents the plaintiffs David Brown, 42, and his wife Dana Chatwell, 45, asked the commissioner what he took away from his visit to the subdivision site. A transcript of Fantino's examination for discovery was read into the record at the civil trial taking place in Hamilton.
"It just highlighted the difficulties that I knew about, which is ... how this property was basically construction frustrated, delayed or unable to continue, the vulnerability of the railway tracks (to the west). An extremely difficult situation for us to deal with if the situation escalated," said Fantino.
Evans asked, "And what was your assessment of the Brown property in this particular situation?"
"Well, how closely physically related to the Douglas Creek Estates the property is, almost within it, really," Fantino said.
Brown's testimony was interrupted Wednesday when he became ill and was later diagnosed with gastritis and bronchitis. He testified earlier this week that he and his wife bought the house from Dana's father in August 2005, about six months before natives blockaded the entrance to the construction site.
The couple paid $225,000, less than market value, and put another $30,000 into renovations in the basement for Dana's hairdressing business.
Dana was attached to the house because it had been her childhood home, said Brown. The fact that Henco Industries intended to build 800 to 1,000 new homes just off their back yard was seen by them as an extraordinary business opportunity for Dana's salon.
Three years later, Brown and Chatwell are both unemployed and suffer multiple health problems, including post-traumatic stress syndrome. Brown was terminated as a forklift operator at a local lumber yard because of performance issues and absenteeism. Dana's hairdressing business went bust because of native roadblocks and the fact her shop was effectively inside the occupied land.
Having been subjected to repeated and unlawful acts, including intimidation, trespass, vandalism and threatened violence by native protesters, the pair say they are physically and emotionally drained.
As Brown told court this week, "I've lost my motivation, my mojo I guess you'd call it. I have no pride. I have no dignity. ... It seems like I've been waiting and waiting, trying to get out of this ridiculous nightmare."
Evans told court he will call evidence to show that had the Douglas Creek Estates project gone ahead, Brown and Chatwell's property would be worth $400,000 today. He said the appraiser could find no comparable home in its present circumstances, surrounded and threatened by civil unrest. The property is currently appraised at $50,000 to $75,000.