From Haldimand-Norfolk MPP, Toby Barrett
It’s been close to four years now since a group of people were photographed throwing a van off an overpass, at Haldimand County Sixth Line, on to the provincial highway below. Although the front page photo has been widely distributed – including to every MPP in
Over four years, people continue to ask me why a van can be thrown from a bridge; a railway bridge and a transformer station torched; highways and railways blockaded; building projects shut down and occupied -- all without penalty.
Regrettably, the apparent tolerance by those in authority of violence and intimidation, up and down the former Grand River Tract, has resulted in mistrust and loss of confidence with respect to our institutions of policing, justice and governance.
And the ‘burr under the saddle’ remains Douglas Creek Estates.
Illegally occupied on February 28, 2006, and the site of an aborted OPP raid on April 20, 2006, the subdivision was purchased by the McGuinty government that summer. However, in spite of a court ruling by Justice David Marshall, Mr. McGuinty sent taxpayer-funded lawyers to essentially legalize the militant occupation – basically arguing that since the McGuinty government welcomed the occupiers, there should be no injunction against their presence.
We are now four years into a credibility crisis that raises serious questions about the adherence of this Ontario Government to the rule of law. One of the most fundamental principles of a free and democratic society is the principle of having one law for all. No one should be beneath the law; no one should be above the law; and no one should be beyond the law.
The process by which laws are interpreted and executed is the essence of our democracy, and that democratic form of governance is the basis of our success as a society. When that process is sabotaged we see bad results, and when that process becomes lawless it gets worse. Credibility is lost and policy fails when a government moves away from democratic processes, justice and the rule of law.
For four years I’ve been receiving questions, and asking questions on behalf of people in our area. Who’s in charge? Who’s pulling the strings? Is there political interference in our policing and court systems? “Why are the OPP acting the way they are and, who is telling them to act this way?” I have been asked time and again – “Why does there appear to be two sets of laws, and a policy of catch and release? Why are people treated differently depending on which side of the barricades they are on? Why are there OPP ‘no go zones’ on Haldimand County roads? Why are there illegal smoke shops and gunfire on provincial highways?”
A few weeks ago I witnessed and photographed the demolition of the Dave Brown/Dana Chatwell home – a house at the centre of a court case that exemplified for the rest of Canada our four years of chaos and mayhem. And most recently, we in the Opposition question why an out-of-province crown attorney was not brought in to hear the latest McHale/Fantino court case to eliminate conflict of interest.
Clarity, transparency and accountability vis-à-vis the police/court house/government relationship are essential to our fundamental democratic principles. It is a balance that must be maintained.