The Ontario Provincial Police have quietly resumed policing a rural road beside Douglas Creek Estates for the first time since pulling away from covering it in 2006 after an abortive raid to dislodge native protesters from the one-time housing site.
The provincial police took over policing the Sixth Line, which runs south of Douglas Creek Estates, on March 10 from the Six Nations Police. A letter to Haldimand County Mayor Marie Trainer from Councillor Lorne Boyko, chairperson of the Haldimand OPP Police Commission, said it was "a sensitive issue" and was being done with "no fanfare and media."
An OPP sergeant went door to door to tell residents they were back.
"That's wonderful," Trainer said yesterday. "The residents are pleased. We have a meeting every two weeks and they're very happy the OPP are back."
She said the return also affects residents on Oneida Road, which runs off the Sixth Line, and the Seventh Line (Stirling Street East).
Residents on the latter road were in between the Six Nations Reserve and a wooden bridge over the Southern Ontario Railway line, but lost their access to Caledonia when native protesters torched the bridge after the April 20, 2006 provincial police raid on Douglas Creek Estates. Trainer said 14 residents are affected.
Inspector John Periversoff, head of the Haldimand OPP detachment, could not be reached for comment.
Trainer hopes the return of the OPP indicates Caledonia continues to return to normal and "things are calming down," although she notes the OPP are still not welcomed on Douglas Creek Estates.
"It's a beginning," Trainer said. "It certainly all helps."