July 25, 2011
Hamilton Spectator
CALEDONIA A little wooden shack built on the outskirts of town is the latest irritant in the ongoing land claims and native rights dispute that hovers around this community.
The shack went up in the past week beside a Highway 6 smoke shop on provincial land, which in itself has been contentious.
Haldimand County Mayor Ken Hewitt says he has been told by provincial officials it will house a hamburger stand. The appearance of the new shack sparked a protest this past weekend, led by local resident Doug Fleming. Fleming staged a similar protest a few years back regarding the appearance of the smoke shop on that site.
For his part, Hewitt is incensed the shack has been built without any of the paperwork required for a county business, and that it will compete with a well-known Caledonia burger stand — The Oasis — that has followed all the rules.
“If you allow this to continue, when does it stop?” the mayor said. “I’ve got an established business that has been selling hamburgers for more than 50 or 60 years that has a licence and pays taxes to stay open. How does that guy compete with someone who wakes up one day and decides to sell hamburgers and builds a shack in five or six days?”
The shack has been built in the wake of a land claims dispute in which natives occupied an Argyle Street South housing project five years ago, because they claimed it was built on unsurrendered land. That issue has not been resolved and talks between the federal and provincial governments and Six Nations collapsed in 2009 and remain in limbo.
Members of Six Nations have also built a number of smoke shops along Highway 6, south of Caledonia, claiming the land belongs to natives. The potential food operation was built beside the Plank Road 1 Stop Smokes Rollies, which sits on the old Highway 6 roadbed abandoned years ago when the nearby Caledonia Bypass was built.
Fleming said he believes the county could have done more to prevent the building from going up.
“That building has been built without a permit and that is against the law,” said Fleming. “Go out and shut them down.”
A native man and woman at the smoke shop made no apologies for the construction of the shack, although they were reluctant to talk about what it will be used for and when it will be open for business. They declined to give their names.
When it is pointed out, however, that there is no hydro into the building to cook food, the man says he has been told a generator will be used. The building boasts a veranda and openings for three large windows cut into its front.
“It’s none of their concern,” the woman says of county officials. “It’s not their land. ... If your government hadn’t stolen all our land way back when, we wouldn’t have this problem.”
The man, 37, also dismisses concerns about the building.
“No matter what it is, it’s going to make someone angry,” he said. “They (county) are just mad because they are not going to get their cut from it.”
The mayor is frustrated the province does not appear to have a plan of action. He said when the county made inquiries, provincial officials reported back that they needn’t worry about another smoke shop, as it was a hamburger stand.
Paul Gerard, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Infrastructure, said the province is aware of the new structure.
“As the landowner, we’re committed to long-term solution to this issue,” he wrote in an email to The Spectator. “We are currently engaged in discussions with the Mayor of Haldimand County and we will continue to work with all other affected parties including Six Nations leadership.
When asked to comment on concerns around building permit regulations and food or public health standards, Gerard said he would not be able to address those questions until Monday.
“They have scrambled for the last week to come up with a solution and they can’t come up with one,” the mayor added, referring to the bylaw concerns.
The Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit says a new food vendor must be inspected and approved prior to opening. And a food vending business must contain a sink, refrigerator and a secured location to place a barbecue.