June 2 Six Nations/Caledonia UPDATE
Since the Mainstream press has done very little to clarify the issues in the land claim dispute, today's coverage of the hearings should come as no surprise. None of the reporters ever seems to take the time to talk to tribal leaders or demonstrators and understand the issues or even read what is clearly available ONLINE via the www. They are being compelled by ADVERTISERS to take a very pro business stand point. The Globe and Mail article is the most balanced. First, a statement from the HAIDA in BC to the Armed Forces who are on alert in Caledonia .. with reference to the effect that they had better check all the SUPREME COURT OF CANADA rulings!!
http://dominionpaper.ca/weblog/2006/06/to_the_armed_forces_standing_by_at_six_nations.html
June 02, 2006
To the Armed Forces Standing by at Six Nations
[From Kahentinetha Horn]
Have you consulted your legal counsel on the latest Supreme Court rulings? It is crucial that you do so. The Supreme Court of Canada has clearly stated that Aboriginal issues must be resolved by negotiation. You have no legal authority for making an armed attack on the Six Nations who are on our territory. We have selected a few of the recent decisions that support the Six Nations position and set out the format that is to be followed for the “consultation” and “accommodation” that is supposed to take place when Indigenous land title is at issue. Why don’t you send this to your legal department and they can confirm to you that your plan to attack Six Nations people is illegal.
*snip* {Do go the link if you want all nine legal arguments FOR Six Nations}
Perhaps some things were unclear in the past, but now there is no doubt. The proper way to solve Indigenous land claims is not to ignore us and not to use force. You are required to enter into meaningful negotiations. Our inherent rights are protected. If you try to invade us again like you did on April 20th 2006, you will eventually get yourself into a legal mess.
posted by dru
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060601.wxcaledonia02/BNStory/National/home
Judge pulls PM into Caledonia
JAMES RUSK
From Friday's Globe and Mail
CAYUGA, ONT. — While Prime Minister Stephen Harper wants to stay out of the three-month aboriginal land dispute at Caledonia, the Ontario Superior Court judge who has issued injunctions ordering an end to the protest wants Ottawa in.
Mr. Justice T. David Marshall yesterday adjourned an unusual legal hearing to give Ottawa two weeks to decide whether it will appear in his court on June 16.
Last week, Mr. Harper said the Caledonia land claim falls under provincial jurisdiction and the protests are “ultimately a provincial law-enforcement issue.” The Prime Minister said Ottawa's proper role is to consult with the province, as it has done.
Last night, Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice said in a statement that, while the federal government was not in court and had not received a specific request from the court, “we will co-operate fully with the courts.”
David Ramsay, the Ontario Aboriginal Affairs Minister, said in an interview last night that he is pleased Judge Marshall has asked the federal government to send a representative to court when the hearing resumes on June 16.
“It's a recognition by the judge that the federal government needs to be there,” Mr. Ramsay said. “That voice was missing today.”
Even though no one who had been party to his earlier injunctions had asked him for it, Judge Marshall called the hearing, a judicial move that lawyers said is extremely rare.
Clearly upset the protests that began at the end of February are still going on despite three injunctions from him, Judge Marshall said at the outset of the hearing that “my great concern is that, in this community, the rule of law has been suspended in our country.”
But by the end of a day of legal arguments, he accepted the advice of the majority of the lawyers who appeared before him that patience was needed, and that it would not be helpful to order the Ontario Provincial Police to remove the protesters from a disputed development site and nearby barricades.
Owen Young, who represented the province, told the court that while progress to resolve the issues has been slow, “there has been a significant effort to make sure Caledonia is not Oka or Ipperwash.”
He told the court that, given the history of aboriginal relations in Canada, “we should not be surprised by upheaval,” and that, rather than defying the rule of law, the attempts by the province to negotiate a settlement are “an _expression of the maintenance of the rule of law.”
Darrell Doxtdator, the agent for the elected council of the Six Nations reserve, said he wanted to congratulate the OPP for demonstrating at Caledonia that it had learned lessons from Ipperwash, where a police sniper shot and killed aboriginal activist Dudley George at a 1995 protest.
But C.E. McCarthy, who represented the Haldimand Law Society, said many locals “complain that we are negotiating with people who are breaking the law,” and suggested that the use of force to end the protest may have to be considered.
He said what is happening reminds him of the events in the 1930s when Neville Chamberlain tried appeasement with Germany, and that if the OPP had done its job and ejected the protesters when they first occupied the site, owners Henco Industries Ltd. would not have had to seek a court injunction.
But OPP lawyer Denise Dwyer said Mr. McCarthy's remarks were “unfortunate and inappropriate” from the police perspective.
“They were words that incite confrontation on the ground. They are fighting words,” she told the court. “The protest is a symptom of the underlying problem, and that is what the province is trying to deal with through negotiations.”
While the judge accepted that patience is needed, he also said that if either of the two parties who originally sought injunctions were to seek a ruling that the OPP enforce his earlier orders, “the court will do that if necessary.”
Michael Bruder, lawyer for Henco, said that the adjournment gives the province a chance to make his clients an offer in the next two weeks for a property that they say would have generated $45-million in lot sales.
http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1149198613908&call_pageid=1020420665036&col=1014656511815
I am not going to post this article, as it is written from the "point of view" of the developer's lawyer .. who was accused of inciting by the OPP's lawyer. It appears to me, that the "problem" with Ontario Court rulings would go away IF the Province could be blackmailed into paying $45 million to the developers!!
****Today pics are not posting to the blog ... so you will have to go to the url to access them****
http://dominionpaper.ca/weblog/2006/06/to_the_armed_forces_standing_by_at_six_nations.html
June 02, 2006
To the Armed Forces Standing by at Six Nations
[From Kahentinetha Horn]
Have you consulted your legal counsel on the latest Supreme Court rulings? It is crucial that you do so. The Supreme Court of Canada has clearly stated that Aboriginal issues must be resolved by negotiation. You have no legal authority for making an armed attack on the Six Nations who are on our territory. We have selected a few of the recent decisions that support the Six Nations position and set out the format that is to be followed for the “consultation” and “accommodation” that is supposed to take place when Indigenous land title is at issue. Why don’t you send this to your legal department and they can confirm to you that your plan to attack Six Nations people is illegal.
*snip* {Do go the link if you want all nine legal arguments FOR Six Nations}
Perhaps some things were unclear in the past, but now there is no doubt. The proper way to solve Indigenous land claims is not to ignore us and not to use force. You are required to enter into meaningful negotiations. Our inherent rights are protected. If you try to invade us again like you did on April 20th 2006, you will eventually get yourself into a legal mess.
posted by dru
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060601.wxcaledonia02/BNStory/National/home
Judge pulls PM into Caledonia
JAMES RUSK
From Friday's Globe and Mail
CAYUGA, ONT. — While Prime Minister Stephen Harper wants to stay out of the three-month aboriginal land dispute at Caledonia, the Ontario Superior Court judge who has issued injunctions ordering an end to the protest wants Ottawa in.
Mr. Justice T. David Marshall yesterday adjourned an unusual legal hearing to give Ottawa two weeks to decide whether it will appear in his court on June 16.
Last week, Mr. Harper said the Caledonia land claim falls under provincial jurisdiction and the protests are “ultimately a provincial law-enforcement issue.” The Prime Minister said Ottawa's proper role is to consult with the province, as it has done.
Last night, Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice said in a statement that, while the federal government was not in court and had not received a specific request from the court, “we will co-operate fully with the courts.”
David Ramsay, the Ontario Aboriginal Affairs Minister, said in an interview last night that he is pleased Judge Marshall has asked the federal government to send a representative to court when the hearing resumes on June 16.
“It's a recognition by the judge that the federal government needs to be there,” Mr. Ramsay said. “That voice was missing today.”
Even though no one who had been party to his earlier injunctions had asked him for it, Judge Marshall called the hearing, a judicial move that lawyers said is extremely rare.
Clearly upset the protests that began at the end of February are still going on despite three injunctions from him, Judge Marshall said at the outset of the hearing that “my great concern is that, in this community, the rule of law has been suspended in our country.”
But by the end of a day of legal arguments, he accepted the advice of the majority of the lawyers who appeared before him that patience was needed, and that it would not be helpful to order the Ontario Provincial Police to remove the protesters from a disputed development site and nearby barricades.
Owen Young, who represented the province, told the court that while progress to resolve the issues has been slow, “there has been a significant effort to make sure Caledonia is not Oka or Ipperwash.”
He told the court that, given the history of aboriginal relations in Canada, “we should not be surprised by upheaval,” and that, rather than defying the rule of law, the attempts by the province to negotiate a settlement are “an _expression of the maintenance of the rule of law.”
Darrell Doxtdator, the agent for the elected council of the Six Nations reserve, said he wanted to congratulate the OPP for demonstrating at Caledonia that it had learned lessons from Ipperwash, where a police sniper shot and killed aboriginal activist Dudley George at a 1995 protest.
But C.E. McCarthy, who represented the Haldimand Law Society, said many locals “complain that we are negotiating with people who are breaking the law,” and suggested that the use of force to end the protest may have to be considered.
He said what is happening reminds him of the events in the 1930s when Neville Chamberlain tried appeasement with Germany, and that if the OPP had done its job and ejected the protesters when they first occupied the site, owners Henco Industries Ltd. would not have had to seek a court injunction.
But OPP lawyer Denise Dwyer said Mr. McCarthy's remarks were “unfortunate and inappropriate” from the police perspective.
“They were words that incite confrontation on the ground. They are fighting words,” she told the court. “The protest is a symptom of the underlying problem, and that is what the province is trying to deal with through negotiations.”
While the judge accepted that patience is needed, he also said that if either of the two parties who originally sought injunctions were to seek a ruling that the OPP enforce his earlier orders, “the court will do that if necessary.”
Michael Bruder, lawyer for Henco, said that the adjournment gives the province a chance to make his clients an offer in the next two weeks for a property that they say would have generated $45-million in lot sales.
http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1149198613908&call_pageid=1020420665036&col=1014656511815
I am not going to post this article, as it is written from the "point of view" of the developer's lawyer .. who was accused of inciting by the OPP's lawyer. It appears to me, that the "problem" with Ontario Court rulings would go away IF the Province could be blackmailed into paying $45 million to the developers!!
****Today pics are not posting to the blog ... so you will have to go to the url to access them****
****comments are mine*****
Photos by Kaz Novak, the Hamilton Spectator
Lawyer Michael Bruder, representing the developers, speaks to reporters outside the courthouse yesterday.
{Read: 'BLACKMAILER'}
Haldimand County Mayor Marie Trainer speaks to the press after appearing at a session called by Superior Court Justice David Marshall yesterday.
{This is the Mayor who doesn't understand that Six Nations people are citizens, too, with jobs .. but has accused them all of being "recipients of monthly checks".}
Justice David Marshall arrives under escort at the Cayuga court house to discuss lack of action on injunctions.
{The "oddity" here is that he is under OPP protection, while slagging them for not keeping order. Wonder how he would like the OPP swopping down on his house in the middle of the night as they did to Six Nations Reserve on the 20th of April ..?
Doug Carr of Aboriginal Affairs.
{And where was he over Victoria Day ...? And why isn't he keeping the "word" of negotiator David Peterson who has said the land would not be developed ..}
http://www.900chml.com/news/news_local.cfm?cat=7428109912&rem=39456&red=80110923aPBIny&wids=410&gi=1&gm=news_local.cfm
This article is written from the point of view of the OPP. However, it bends backwards to say that "giving in" to the protestors is ..
Lawyer Michael Bruder, representing the developers, speaks to reporters outside the courthouse yesterday.
{Read: 'BLACKMAILER'}
Haldimand County Mayor Marie Trainer speaks to the press after appearing at a session called by Superior Court Justice David Marshall yesterday.
{This is the Mayor who doesn't understand that Six Nations people are citizens, too, with jobs .. but has accused them all of being "recipients of monthly checks".}
Justice David Marshall arrives under escort at the Cayuga court house to discuss lack of action on injunctions.
{The "oddity" here is that he is under OPP protection, while slagging them for not keeping order. Wonder how he would like the OPP swopping down on his house in the middle of the night as they did to Six Nations Reserve on the 20th of April ..?
Doug Carr of Aboriginal Affairs.
{And where was he over Victoria Day ...? And why isn't he keeping the "word" of negotiator David Peterson who has said the land would not be developed ..}
http://www.900chml.com/news/news_local.cfm?cat=7428109912&rem=39456&red=80110923aPBIny&wids=410&gi=1&gm=news_local.cfm
This article is written from the point of view of the OPP. However, it bends backwards to say that "giving in" to the protestors is ..
*snip*
"The most dramatic comments of the day came from the law association's Michael McLachlin who has told the courts that the community has run out of patience waiting for the occupation to end.
He also suggested that any negotiated agreement that is reached to end the dispute will be seen as "caving in to lawlessness".
http://www.canadafreepress.com/2006/weinreb053106.htm
This is a very right wing editorial piece. Some of what the writer is saying is FACT . but the way it is construed is incorrect .. in that he thinks that aboriginals get some kind of politically correct "break" under Ontario Premier McGuinty's government. Maybe the McGuinty government is politically savvy enough (doubt it, myself) to FORCE the federal government to do something to speed up land claims and bring in the RCMP -- then there would be evidence that the Ontaro wants a peaceful resolution but what we are seeing is INCOMPETENCE.
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