PHONE ACTIVISM to stop uranium mining and support First Nations

SLIMEY "BOTTOM FEEDER" CAUGHT IN SHARBOT LAKE

SLIMEY “BOTTOM FEEDER” CAUGHT IN SHARBOT LAKE MNN Sharbot Lake. Feb. 10, 2008. The phoney “Algonquin” protest to stop a uranium mine at Robertsville, near Sharbot Lake, has started up again. The original protest encampment at the mine gates started last summer. It’s one hour north of Kingston Ontario. Chief Doreen Davis of “Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation”, Robert Lovelace of “Ardoch Algonquins” and six other people face charges in mid February for contempt of court and a $77 million lawsuit launched by Frontenac Ventures Corp. The land in question is the area south of the Ottawa River which is part of Haudenosaunee Territory of the Mohawk Nation. The “Algonquin” visitors are claiming this land and trying to make a settlement with Ontario and Canada. Who is Rem Westland? Why is he concerned about what MNN writes? He contacted MNN. He has a cottage at Sharbot Lake. He graduated from the Royal Military College in Kingston in 1970. He taught at Carleton University in Ottawa and then entered the civil service. He worked at the Privy Council Office (PCO) from 1989 to 1991. He became Director General of Claims and Treaty Land Entitlement at Indian Affairs from 1991 to 1995. He became Director General at Ontario Aboriginal Affairs from 1995 to 1997. this guy sure knows how to rise to the top and siphon off the cream. At National Defense he became Director General of Realty Policy and Plans and then Assistant Deputy Minister from 1998 to 1999. What a choice resume! Don’t you just wonder how he got to be born under such a lucky colonial star! The Privy Council Office (PCO) is made up of unelected people who run the government behind the scenes. There are 16 secretariats with catchy Orwellian names like "Social Development Policy", "Machinery of Government", "Foreign and Defense Policy, "Security and Intelligence" and "Orders in Council". They write policies and give information to the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers. In other words, these are the guys that pull the strings. Forget about Demcoracy 101. They issue a lot of “Orders in Council”. This is a nifty way to do an end run around Parliament. It lets the shady powers that be do as they please. Rem Westland has been involved in military and colonial confrontations with Indigenous communities like the Mohawk Oka Crisis in 1990, “Ipperwash” in 1995 and nuclear testing at “ Nanoose Bay ” in 1999 in British Columbia. After the Mohawk Oka crisis Rem moved on to Indian Affairs and became the Director General of Claims and Treaty Land Entitlement. His associates were Indian Affairs Deputy Minister Dan Goodleaf [a Canadian of Mohawk ancestry from Kahnawake] and Associate Deputy Minister Rick Van Loon, all Mulroney appointees. They did everything they could to force Liberal Minister of Indian Affairs Ron Irwin to hand over the Lubicon Cree of Alberta issue to their pre-prepared base at the Justice Department. According to Fred Lennarson, advisor to the Lubicon Cree for over 25 years, "Federal negotiators deliberately broke down Lubicon negotiations in January of 1989 with a "take-it-or-leave-it" offer. They knew it was unacceptable as it made no provision for the Lubicon Cree to become economically self-sufficient." Then Indian Affairs created the “Woodland and Loon Cree First Nations” nearby to throw the Lubicon claim into total confusion. The Woodland Cree leadership was offered $30,000 for every Lubicon they could recruit to join them. Doesn’t that sound familiar? Rem was at Ontario Aboriginal Affairs when Dudley George was murdered by the Ontario Provincial Police at Ipperwash on September 6 1995. Rem’s name comes up in the Ipperwash Inquiry Report as a shady government character throwing his weight around. How do you like that? In 1998 to 1999 at National Defense Rem as Assistant Deputy Minister of Infrastructure & Environment and Director General of Realty Policy & Plans oversaw five other directorships: Nuclear Safety; Environment; Military Engineering; Infrastructure & Environment which includes Human Resources, information management and language quality; and Canadian Forces Housing Agency. Is that why their houses are almost as bad as the Ongwehonwe. Hey, man! This guy’s got more power than the Prime Minister. At Nanoose Bay Rem negotiated the Nanoose Expropriation crisis in 1999. The U.S. military leased the area to test nuclear torpedoes in the Georgia Straits off Vancouver Island. The lease was going to end in 1999. The U.S. wanted to renew it so they could keep their nukes splashing around in the bay and their nuclear submarines cruising the waters. Each sub, two football fields long, can carry and launch enough nuclear missiles to "destroy every capital city in the northern hemisphere." [Gordon Edwards of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility] "...Naval nuclear reactors in BC contain as much radiation in their core as several nuclear bombs, and use uranium fuel 133 times more enriched than a CANDU reactor. Nine nuclear propulsion reactors already litter the ocean floor along with 50 "lost" nuclear war heads”. OMG! That is dangerous! The sea water is going to eat into them. What a legacy for the future generations! Westland signed an agreement with B.C. negotiator Lorne Seitz to keep nukes out of Nanoose Bay. David Anderson revoked it, which probably was the plan. The Pentagon gives $1 a year to Ottawa who turned it over to B.C. for the rent. We hope B.C. doesn’t go crazy over this windfall! As Director General of Realty Policy and Plans from 1997 to 2003, Rem predicted and reported on "realty support" for defense, such as "lands, facilities and works". Facilities include bio-defense and research labs such as MREL [Mining Research Engineering Limited] at the Robertsville mine site. Last July the Mohawks caught MREL making and testing bombs and radiation dispersal devices. Nearby the military practiced maneuvers on a swing bridge at Ragged Chutes. Works includes roads, water and utilities. There is an army base, prisons, military colleges, universities and other military support institutions throughout the area. They need to get us out so they can set up extensive military installations on Haudenosaunee territory for who knows what? Once the bit of uranium is dug up at Sharbot Lake and the people have fled the radiation, what military plans are in place to inflate Canada 's self-proclaimed image as an "energy and military superpower"? Rem gathers financial, legislative and legal information for Defense. He has the Indian Affairs and Defense background to grease the wheels involving the pretend "Algonquins", the uranium mining companies and the military establishment. He is now vice-president of “Corporate Research Group” as “team leader for Aboriginal Affairs”. They have contracts with Indian Affairs to pave an agreement between the Quebec Crees and Canada and Quebec for more dams and hydroelectric development on the many great rivers in Cree territory. Rem’s specialty is to advise Aboriginal groups to buy land or businesses. If the Aboriginal group is in good standing with government officials, he can arrange financing. Rem and his company advise the colonial governments, agencies and multinationals on how to cut to the chase by separating rights and business agendas. It sounds like he can ram through a uranium mine before any Native land claim is ever settled. In his association with the Sharbot Lake Property Owners Association he publicly takes the environmentalist's point of view, but does the opposite behind the scenes. The association is part of the Federation of Ontario Cottagers Association (FOCA) committe which is currently reviewing the Ontario Mining Act. They want subsurface rights for their "properties" so they can decide on a uranium mine instead of prospectors coming in with $25 claims. What about the real owners of this beautiful area, the Haudenosaunee? Who are the other property “owners” working with him. Rem doesn’t work alone! Rem sent a very telling email to MNN on February 8th: "I think the "Algonquin Claim" negotiations are very vulnerable, and will not settle, for a very long time...unless the parties … feed the historical facts onto the negotiations table. There is a great reluctance to do this … because there is a great big fiction going on which works well enough for some people..." [Is he referring to himself. Robert Lovelace and Doreen Davis, to name a few?] "What should really be a Mohawk/Huron/Algonquin [Haudenosaunee] claim in the Frontenacs is misrepresented as an Algonquin claim - and people of First Nations descent must register as Algonquin to participate - simply for reasons of… historical denial…. because the record is very clear that the Algonquin did not have residency after the Mohawk came in [with the Hurons who are also Haudenosaunee. Both were there forever], and [the Algonquin] only began to establish residency long after contact. It serves the purpose of governments (federal and provincial) to support the fiction of continuous Algonquin presence." Canada and Ontario put funds through “Algonquin Nation Negotiations Directorate” ANND, incorporated by Ontario, to pay for this fraud to steal Haudenosaunee territory. The ANND board is native and non-native. MNN answered Rem on February 8th as follows: “You seem to be making the assumption that "settling" your fraudulent claims to our land is desirable for our people. Can't you see how unsettling it is? As you yourself admit, this is Haudenosaunee land. There is nothing to settle and never will be. All you have to do is just stop lying about history. That’s all there is to it! “There is no legitimate Algonquin land claim in that area as everyone knows. There is no point getting back to square one because there is no square one. The whole deal is a totally non-sensical fraudulent scam. Are you the architect of all this b.s.? “…There's no doubt about it, everyone involved is committing a crime. They have knowledge that they do not own what they are dealing with and they have the intent to dispossess us, the rightful owners. You know full well that we never gave you or anyone else the right to negotiate for our land. There is nothing to talk about. Go home and stop making money from everything that you are stealing from us. You are scamming the Canadian public, … chattering about something that you know nothing about and have less authority over it than a blue jay sitting in the tree where his ancestors have nested for millenia. “ … go back to wherever your ancestors came from and look after your ancestral homeland which must be neglected because you have been here far too long. … go there and [see] if you really believe that your lethal military bases and chemical weapons are good for humanity, go sell it to your own relatives. “ … you'd better stay off Haudenosaunee land if you have a single honest bone left in your body. You are a trespassing interloper and a bad guest. We know what you’ve done. Because of this, you are not welcome”. kahentinetha Rem told MNN this mediation was supposed to be a “done deal”. The truth MNN put out derailed the criminal conspiracy. How many scumbags like Rem are running around doing all this dirty work for their corporate masters? You guys can’t hide forever. You’ll be found and outed! You may be able to fool a few people right now, but the coming generations will be able to see what you’ve been up to - if you don’t destroy the earth, that is! The Canadian government seems to be a magnet for crooks. The courts are biased in favor of the bureaucracy. They've supported the illegal colonization of Indigenous peoples for centuries. How can such criminal opportunism be stopped? Iakoha'ko:wa near Sharbot Lake, Haudenosaunee Territory Write Rem at . Or call him at 613 748-3945 (home) or 613 596-2910 x525 (office) or 613 279-2143 (cottage). His mailing address is 157 Acacia Ave., Rockcliffe, ON K1M 0R4 Sources and Notes: http://www.ccnr.org; http://www.dnd.ca; http://www.nisto.com; http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca; http://www.slpoa.ca; http://www.thecrg.com; http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca;[/b]

poster: katenies

Ontario Algonquin uranium protest chief is jailed

Friends,

As you know, US corporate integration of our energy and resources, including nuclear, is happening now under the SPP.

www.fighturanium.com notes that Nevada-based Canam Uranium has taken over El Nino Ventures, and its uranium mining/ exploration claims throughout the Haliburton and Bancroft regions of Ontario (nice maps at http://www.canamuranium.com/ ), as well as in Saskatchewan and BC. US-based Bancroft Uranium is also active in Ontario.

The article below refers to the situation north of Sharbot Lake, Ontario, in the Kingston area.

First Nations and community activists in the region have been holding events and Chief Lovelace has been a key negotiator.

Details can be found at www.ccamu.ca .

At the same time, NATO officials are considering a proposal to engage in first strike nuclear warfare. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jan/22/nato.nuclear . The proposal will be discussed at NATO meetings in Bucharest in April.

"Maybe we are going to use nuclear weapons before anyone else, but I'd be wary of saying it out loud."- Robert Cooper, an influential shaper of European foreign and security policy in Brussels. [from the Guardian article noted.]

The proposal is utter insanity, and much has been said already to oppose this 'option', in our circles at least, which would likely use Canadian ore for the task. You may know that Saskatchewan uranium ore was used for the Hiroshima/Nagasaki nuclear bombs. Now NATO is considering bombing Iran's Bushehr civilian nuclear power plant as well, in a 'nuke them first' strategy for the Middle East, an intentional Chernobyl. Such an action would, 'fortuitously' for the western uranium industry, force Iran and terrify others into purchasing their 'products'.

Cameco Inc. of Port Hope, Ontario is self-described as "the world's largest uranium producer". http://www.cameco.com/investor_relations/about_us/ .

It processes Canada's ore, and that of international mines, and re-processes uranium products from and for the rest of the world.

Radioactive imagery shows the Port Hope region literally glowing from historic nuclear waste that has not been cleaned up. (See links from http://www.ph-fare.com/ and http://www.porthopehealthconcerns.com/ ).

The historic mines in central Ontario are all now Radioactive waste storage facilities under federal licence, Faraday in Bancroft, the Bicroft mine and the Dyno mine in Haliburton, are all contaminated.

Arizona-based Bancroft Uranium Inc. http://www.bancrofturanium.com/ is exploring 'their claim' on the Irondale River in Haliburton, which feeds into the Trent River, and into Lake Ontario. In addition to water contamination, radioactive dust is spewn throughout the region during mining. Ultimately we're all 'downstream' or 'downwind', once the stuff is released.

There are many intersecting issues at this time: war, corporate deals like the SPP (Slavery Under Private Power), vs. human rights and environmental protection.

Supporting First Nations in joint struggles is a central grounding in our collective work.

thanks for your consideration of these issues,

Leigh

__________________________________________

Algonquin chief to serve jail term

By Bruce Ward, Ottawa Citizen

Published: Friday, February 15, 2008

An aboriginal leader who defied the law by staging protests at a potential uranium mining site near Sharbot Lake was sentenced Friday to six months in jail for contempt of court.

The jail sentence makes Robert Lovelace, co-chief of Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, "a political prisoner," said lawyer Chris Reid, who represented Mr. Lovelace in the case.

"Bob Lovelace is a political prisoner and he is in jail because (Ontario Premier) Dalton McGuinty and (Aboriginal Affairs Minister) Michael Bryant refused to consult with this community. The Ardoch Algonquin have made numerous proposals to Mr. McGuinty and Mr. Bryant to have discussions to peacefully resolve the issue around uranium mining in their territory."

Mr. Reid said Mr. McGuinty and Mr. Bryant never responded to the Ardoch Algonquin proposals.

"They instructed their lawyers to sit in court this week and say nothing while the lawyers for the mining company asked for six-month jail terms and punitive fines. The fact that Mr. Lovelace is in jail today is one hundred per cent the fault of Mr. McGuinty and Mr. Bryant.

Paula Sherman, co-chief of the Ardoch Algonquin, was also sentenced to six months by Justice Douglas Cunningham in a Kingston court yesterday after being found guilty of contempt of court.

But Ms. Sherman, the single mother of three children, was spared jail time in return for agreeing to obey the court injunctions. This means she must stay away from the site and not participate in any protests there.

Mr. Lovelace was also fined $25,000, and Ms. Sherman $15,000. Although Ms. Sherman will not be behind bars, the judge ruled that she must pay the fine.

Both co-chiefs had admitted taking part in protests on the property, near Sharbot Lake, Ont., about 60 kilometres north of Kingston. Two court rulings had granted Frontenac Ventures Corp., a mining exploration company, access to the site to carry out test drilling for uranium.

Protesters from both the Shabot Obaadjiwan and Ardoch Algonquin First Nations occupied the disputed site from late June to mid-October last year, defying court injunctions that ordered them off the site and gave police the authority to arrest them.

The Algonquin protesters maintain the site is on their land. They are concerned that uranium drilling could lead to environmental contamination.

The occupation ended after the Ontario government agreed to mediation talks. But the protests began again this month after those talks failed.

Mr. Reid also said the Algonquin community was also fined $10,000.

"This is a community that has no funding from anywhere. They raise money through concerts and bake sales. They are not funded by the federal government. So they'll lose out. The community is essentially bankrupted by this decision."

The statement of defence in the case, which challenged the constitutional validity of the Ontario Mining Act, was struck out by the judge.

"When your statement of defence is struck out, you're gone," said Mr. Reid. "You can't bring motions, you can't do anything.

"The punishment for contempt of court is all about punishing people because, instead of going to court to seek remedies against the government, they used what he (the judge) called self-help. It seems utterly perverse to me to say were going to punish you for that by kicking you out court. This kind of decision, it leaves people nothing to lose. Any rational person would ask, if you're going to kick people out of the court, how can you then expect them to not use self-help?"

The blockade began when the Algonquins discovered that Frontenac Ventures Corporation had begun removing trees and blasting rock to prepare for exploration for uranium near Sharbot Lake.

STATE OF PLAY IN ONTARIO; MNN newsflash!!

Ontario is a strange, cold place for ACTIVISTS, trust me on this.

Those of us who know what is going on are being singled out and SILENCED or attacked in the press.

Here is the latest from Mohawk Nation News.

I assure you it should be taken SERIOUSLY. If you run across this and are new here to the blog, go there and read the entire MNN archive. A good thing to do with your time rather than following elections bullshit except to find out the TRUTH about ALL the idiotic candidates for President who intend to keep up the FULL SPECTRUM DOMINANCE US strategy

I am convinced that Fantino is being "groomed" to take over the RCMP before the Vancounver Olympics ..

WATCH. Is there time left to restore the RULE OF LAW in Canada? Stay tuned. As long as they let me post, I will be POSTING and giving THEM all shit. I know the drill and they don't fool me.

I am Seventh Generation and beyond .. the Fantino forces watch this blog from Barrie .. I see them come and go ..

For all you agents who decide to read this .. THINK. Is this the planet you want your children to inherit? IS IT? Your paper dollars, your trophy homes, your ridiculous status symbols will turn to unnourishing grass in your mouths when the GM foods come along. You are USELESS EATERS, too. Think on what I say, thing HARD about what I say. Pick your sides WISELY. Think seven generations ahead .... There is NO TIME TO LOSE . it is past 5 minutes to midnight now.

VEEGER

MNN Update
Click here for more information.

� MNN: Mohawk Nation News. Subscribe--Be Informed--Be Aware 30.03.2008 13:51:01 ALGONQUIN "NOHAWKS" CAN'T SPEAK TO MOHAWKS ONTARIO COURT ORDERS VIRTUAL ALGONQUIN �NOHAWKS� TO STOP SPEAKING TO MOHAWKS - MNN. March 29, 2008. Our Haudenosaunee Territory is now infested with paper �Algonquins� and virtual �Algonquin� communities created by �Mother� Joan �Ho�lmes. She is the darling researcher, registrar, genealogist, membership clerk, judge, jury and would-be executioner of our nationality. She is the �gun for hire� by Canada or anybody that wants to become or create paper mache �Indians�. We understand she receives a large sum of money for each Indian she signs up. If the real Indigenous at Ardoch or Sharbot Lake want an Algonquin identity, according to our ways, they have to live on Algonquin land. Mother Joan has also been known to write fake history about the Haudenosaunee that Canada uses to try to settle their phony claims to our land. She�s been hired to write the phony history of the Mohawks of Kanehsatake, Kahnawake, Akwesasne, Tyendinaga and Wahta. She even helped convince the ignorant Kahnawake band council that our land was given to us by Louis XIV!!! We are a bigger industry for these gangsters than General Motors! In the syndicates they set up, all the top jobs go to �non-natives� except for the figurehead, like Ellen Gabriel, who gets brought out for photo ops. She does not legally represent us. Only members of her organization vote for her. It�s like saying the head of the women�s auxiliary of the church represents all Canadian women. Those Algonquin �Nohawks� who don�t follow the party line are called NLA, �No Longer Active�. We are informed that Mother Joan creates �Indians� with a five year expiry date. Is �nationality� like a driver�s permit! It looks sillier and sillier all the time. Right now about 20 people have up-to-date licenses and run the whole show. This gives them access to lots of money. They also have a �chief-in-training� who gets voted in by those few �Nohawks� who have active status. Mother Joan needs 125 virtual Algonquins for each community to be able to �conduct business� called �joint ventures�, which are run by non-native shell companies, like Coreshellgroup. According to reports of witnesses who were in court, Judge Cunningham issued an order that the �Algonquins� cannot �speak directly or indirectly to anyone who they believe could be or is in contact with the Mohawks�!! How did this guy graduate from law school? They could get six months in jail for violating this order. How do they plan to monitor it? The Sharbot Lake �Nohawks� agreed to this condition. It apparently was requested by Neil Smitherman, the ambulance chaser [lawyer] for the uranium mining companies, Frontenac Ventures Corporation and Platinex, who want to mine in the area. Chris Reid, ambulance chaser for Sharbot Lake, consented to this decree. How can a court be making orders like this? It seems like they think they can do anything they want, that the law is something they can dictate. In the meantime, Doreen �Wishbone� Davis, another �Nohawk�, is running a cigarette shop on Silver Lake, with Unity and Confederacy flags flying out front. The non-native girl working there said that the RCMP gave Doreen permission to run her store. The land is leased by a native guy from a non-native. This is not sovereignty. The colonial perpetrators are panicking to cover-up their fraud and questionable activities. This whole scam needs to be investigated by the RCMP fraud squad and the Auditor General of Canada. They think their Shakspearean tragedy is still running, but it�s over. We�re hanging on to our vegetables that we should be throwing at these corrupt actors. This order sounds like a prototype of the kind of controls that the colonists will try to put on the �real� Indigenous who stand up to the frauds being committed by the corporations, mining companies and colonial governments and their agencies. We took over the Thurlow Aggregates Quarry in March 2007, to protest an age old robbery and injustice over the illegal infringement on our land without our informed consent. It is a clear violation of our authority and international law. At first the band council supported us. Then Julian �Who-was-born-in-Italy-and-thinks-he-knows-how-to-run-a-banana-republic-like-Canada� Fantino met with the Tyendinaga band councilors, Donald R. Maracle, Roy Brant, Trevor Lewis, Barry Brant and Blayne Loft. They denounced us and went to other communities and corrupted them against us. Last April 2007 the Mohawks of Tyendinaga demonstrated on the CN Railway tracks. The trains between Montreal and Toronto were shut down for 20 hours. A Mohawk woman met with the Commissioner of the OPP, Julian Fantino. He asked her to try to get them off the rail line or �he would kill them�. They went through the police lines to speak to the demonstrators. The police pointed their weapons at the men, women and children. Last July 2007 Randy Cota of the Ardoch �Nohawks� asked our people to go up to help them. Our men felt something was eerie about it. They went up and were alarmed when they saw the Ontario Provincial Police involved at the protest site. Cota forgot to tell our people that he was an OPP officer. It was almost like the Mohawks were being set up for an ambush by the OPP bush-wackers. There were no Indians locally, only the settlers all dressed up in their Ralph Lauren cottage wear. Something did not add up. They decided to get out. Since then these �Nohawks� have treated us with disdain. Fantino publicly said last June 29, 2007, on the �Day of Protest�, �We want a peaceful day�. Behind the scenes he had lined up APCs, tanks, soldiers and paramilitary. He had everything ready to wipe us out. CBC�s �The Current� got some handwritten notes by OPP officers on how Commissioner Fantino planned to raid the Mohawk demonstrators on the night of June 28 on Highway 401, Highway 2 and the CN Rail line. Actually, nothing was blocked. As promised the Mohawks removed their peaceful demonstration on June 29th. Shawn Brant turned himself in for �mischief�. The notes described how Fantino brought in the TRU Tactical Rescue Unit, SWAT team, Emergency Response and the Riot Squad along with police choppers and aircraft to watch the Mohawks. Even though nothing was going on, Itchy Fingers Fantino gave the site commander, Carson Pardy, the final call to go in, which they did not. Mandy Smart of Tyendinaga said she saw the heavily armed OPP gathering in the area. The OPP wanted to use force. When she met with Fantino, he warned her that if the Mohawks did not leave by 6 a.m. on June 29th, there would be an attack. �He did not care if the men, women and children were behind those lines.� CN Rail which runs through disputed Mohawk land, suspended rail traffic between Montreal and Toronto for the day. On Tuesday, March 18th 2008, Shawn Brant went to court. Randy Cota has been trying to help make Shawn out to be the leader at Tyendinaga. On March 18th Cota forwarded a message to Shawn Brant from his OPP colleague, Nathan Leland. Leland had sent a memo to his operatives [JUS] to watch a video on Shawn Brant entitled, �Why has he not been arrested for terrorism?� It came from caledoniawakeupcall, a racist anti-Iroquois site run by one of their operatives, Gary Mchale. Shawn Brant has been told that if he does not accept a plea deal of 12 years for �blocking� the railroad and the Trans Canada highway, they will put him away for 90 years. [ocap@tao.ca 416-925-6939] We�re beginning to think it�s time for us to clean up our communities of these outside influences. It looks like this is what�s happening. We all want a clean peaceful community. Mohawk protestors sit around a bonfire on Highway 2 near Deseronto, Ont., on June 29. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press) Kahentinetha Horn, MNN Mohawk Nation News Click on News & See Category: � Tyendinaga � poster: katenies

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MNN Receives Letter Threatening Haudenosaunee Sovereignty

COLONIALISM CONTINUES

- MNN RECEIVES LETTER THREATENING HAUDENOSAUNEE SOVEREIGNTYMNN. Needless to say, MNN does not agree with all of the interpretations put forward in the letter below that was faxed to us by a lawyer representing Bob Potts, Joan Holmes, Alan Pratt and Gerry Belisle. It seems obvious that this was intended to intimidate us so we are publishing our reply and the original threat for the interest and comments of those who wish to be kept informed of the truth concerning matters that affect us.

We would like to reassure readers that MNN does not publish information about real people unless there is evidence to support it. The web-sites from which most of the information contained in the piece the lawyer complained of are listed after his letter. Readers will note that the complainant's own websites are a major source of MNN's information.

From: MNN Mohawk Nation News

February 24, 2008.


To: Patrick Nadjiwan
Nadjiwan Law Office
915 Jocko Point Road, RR4
Nipissing First Nation
North Bay, Ontario P1B 8G5
Ph. 705-753-9815 Fax 705-753-9795
mail@nadjiwanlaw.ca

Dear Mr. Patrick Nadjiwan:

Could you please tell me whose “libel and slander act” you are referring to in your letter of February 24, 2008? Why do you think that any foreign polity has jurisdiction over the original inhabitants of Onowaregeh, Turtle Island? We would like to remind you that the Haudenosaunee never surrendered sovereignty to Canada, Ontario, or any foreign power and we do not have a libel and slander act.

We would also like to suggest that if your clients do not want to have their contact information and professional histories discussed in public, they should remove this from the internet.


Kahentinetha Horn
MNN Mohawk Nation News


The first letter from lawyer, Patrick Nadjiwan, was sent to MNN by fax at 13:37 February 24, 2008. Today, on February 25th a similar letter was sent by email with changes as indicated by the brackets. Enjoy!

Nadjiwan
Law Office
Barristers & Solicitors
915 Jocko Point Road, RR4
Nipissing First Nation
North Bay, Ontario
P1B 8G5
Ph: (705) 753-9815
Fax: (705) 753-9795
e-mail: mail@nadjiwanlaw.ca
Patrick M. Nadjiwan, H.B.S.W., LL.B.
Krista M. Yao, B.A. (Econ.), LL.B.

By Fax to (450)635-9351, by Mail and by E-Mail

February 24, 2008


Kahentinetha Horn
MNN Mohawk Nation News
P.O. BOX 991
Kahnawake of Mohawk Territory, Quebec J0L 1B0

Dear Ms. Horn:

RE: Libellous E-mail Newsletter published on February 12, 2008; and,
Libellous E-mail Newsletter published on February 16, 2008;

Please be advised that I have been retained by Bob Potts, Joan Holmes, Alan Pratt
and Gerry Belisle in relation to the above noted “Newsletter” you have written
and which you have distributed publicly.

This widely distributed Newsletter contains numerous allegations which are untrue,
disparaging, and defamatory imputations directed against my clients. These allegations
are intended to reflect negatively upon their personal reputations, as well as the
reputations of their businesses. Specifically, your libellous allegations include:

1) You make the general allegation of an illicit scheme to keep First Nations’ people
ignorant about their interests and rights and then to steal their land. This defamatory
allegation is then imputed to all of my clients in your article. We have no knowledge of
any such conspiracy and it is defamatory to my clients to falsely claim that they are
participating in any such conspiracy. This false allegation is set up in the following
paragraphs:

“Theft on a grand scale. About 26 years ago a bunch of greedy lawyers and their
hangers-on saw an opportunity. It was after the British Parliament relinquished
control over the Canadian constitution in 1982. They figured this would make it
was easier to steal our land and resources. “The Indians don’t know what they
have”, said they. “Let’s keep them ignorant and steal everything from them.”

“They came up with an idea to get control of swaths of land throughout Canada
o extract resources and set up legislative and policy defenses to protect their
business interests. Of course, they wanted to arrange things so they could put
a lot of money into their own personal pockets. They set up a prototype out
west in Alberta. Because the Lubicon Cree were well versed in their rights,
these thieves created two other bands, Woodland and Loon Lake Crees.

They made a settlement with them rather than with the Lubicons. Rem Westland,
Dan Goodleaf and Rick Van Loon engineered this one.

Eventually they got older and bolder. They started thinking about retiring and
moving to cottage country. Many of them bought recreational property in nearby
Sharbot Lake west of Ottawa. They looked around and saw opportunities to “enrich” themselves. But they had to do it under the protection of the colonial corporations
and their agents so they wouldn’t get caught. They knew how to tap into Canada ’s
public treasury to get all the money they needed”.

2) You further your claim of a nefarious conspiracy as set out in item (1) by
presenting quotations from unnamed participants in this alleged plot. These
quotations allege there was an actual conversation. Moreover, they imply that
you have sufficient evidence about that conversation that you can present
transcribed portions of that conversation to the public. We deny any knowledge
of such a plot, and we deny participating in such a scheme. It is defamatory to
my clients to claim that they were involved in this scheme to steal land from
Indians. This is contained in the following paragraphs:

“Oops! The land on which Ottawa sits is Haudenosaunee land. “Oh! No! We’ll
have to deal with those pesky Mohawks”, they said. “We’ll make it into
“Algonquin” land by twisting the historical information. We’ll get
someone like Joan Holmes and pay her lots of money to re-write history,
which is what we’ve always done anyway”.

With her Masters degree in “Canadian Studies” from Carleton and a B.A. in
“Anthropology” from Winnipeg, it was easy to lead Joan Holmes around
by the nose.

“Yeah! Yeah!” Joan Holmes was so excited. From 1983 onward she was pointed
toward all the Haudenosaunee land claims like Kanehsatake, Kahnawake, Akwesasne, Tyendinaga and Wahta to make sure that the results would go in the “right” direction. [jholmes@joanholmes.ca 613-722-7675.]

3) In the third paragraph quoted in item 2 above, you have included a quotation
directly attributed to Ms. Holmes. We deny that Ms. Holmes ever participated in
such a conversation and put you to the strict proof thereof. To allege that she was
involved in this conspiracy, agreed to the scheme, and was “excited” about issuing
false historical reports is false, defamatory and damaging to my client’s reputation.

4) You have claimed that, “Joan specialized in creating Indian bands incorporated
under the “Indian Act”, including the splitting and amalgamation of ‘bands’.” Setting
aside the simply fact that bands are not ‘incorporated’, this statement is untrue and
is intended to besmirch Ms. Holmes’ reputation as a historian by falsely attacking her impartiality.

5) You have claimed that, “Joan Holmes is the ANR Electoral Officer, Membership
Registrar and genealogist. She decides who is Algonquin. The Algonquin people
themselves have no say. This procedure doesn’t follow any kind of democratic
principle.” It is a falsehood to claim she was an electoral officer or a membership
registrar. It is a falsehood to claim that Algonquin people “do not have a say” in
the election process. In the context of this whole article, this allegation is clearly
intended to falsely allege that Ms. Holmes has unchecked discretionary power
which she is wielding in furtherance of your general conspiracy theory. This is
false and defamatory of my client.

6) You have alleged that Robert Potts was the lawyer for the Bre-X Corporation.
In addition, you have attributed to Mr. Potts a role in falsifying scientific data and
you have alluded to him having a role in a “set up” of Mr. Guzman which somehow
led to Mr. Guzman’s death. Mr. Potts did not represent Bre-x and your false
allegations are defamatory of his character. These allegations are contained in the
following paragraph:

“Robert Potts, lawyer of downtown Toronto, set up the Algonquin negotiation team.
His specialty is real estate law. He drafts trust agreements, by-laws and membership
codes. [416-593-3952 bpotts@blaney.com] He was the lawyer for “Bre-X”.
Remember them? That’s the company that raised money on the stock market
by salting ore samples to make them look like gold. There was no gold in them thar hills!
One geologist, Guzman, jumped out of a helicopter over this. He was Philippino and
might have been set up to take the rap.”

7) Next, you have alleged that, “Alan Pratt works closely with Robert Potts
[ 3550 Towood Drive, Dunrobin, Ontario. 613-832-1261 1-877-254-5415.
alan@prattlaw.ca]. He too got involved in the scheme in the mid 80s. People like
him have made a good living off us.” In this portion, you are expressly stating that
Mr. Potts is involved in the general scheme to defraud Indians of their land and
then claiming that Mr. Allan Pratt was also a participant. My clients are not aware
of any such “scheme” and deny any involvement in such a conspiracy plot. These
allegations are defamatory of their character.

(8) You have alleged that there was a sub-plot to fix an election within your general
conspiracy theory. That allegation is as follows:

“There are a lot of complaints about this team. Bob Potts, Alan Pratt, Nigel Marshman,
Joan Holmes and David Burke must be investigated for their part in the fixed Ottawa by-election of Algonquin negotiators. 27 people were told that their communities had been changed in order to secure the Algonquin Negotiation Representative ANR position for
Gerry Belisle, the person chosen by Bob Potts.”

This paragraph contains a number of false statements and defamatory allegations.
It alleges that the election was fixed, [this or] which is denied. It alleges that 27 people
were improperly moved from one community to another for the purpose of securing
the election of Mr. Gerry Belisle, which is also denied. Finally, it claims that all of this
was done at the bidding of Mr. Potts and with the active participation of Mr. Pratt, Mr. Marshman, Joan Holmes, and David Burke. This too is denied and all of which is clearly defamatory of my clients.

9) You have made a number of allegations about the election of Mr. Gerry Belisle.

Specifically, you have stated:

“This guy is completely rotten!

Gerry Belisle won the election even though no one from the Ottawa community voted
for him. The people who voted for him were parachuted in from Greater Golden Lake
by Joan Holmes.

Gerry Belisle is a real estate agent at Madawaska Highlands and was a local municipal
councilor. His office is a post office box in Kanata, a satellite of Ottawa.

This is a clear and express allegation that Ms. Holmes improperly moved people from one electoral district to Mr. Belisle’s district to get him elected in furtherance of the preceding conspiracy theory. This smearing of Mr. Belisle’s character is completed by stating that he worked in real estate and that he was a member of a local municipal council. Both of these
facts are presented in such a manner as to imply that he is part of [your or] the Indian land
theft scheme. We deny that Mr. Belisle’s election was in any way improper or illegal and put
you to the strict proof thereof. We also deny that he is aware of any grand conspiracy or
scheme to steal Indian land, and we deny that he is a participant in that conspiracy. It is a
lie and defamation of his character to allege either.

10) In relation to the election of Mr. Belisle, you stated, “When complaints were lodged,
Bob Potts, with the blessing of Robert Aitken [federal negotiator] and Brian Crane
[ Ontario negotiator], chose to discredit anyone who questioned him.” First, we assume that you are referring to Robin Aitken, as there is no Robert Aitken involved in these matters. Second, we deny that Mr. Potts choose to ‘discredit anyone who questioned him’. This allegation clearly intended to show an unwillingness to respond to legitimate complaints and concerns about elections, which is denied. In addition, your article claims that Mr. Aitken and Mr. Crane not only knew of this conspiracy to discredit unnamed questioners, but that they approved of it. We deny any such conversation or agreement was every formed and put you to the strict proof thereof. This too is defamatory, as it alleges that the Algonquin negotiator was working with the Federal and Provincial Crown against Algonquin interests.

11) You have also stated:

“One Algonquin told MNN, “I am scared to death of all the corruption and the slimey lawyers swarming the process such as [Robert] Potts and Alan Pratt. [Another lawyer Michael] Swinwood - well he is in a category all his own. And then there is Joan Holmes who is the “Membership Clerk”. I think the land claims process is an industry where white people are benefiting - I wish they would all go away - it is disheartening – I’m crushed by the b.s. of it all”.”

This statement, from a conveniently unnamed source, implies that this person fears for his/her life from those involved in the [your] conspiracy. As it continues, the article’s general theme claims that my clients are involved in this scheme and it impliedly claims that this person is fearful of my clients. This is false and defamatory of my clients.

12) Your article concludes with the following:

“The lack of accountability, transparency, fraudulent elections, fixed by-election, lack of information, exclusion of other legitimate communities, discrimination “7 people representing one community”, the secret meetings, abuse of the membership list, verbal abuse by the principle negotiator towards any Algonquin who questions his work ethics, the complete control by the principle negotiator has over the process are all issues of concern to the Algonquins.

Watch out for dirty tricks against MNN. Meetings are being held to find ways to discredit or radicalize anyone who disagrees with the fraudulent negotiation process.

Despite the fact that the first paragraph is actually an incomplete sentence, in the context of this article this is a list of false allegations against all of my clients. We deny all of these spurious allegations and put you to the strict proof thereof.

13) In your most recent newsletter, (Saturday, February 16, 2008, Entitled MASTER PLAN FOR PHONY ALGONQUIN SETTLEMENT OF HAUDENOSAUNEE TERRITORY” PART II –– What is the tie with the “Congress of Aboriginal People”?) you have again alleged that Mr. Potts worked for Bre-X. This compounds and continues the defamation from your preceding newsletter. The statement is as follows:

“According to colonial foreign rules Frontenac Ventures has to do a bit of drilling to get some samples of uranium ore so they can secure a claim to our land, with the help of the notoriously unsinkable shyster, Robert Potts, of Bre-X fame.”

This is a false statement and is defamatory of my client.

14) In this same newsletter, you have continued the smear tactics against Ms. Holmes.

You have stated:

“Is this another scheme where someone like “history buff”, Joan “The-Creator-of-Paper-Indians” Holmes registers CAP members?

The real Indigenous people are not “Indians” or “aboriginals”. Technicians like Joan Holmes could not only create “instant” Indians, but could decide that the real Indians are not Indians.”

As clearly indicated in its title, this is a newsletter and within that context, a newsletter must be seen as a continuation of the preceding article. It is denied that Ms. Holmes falsely or improperly registers some as an “Indian”, and furthermore, it is denied that she did so in furtherance of your alleged conspiracy. These are further acts of defamation.

Conclusion

Given that all of my clients work in the area of Aboriginal law and politics, we consider the publication of these false allegations and outright lies to be of the most serious nature. They strike unfairly at their professional reputations and attack their businesses. We will hold you, your editors, publishers, and internet service providers responsible for any and all damages which result from [the publication of] these statements to the fullest extent possible under the law. Please take this as notice under s.5.(1) of the Libel and Slander Act,[ R.S.O. 1990].

[In addition], we hereby demand that you cease and desist from making any further libelous statements. We demand that you immediately submit to me a draft of a clear and unqualified apology and retraction for publication to all recipients of the e-mail and [for posting on your web page.] to the public at large. Failing a satisfactory reply within the next three days, I will seek instructions to commence formal proceedings against you.

[Finally] We are [also] outraged that you are attempting to incite harassment of my clients and perhaps even violence. You have defamed my clients in the most egregious manner alleging that they are stealing from First Nations and then, within the body of this scurrilous document, you have published their email addresses and phone numbers. We believe that this act of bad faith and malice, in and of itself, will attract punitive damages.

Please govern yourself accordingly.


Sincerely,

NADJIWAN LAW OFFICE
ORIGINAL SIGNED
Per: Patrick Nadjiwan
patrick@nadjiwanlaw.ca
PMN:


For more information on Robert Potts, Alan Pratt, Joan Holmes and
Gerry Belisle, go to the following websites.

Kahentinetha Horn
MNN Mohawk Nation News

According to his bio at Blaney.com, Robert Potts is a member of the "Defence
Research Institute" which is a U.S. organization. http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=824584 http://dri.org/DRI/open/About.aspx?area=AFFIL
It has an international arm of International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) http://www.iadclaw.org/regionmeetings.cfm Potts defends corporations against
class action lawsuits, negligence, etc.

This article is about the 2005 election that was run by Robert Potts:
http://www.newsweb.ca/2005/April_28/Elections_to%20rejuvinate_process.html

Joan Holmes’ CV, go to http://www.ipperwashinquiry.ca/transcripts
/pdf/Joan_CV.pdf
Work experience on “genealogies and band membership, numerous projects involved an examination of issues of band membership and identification of family members for
entitlement purposes. A few projects were undertaken to examine the larger issues of
rights to band and treaty membership and exclusion from membership under the Indian
Act”.

Robert J. Potts’ involvement in “Bre-X”, go to http://www.blaney.com/lawyers_potts.htm
e specializes in Aboriginal law, insurance and corporate, defending the interests of
corporations, especially in energy and mining. http://www.lexpert.ca/deal.php?id=2018 Published in Magazine: Oct 01 1999

Alan Pratt law firm, as a colleague of Robert Potts, go to http://www.prattlaw.ca/colleagues.shtml

For complaints about the fixed Ottawa by-election of Gerry Belisle, go to Ottawa
Algonquins.com Homepage, 4th paragraph.
http://www.blaney.com/files/algonquin/ANR%20presentation%20to%2
0communities%20Sept%2004.pdfm "Algonquin Negotiation Representative Elections
September, 2004, Alan Pratt, Barrister & Solicitor http://www.bafn.ca/update.html
Posting of election results http://www.ruralrevolution.com/website/index.php?option=com_content&task=
section&id=18&Itemid=64
http://www.ontla.on.ca/house-proceedings/transcripts/files_html/2006-04-13_
L060.htm

http://www.royallepagegale.com/agents.htm

Click on News and see "Sharbot Lake" category.poster: katenies

ACTIVISM: Some Ontario First Nations updates

“Protecting Our Mother”

Toronto

May 26 2008

I called Robert Lovelace's lawyer today. I also am going to write him and Paula letters over the weekend.
[I am still scared to go to the demos .. although one I was just LATE.]

Veeger

Algonquin Political Prisoner Begins Hunger Strike

This just in:

Ardoch Algonquin First Nation
May 15, 2008 - For Immediate Release

Jailed Algonquin Leader Begins Hunger Strike
Second Algonquin Chief Going to Jail - McGuinty Government Does Nothing

On February 15, 2008 Ardoch Algonquin First Nation (AAFN) Spokesperson Robert Lovelace was sentenced in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Kingston to 6 months in maximum security, plus crippling fines, for peacefully protesting uranium mining in the Ardoch homeland. Chief Paula Sherman was fined $15,000 and given until today to pay the fine, failing which she will be jailed.

On March 17, a Superior Court judge in Thunder Bay sentenced six leaders of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) to six months after they were found in contempt of court in dispute which is virtually identical to that of the Ardoch Algonquins.

The jailing of respected, law-abiding community leaders has had a devastating impact on our communities, particularly on the families of those incarcerated. The indifference shown by the McGuinty government towards the rights of First Nation communities and the imposition of long jail terms and crippling fines in the name of "the rule of law" has further eroded respect for both the legal system and the government of Ontario in the eyes of First Nations people in this province.

The cases of the KI Six and Robert Lovelace are strikingly similar. In both cases Ontario gave approvals to mining companies to conduct aggressive mineral exploration on land claimed by First Nations as their own. In both cases this approval was given without any consultation with affected communities, forcing the First Nations to take action to end the illegal exploration when the government refused to act. In both cases the mining company sought and obtained court injunctions to end the peaceful protests of the First Nations, while lawyers representing Ontario supported the mining industry's legal manoeuvres at every stage.

For the first month of Bob Lovelace's incarceration, the government of Ontario said nothing, remaining indifferent to this travesty. Since the jailing of the KI Six, and public outcry which followed, the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, Michael Bryant, has told the media that he has "bent over backwards" to try to resolve the disputes which led to the incarceration of seven First Nations leaders from our two communities. He also claims that he wishes to see the incarcerated communities leaders freed from jail.

We want to set the record straight.

In fact, there has been no response from Minister Bryant to any of our proposals for peacefully resolving the dispute. Minister Bryant's staff also has not responded to several calls and emails seeking a response to our proposals. To put it bluntly, Michael Bryant is a liar.

Bob Lovelace is now entering his fourth month in jail while the KI Six are about to begin their third month of incarceration. They are prisoners of conscience, jailed by the government of Ontario to send a message that the interests of the mining industry will trump Aboriginal rights and the environment of Ontario.

Lovelace, who turned 60 in jail, announced that he will begin a hunger strike tomorrow to press the government to respond to Ardoch's request for good faith negotiations. "I do not want my children and grandchildren to have to go through what we are going through" he said. "Starting tomorrow I will consume only water in the hopes that our cry for justice will be heard by Mr. McGuinty and Mr. Bryant."

Chief Paula Sherman said: "I will soon be going to jail because I cannot and will not pay this unjust fine. I am a single mother with three dependents whose only crime is the defense of our land. Like Bob Lovelace and the KI 6, I would rather go to jail than take food out of my children's mouths or let our land be destroyed ."

Acting Co-Chief Mireille Lapointe added "We are sickened by the hypocrisy of the McGuinty government. While honest, conscientious community leaders languish in their jails for peacefully protecting our land from uranium mining, all these politicians care about is their public image. They are lying when they say they are trying to resolve these disputes. They have done nothing at all and continue to show total indifference. They do not even respond to our letters, calls and emails asking for negotiations, meanwhile claiming they care about us and our land".

Ardoch and KI remain committed to resolving these disputes peacefully, through negotiations which lead to responsible, cooperative land use planning. We call on all citizens of Ontario to support the unconditional release of our leaders and negotiators by joining us at Queen's Park on May 26 at the Gathering of Mother Earth's Protectors.

For more information contact Paula Sherman: (613) 329-3707
Or Chris Reid, lawyer: (416) 629-3117

CLICK HERE TO READ ENTIRE POST

* Support the Mohawks of Tyendinnaga, still fighting theft of and unsustainable development of native land and violently attacked by OPP. Sign the petition to demand all charges against Shawn Brant (who non-violently blocked the 401 to call attention to this injustice) be dropped. Join the Shawn Brant facebook group, or sign petition at

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stoplicensingplunder

The youth of Grassy Narrows are walking to Queen's Park to bring the message of autonomy from Ontario's Northwest.

By Jon Thompson

Originally published in the Daily Miner and News
Wednesday April 30, 2008

The tire tracks from the ice roads have melted on Grassy Narrows lake, nearly the furthest point from Queen’s Park in Ontario that is still connected by roads. Seeing the rising action of resistance and arrests on the province’s First Nations and too little action on settling land claims and adhering to what she sees as the rights of the Nishinawbe people, Chrissy Swain is going for a walk.

Her community’s environmental steward, Judy DeSilva, designed a youth staff whose purpose has become a highway pilgrimage called “Protecting Our Mother”. The group of ten left this morning from the eastward exit to Kenora and will march all the way into the heart of Toronto to meet a demonstration on May 26.

The van full of young people and their supporters along the way will walk or run but the staff will be a constant beacon, wielding the message that the future of First Nations land in Ontario’s North belongs to the next generation.

Grassy Narrows First Nation is the site of the longest standing blockade in North America, holding logging companies from harvesting the Whiskeyjack Forest. Swain says that as the chief and council are in negotiations for development, the community is split and at different stages of interest as it moves forward.

She has performed consultation exercises with the youth at school where development options were weighed with the responsibility of that decision affecting future generations.

When faced with the enduring context of the choice, she says, the youth tend to conclude that the best course of action is holding back from development until they can understand what that will mean for a people striving to heal their community.

“The way I see things and the way they see things, we have to look way ahead into the future,” she explains. “That’s how serious this is. What we decide today is going to impact what happens to my great grandchildren. Any decisions made on my behalf also affect my great grandchildren.”

She compares that sentiment as an echo of the call from the jailed leadership of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation (KI), that the decision to partake in development (in that case, a nearby platinum mine) may take generations. To Swain, the arrests of those wanting to stop the logging on Grassy Narrows last summer is linked to the plight of the KI leaders, those standing up to uranium mining on Ardoc, the reclamation to hold back further development on Six Nations, and the case of Sean Brandt on Tyendinaga.

“Anywhere we’re trying to make a stand to protect our land, our resources and our rights, we get criminalized. That’s the first thing the youth want to learn is their rights. There are a lot of people in the older generation who don’t know their rights, who don’t know the difference between our treaty and the Indian Act. They think our rights are disappearing. There’s so much fear put into the older people from the residential schools that we have to live that way or else they’re going to throw us in jail … and that’s exactly what’s going on.”

Swain is empowered by the legend of seven prophecies that have come to pass since settlers came to this land. Among them, there was to be blood in the water, the trees would fall, and the seventh was a child with light in his eyes, representing a generation that would “change everything”. Having watched the interest in the youth of her community come alive since they led the construction of the Grassy Narrows blockade, she believes they are bound to create real change.

“Because of everything that has happened behind us, there was massacring of our people, there was the residential schools, everything that has happened behind us is always with us. It has always been passed on to us. That’s what makes it different. It has happened to us and we’re fed up with it. We don’t want it to happen to our kids … That’s what makes us different: we’re not afraid.”

See also:

Canada's prime minister to apologize to Natives (5/16)

Studies show discrimination of Natives in Canada (5/16)

Residents, natives protest uranium mine; 300 participate in Sharbot Lake march

Tuesday July 10th 2007, 8:55 pm
Filed under: Resistance

Residents, natives protest uranium mine;

300 participate in Sharbot Lake march

Jordan Press
The Kingston Whig-Standard (Ontario, Canada)
Monday, July 09, 2007

A retired minister, John Hudson moved from Kingston to the Sharbot Lake area 15 years ago.

He moved for the scenery, the environment and the quiet, but all that could change and yesterday, he was preaching against a plan that would see uranium mined near his home.

Marching along Highway 7, Hudson said he’s worried about the environmental impacts from the proposed operation.

“I’m right down the river and I see enough crap coming down our river,” said Hudson, 70. “The bottom line is I don’t want a uranium mine at my back door.”

And neither did the estimated 300 people who marched along with Hudson, area residents and Sharbot Lake and Ardoch Algonquin First Nations members.

“We were hoping for 100,” said Doreen Davis, chief of the Sharbot Lake Algonquin First Nation. “I am just honoured and humbled that the people are here to support us.

Davis said everyone wants to see a full moratorium on mining the substance and the demonstration was designed to get the attention of upper levels of government.

“And if not, we’ll do this again,” she said. “We’ll continue until somebody listens.”

Yesterday’s march went from the intersection of highways 7 and 509 west to Highway 38. Along the way, the band of demonstrators grew as more people appeared on the road and joined the march.

Waving flags, chanting, singing, drumming and holding signs, the march had a simple message summed up on many of the homemade signs they carried and the T-shirts they wore: “No uranium mining.”

Provincial police closed off that section of the highway and re-routed traffic through the area for the one-hour march that police described as “extremely peaceful.”

Harold Perry, honorary chief of the Sharbot Lake Algonquin First Nation, said there is an obligation to fight the proposed mining operation.

“We can’t afford to have this kind of stuff going on,” he said. “I don’t want my daughter and the next generations to grow up with a thing like that.”

Mining uranium causes long-term environmental and health effects because of its radioactivity, said Joan Kuyek, national co-ordinator for MiningWatch Canada.

“In this case, the local communities are saying they don’t want it, the Algonquins are saying they want it and we support that,” Kuyek said.

A group of Algonquins have been at the entrance to the proposed mining site. The occupation is now into its second week.

Along with Algonquins have come area residents who oppose the project. Some have brought themselves, others food and supplies.

Frontenac Ventures Corporation has staked 400 claims over about 8,000 hectares in North and Central Frontenac. The land is a mix of private and Crown land, the latter being the subject of negotiations between the Algonquins and provincial government.

Frank Morrison is one of those people who found out the company has a stake on his property. He marched yesterday and said residents needed to back the Algonquins because it was the area’s lone hope.

Under provincial law, the land on native reserves isn’t available for mineral collection.

“The land claim is going to save us and if it wasn’t for that, we might as well pack up and go home,” he said.

Just like the march, the number of people taking up the cause is increasing, Morrison said.

“It’s just growing exponentially,” he said. “That’s what happens when people finally find out what’s going on here.”

“This,” he said looking up and down the mass of marchers, “is more symbolic than anything else.”

Hudson said he was concerned about the way the proposal was being handled with people such as Morrison simply being told the company had a right to mine their property.

“It will be interesting to see what the position of our provincial government will be,” he said.

Any hint of problems from mining uranium could cause damage to the area’s economy, said Norman Guntensperger, a councillor from Central Frontenac. Mining uranium could damage the area’s hope to attract more tourists and needed to be stopped, he said.

“We want to get the word out. I see this as the beginning of a long fight,” he said.

<<:>> <<:>> <<:>>

AlGONQUINS RESIST URANIUM MINING AND ASSERT INDIGENOUS SOVEREIGNTY:

In the past several months, members of the Ardoch Algonquin First
Nation and
Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation have resisted potential uranium mining
on
their unceded territories. A corporation called "Frontenac Ventures"
have
been testing for uranium for several years. Since June 28, the site of
the
mine has been blocked by an encampment that continues to this day. Jenn
Tsun, a dissident member of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, provides
background to the resistance near Sharbot Lake, Ontario.

Background HERE!:

See other articles HERE, as the shit was hitting the fan in court over the weekend.

<<:>> <<:>> <<:>>

Canada votes to reopen deadly leaking nuclear reactor in unceded Algonquin territory: MNN

GUEST EDITORIAL: WHY ARE WE BLUE ABOUT “BLUE WOLF” AND “BOLD EAGLE”- CANADA VOTES TO REOPEN DEADLY LEAKING NUCLEAR REACTOR IN UNCEDED ALGONQUIN TERRITORY

Algonquin Terr. Dec. 12, 2007. When something happens at 6 Nations Iroquois territory, there is usually an echo at Sharbot Lake in Algonquin territory [28 miles north of Kingston Ontario]. What do these two unconnected places have in common? The struggles are both about our land. Since the Cabot Charter of 1496, the common goal of the colonial system has been and continues to be the elimination of the Ongwehonwe/Nishnaabe people. We are seen as mere impediments to the greedy desire to appropriate all our resources.

In mid-September, when the Ardoch and Shabot Algonquins and allies were anticipating an invasion, the 6 Nations were attacked by hundreds of police. Nine men and women were beaten and arrested. They face court appearances in January 2008. We can bet they won’t be tried by a jury of their peers. Instead the judge will be appointed by the very same colonial regime that issued the Cabot Charter saying it was okay to “conquer all non-Christian people”. Same old, same old.

Indigenous people have always tried to be accommodating to the poor ruffians who mismanaged their own resources so poorly that they had to cross an ocean to survive.

The Algonquin protestors against uranium mining quickly dismantled their camp three weeks later as an act of "good faith". Judge Cunningham has called for mediation to discuss the illegal uranium mining that Frontenac Ventures plans to start on Algonquin land in January 2008.

When crimes are committed against people in European society, do the Europeans mediate with those who have trespassed on their land, stolen their resources or assaulted them? Not likely.

The Ardoch and Shabot Algonquin “leadership” now appear to be putting all their eggs into the farcical mediation basket that began this past week. We still don’t know if the December 17th meeting will even let our people in to observe those who pretend to represent us.

No one is monitoring Frontenac Ventures. No one has asked the Canadian people or the rightful owners of Turtle Island whether they want to deal with the waste products this will produce. A small group is watching close by while others are on standby.

THE THREE STOOGES AND ‘ATOMIC ENERGY OF CANADA LIMITED’ AECL. Chalk River Laboratories “CRL” is on the Ottawa River at the heart of Algonquin land. It’s a big nuclear bomb waiting to go off. CRL is tied to the U.S. nuclear weapons industry through the medical “isotope” business. Medical isotopes are made from a radioactive substance for imaging and treating diseases, which are made in nuclear reactors. At least 2/3 of the world’s supply is made at Chalk River. About one month ago production was stopped because of dangerous radioactive leakage from these old reactors.

The “nuclear police” force will soon move into Chalk River. Many "Aboriginal youth” are being aggressively recruited and “groomed” to serve on the front lines. Remember what happened at the Chernobyl disaster in the Ukraine. The front line did not survive. Neither did a large number of people in the immediate area and throughout the world.

Some police forces are even trying to snag our boys at pow wows. The Ontario Provincial Police's “Blue Wolf Drum” is a state-financed propaganda ploy that sends our boys to drum throughout the land to attract more of them into policing and the military called the “Bold Eagle” Program. Is this residential school pogrom #XVII? Do the assaults on our youth ever stop? Why haven’t we been given the resources we need to rebuild our communities from the destruction created by the colonists?

Remember the 1950's comedy trio, "The Three Stooges"? The new version is Julian Fantino as “Moe” [OPP commissioner], Jim Potts as “Larry” [big pubah advisor on policing] and Randy Cota as “Curly” [the Uncle Tom of the Algonquins]. Moe gets to abuse Larry. Larry gets to abuse Curly. Curly doesn't get to abuse anyone, except his own people.

Curly gets slapped in the face, poked in the eyes and hit on the head with a hammer. He gets his nose tweaked with pliers and his butt hit with a spiked 2x4.

One Stooges episode involves a disaster at a nuclear reactor plant. Can you see today’s 3 "nuclear police inspectors" arriving at Chalk River, being met by Homer Simpson played by Bob Lovelace, the elder of Ardoc Lake and and AECL Chairman of the Board, Mr. Burns, played by his look-alike George White of Frontenac Ventures?
The Stooges trudge around in their defective “protective” gear. It’s made by Ottawa-based “Med Eng”, a subsidiary of Allen-Vanguard, known world wide as the foremost in private high tech security. It’s tested at Mining Resources Engineering Limited, MREL's facilities near Sharbot Lake. MREL has been making, testing and selling bombs worldwide from Sharbot Lake . Yes, these are Canada ’s partners in crime.

The Stooges wear their “gamma watches” bought from Environmental Instruments Canada Inc., of Saskatoon. The Stooges ignore the alarms on the watches that are singing “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” in B-. Then they take a long shower in MREL's aqua ram foam, all taped with MREL's fast cameras that capture every little radioactive fart and other explosions.

After whacking Larry and Curly in the ears, cranky Moe dances from one reactor to another. There are 5 at Chalk River. Two are nearly 60 years old, long overdue for retirement. One is the National Research Universal NRU reactor which has been shut down for the past month that is causing a global shortage of medical isotopes. Parliament met Tuesday December 11th to re-open this reactor. There’s little concern about leaking radiation and a possible nuclear explosion. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he got “independent advice” that it’s safe and they’re waiting for parts.

AECL's spokesman and expert, Brian McGee, senior VP and Chief Nuclear Officer, says he didn't know the reactor needed scheduled maintenance since 2005 to keep its license. Maybe the radiation is making them all forgetful.

Stooge Larry is down in the pits taking samples from the leaking fuel that’s seeping halfway to Ottawa by now, in a colorful glowing radioactive plume. He'll have to explain this to their bosses in Washington and London .

Curly and his buds are doing security and cleanup. Accidents and spills at Chalk River are part of history. Hundreds of soldiers from Petawawa who cleaned up the mess later got cancer. The government refused to help them. Those who pursued this were told it never happened.

AECL's web site won't tell you about the 1952 accident with National Research Experiment reactor NRX, or the 1958 accident with NRU, both at Chalk River. [ccnr.org].

GNEP GLOBAL NUCLEAR ENERGY PARTNERSHIP
Last week, "Lying", Gary Lunn, Canada’s Minister for the Depletion and Exploitation of Natural Resources, quietly signed Bush's GNEP (Global Nuclear Energy Partnership). Last September, when all eyes were on the International Atomic Energy Association IAEA meeting in Vienna, Prime Minister Stephen Harper emphatically refused to sign to bring nuclear waste back to Canada. When backs were turned, Stephen “Gerda Munsinger” Harper signed like the whore who coyly says “no” when everyone is watching and later sneaks off into the bushes to do the deed.

Gary Lunn and the US Department of Energy secretary Sam Bodman claim nuclear energy is a clean, sustainable source of electricity. What corporation is telling them this, GE? GE wants controlling interests but foreigners are presently not permitted to own majority shares in a Crown corporation. Rumors have it that after a review AECL is going to be “privatized”.

The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership GNEP document is meant to “repatriate” Canada ’s nuclear waste. Lunn reassures everyone, “This will not happen. In any case, the agreement is not binding”. Italy signed on November 13th. There are now 18 members. Of course, they all want to dump on our Indigenous lands without our prior informed consent. Why do you think Canada refused to sign the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights? They don’t want to consider the health and well-being of the people for seven generations to come.

Neither the press release nor the GNEP agreement appeared on the Natural Resources web site until Wednesday, December 5th, after we called about it. The press release did appear at U.S. Department of Energy and the Canadian Nuclear Association CNA web sites last week and was announced in a short clip on CBC and other media. Don’t you just love the media that slips in little blurbs in between distracting stories like serial killer “Robert Pickton” found guilty of murdering dozens of women in British Columbia . The media pretends this is full disclosure to the public.

Note how they focused on the dangerous NRU reactor for medical isotopes products. They know damn well that some of their other uses are much less likely to win public approval. The isotopes are sold by “MDS Nordion”, an Ottawa company.

The aim of the agreement is "to accelerate development and deployment of advanced fuel cycle technologies to encourage clean development and prosperity worldwide, improve the environment and reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation." Note how they used the word “aim." They know very well that it is dangerous, that such aims cannot be achieved through this kind of science fiction fantasy. Even George Orwell wasn’t this cynical.

One of GNEP's seven objectives is to "develop and demonstrate, inter alia, advanced technologies for recycling spent nuclear fuel for deployment in facilities that do not separate pure plutonium with a long term goal of ceasing separation of plutonium and eventually eliminating stocks of separated civilian Plutonium”.

Plutonium is used for making bombs! This raises the question. Would there be a shortage of medical isotopes if they weren’t using these resources to make bombs? Don’t be fooled! The hawks are in full flight. This is not a “cold war” era.

Little kids in school are being told that they are “peace pals” when they prepare Christmas boxes for the troops overseas. Those are boys with guns defending capitalist interests at the expense of whatever civilian population happens to get in their way. There has been no decent attempt to sit down and make peace among the people in the countries where war is being waged. They’re leaving it all up to adolescent boys with guns and no education.

This shortage of isotopes is closely connected with the “hot war” that has pushed the military agenda in Canada higher than it ever was in World War II without the knowledge or consent of the Canadian people. It’s crazy. The UN was founded to create peace. World institutions have been corrupted and co-opted. Ours are being ignored.

BILL C-5: NUCLEAR LIABILITY
Canada 's Parliament is debating Bill C-5, "An Act respecting civil liability and compensation for damage in case of a nuclear incident". This is to raise the Nuclear Liability limits from $77 million to $650 million. No other industry is legislated in this way.

Should there be a large nuclear accident, the “operator” is liable, not the manufacturer. Canadian taxpayers would foot the bill for generations to come. However, according to the fine print, the liability and personal insurance are VOID in the event of “war or a terrorist attack”.

Canadian MP's that were formerly critical of the bill like NDP Dennis Bevington (Western Arctic) seem fatalistically ready to accept it. He represents “Port Radium” where uranium was first mined using Dine people to carry the ore in burlap bags. Later a majority of them died from horrible cancers.

Nathan Cullen (Skeena— Bulkley Valley, NDP) says, "… there are serious and significant implications when dealing with a nuclear accident." He asked why does the government need “to list bodily injury, psychological trauma, close personal relationships to somebody affected, liability for economic loss, costs of wages, power failure and environmental damage." They want to limit their liability on these very afflictions as they are a “limited” company.

Brad Trost ( Saskatoon—Humboldt, CPC) expounds that: "In 2003 the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission ..found the economic loss, the personal loss, cetera from a major incident… at $100 million."

On the other hand, a paraplegic as the result of a car accident recently got $7 million for loss of use of his legs, his pain and suffering and loss of income.

Let’s do the math. $650 million divided by $7 million means they have made provisions for less than 93 people. Looked at another way, a serious nuclear accident which would affect about 3 million people, would divide up $650 million and each would get $213.33. Hmmm... So who’s making the billions while we take the risks? The land and the people are being put up as the collateral.

With this in mind, remember that government agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs are notoriously bad at looking after their own. The compensation packages look great on paper. Even when the injury is of an anticipated kind, just try and collect it. You’ll find all kinds of loop holes and nonsense that boil down to no help at all. You’ll be SOL [Shit out of luck!] The nightmares are real to those who live in them.

Mario Laframboise [Argenteuil-Papineau-Mirabel, Bloc Quebecois], says of the “secret” talks of the Prime Minister with the U.S. on the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, “I find it very inconsistent of the government to introduce a bill to increase compensation for damage while the prime minister is currently prohibiting his ministers from discussing the entire nuclear energy plan." Laframboise seems to have blanked out on his government’s push for a deadly niobium mine in his riding at Kanehsatake Mohawk Territory.

People need to hear it loud and clear:
(1) Stop nuclear development. We don't need it.
(2) We already have more nuclear waste than our coming generations can reasonably be expected to deal with.

HUNGER STRIKE CONTINUES
"Where will AECL be in 2107?" We’ve learned they plan to leave Chalk River by 2080. They don’t plan to be around when our grandchildren’s skin starts falling off their bones!

Donna Dillman is still on a hunger strike protesting uranium mining. She shows no signs of quitting. Donna’s now in a wheelchair and could be force fed when she is finally bed ridden. That's what the Brits did to the Irish and that's what the Americans are doing at Guantanimo Bay , even though it is illegal by international law.

On Tuesday, December 11th, Donna will go to water only. She asks that people flood Ontario Premier McGuinty's office with calls and emails.

As Aaron Neville, said, "There's been times that I thought I couldn't last for long. Now I think I'm able to carry on. It's been a long time comin’, but I know a change is gonna come."

Jennifer Tsun, McDonalds Corners, Algonquin Territory

Notes and Sources:
Premier Dalton McGuinty
Queen's Park, Rm 281, Main Legislative Building
Toronto ON M7A 1A4
Tel 416-325-1941
Fax 416-325-3745
dmcguinty.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org and/or
dmcquinty.mpp@liberal.ola.org
See:
https://www.premier.gov.on.ca/feedback/feedback.asp
- for an online form.

Emails for Canadian MP's involved in nuclear liability debate:
ThibaLo@parl.gc.ca, ChongM@parl.gc.ca,
TrostB@parl.gc.ca, BigraB@parl.gc.ca,
CardiS@parl.gc.ca, LafraM@parl.gc.ca,
CulleN@parl.gc.ca, GallaC@parl.gc.ca,
HawnL@parl.gc.ca, McTeaD@parl.gc.ca,
AlghaO@parl.gc.ca, AnderDa@parl.gc.ca,
BevinD@parl.gc.ca, DebelC@parl.gc.ca,
OuellCh@parl.gc.ca, CrowdJ@parl.gc.ca,
ChowO@parl.gc.ca, LunnG@parl.gc.ca, BerniM@parl.gc.ca

Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility http://www.ccnr.org

MNN "Boy War Toys Club: Members Only" http://www.mohawknationnews.com
(click on news and then go to sharbot lake section)

GNEP http://www.gnep.gov/default.html

Hansard on nuclear liability debate
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Pub=Hansard&Doc=11&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Ses=2

We welcome your feedback. Send email to kittoh@storm.ca
We intend to connect the dots between a number of issues.

Post by MNN Mohawk Nation News www.mohawknationnews.com kahentinetha2@yahoo.com