• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Allowing Six Nations to Legally Occupy Land Shows Double Standard: Mayor

Posted on: Thursday, 14 December 2006, 18:00 CST

By CHINTA PUXLEY

TORONTO (CP) - An Ontario Court of Appeal decision that allows Six Nations protesters to legally continue occupying a disputed tract of land in Caledonia, Ont., shows that aboriginals are above the law, the mayor of the southern Ontario town said Thursday.

Mayor Marie Trainer said she had hoped the Appeals Court would uphold a lower court's order to halt negotiations with the province and federal government until protesters cleared off the proposed subdivision in the town just south of Hamilton.

Instead, the appeal court ruled Thursday that Justice David Marshall "erred" when he said the aboriginals had made a mockery of the rule of law by refusing to vacate the site and suggested negotiations should be suspended.

Six Nations protesters are no longer occupying the land illegally because the province bought the land and doesn't object to the occupation, the court found.

"Ontario is content to permit the peaceful occupation of its property," the decision reads. "It has the right to do so. As a property owner it has the right to use its own land as it sees fit."

While some welcomed the decision which upholds the current negotiations aimed at ending the 10-month occupation, Trainer said it just underlines what many residents feel - aboriginals are given preferential treatment by the government and police.

"It's illegal," Trainer said of the occupation. "It shows two rules of law - you and I couldn't stay there illegally but they apparently can. That's what's irritating for everyone."

Even though Premier Dalton McGuinty said months ago that it was "unacceptable" for the occupation to continue through the winter, Trainer said hope is fading in the community. Protesters are digging in for the winter and have built shelters with wood stoves, she said.

"It's frustrating, especially when it's illegal," Trainer said.

The Appeals Court acknowledged that the ongoing occupation has "profoundly affected many of the residents in Caledonia and Haldimand County," but it also found that the negotiations with both levels of government have "restored a measure of peace to the community."

Those negotiations - rather than "the force of law" - should solve the dispute, the court concluded.

David Ramsay, the minister responsible for aboriginal affairs, said the ruling is a vindication of the province's approach to the occupation. Aboriginals are and should be treated differently, he said.

"We do take a special approach with aboriginal people," Ramsay said. "There is a long-standing injustice, quite frankly, that's occurred in this country and we're working very hard to try and rectify it."

The province hasn't told protesters to leave the land, Ramsay said, preferring to focus on negotiations rather than the occupation.

The appeal decision hasn't changed much for Six Nations protesters, said spokesperson Janie Jamieson. Six Nations have always believed they were on the site legally because the land is theirs and they aren't governed by Canadian law, she said.

The protesters have already survived one winter and sub-zero temperatures, and plan to do it again, she vowed.

"We are here indefinitely," Jamieson said. "We are here to stay."

But Conservative Leader John Tory said the Liberals should refuse to negotiate with Six Nations as long as they remain on the disputed land.

There should be "one set of rules" for everyone, Tory said. While Six Nations protesters are allowed to fly their flags on the occupied land, residents who tried to put up Canadian flags near the land recently were threatened with arrest, Tory said.

"This just breeds disrespect for the law," he said. "It breeds a lot of tension and anxiety that I think is unnecessary."

Negotiations resumed Thursday continuing talks that took place in mid-November, when the federal government tabled its position that Six Nations surrendered the site in 1840 and Six Nations countered they had been duped.

Six Nations protesters have occupied the former housing site since February. Through the occupation, residents and protesters have clashed several times - hurling rocks, golf balls and being kept apart by provincial police.

The two sides could face another showdown this weekend as a Richmond Hill man is planning his second rally in the town near the disputed land.

Gary McHale's last rally in October - organized to condemn government and police response to the occupation - descended into a two-hour standoff with police after protesters attempted to storm the contested land. The crowd was dispersed by suppertime without incident.

McHale, who lives 110 kilometres away from Caledonia, is planning another rally Saturday despite being urged by Ramsay, Tory and Trainer to cancel the event.

Source: Canadian Press

More News in this Category