Simple Message To Indians At Caledonia

There would be no need for a rally and no chance of confrontation is you would stop your illegal occupation of the developement. Simple? Or do you feel that you are the chosen people and not obligated to follow the laws of the land?

Occupiers want Caledonia rally stopped

Sep. 22, 2006. 04:43 PM

CHINTA PUXLEY

CANADIAN PRESS

"They have to deal with it," she said. "This isn't public land . . . It's not optional to have rallies. It will incite problems." Caledonia Mayor Marie Trainer is equally concerned the rally could be another flashpoint for confrontation.Six Nations protesters are calling on the province to stop a rally they say could spark a "volatile situation" on the former housing development aboriginals have occupied in Caledonia, Ont., since February. A couple from Richmond Hill, Ont., north of Toronto, who founded the group Caledonia Wake Up Call, is organizing a rally for Oct. 15 on the disputed land saying the public has a right to use government property. The group has asked the province — which bought the former housing development site and put it in trust while negotiations with the protesters continue — to sanction the rally. But Hazel Hill, spokesperson for the aboriginal occupiers, said the governing Liberals need to step in and stop the rally before it creates a "volatile situation." Residents of the town, just outside of Hamilton, and aboriginals have clashed several times since the occupation began over six months ago. Six Nations protesters say they won't leave until the land they say was taken illegally from them over 200 years ago is returned. Hill said it's been relatively quiet as negotiations between protesters and the federal and provincial governments continue "at a turtle's pace" but this rally might change that. "It wouldn't be a very good scene," she said. "You're going to get one hothead on one side and another hothead on the other side. If they tangle, we're all in trouble." Area residents may be losing patience with the ongoing occupation but Trainer said many of them aren't planning to attend the rally. "It would be nice if it just got cancelled," she said. But Gary McHale isn't backing down. The computer programmer, who is organizing the rally with his wife, said he isn't trying to incite violence. The rally is meant to highlight the fact that aboriginal people are getting preferential treatment from the police who have allowed the occupation to continue, McHale said. "There is nothing special about this land," he said. "It's not an army base . . . it's just standard government land and we can walk on standard government land." He said he has the support of 100 volunteers who don't want to see Caledonia's aboriginal occupation last as long as the one in Ipperwash Provincial Park, north of Sarnia, Ont., which is now in its 11th year. "People realize it's time they have to do something," McHale said. The provincial government doesn't have any plans to either sanction or stop the rally. Anne-Marie Flanagan, spokeswoman for Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Ramsay, said the government won't ``speculate about an event which may or may not occur." "We'll monitor and take appropriate action to make sure people are safe," she said. "We're going to continue focusing on our negotiations. We're not going to get sidetracked." Others agreed provincial intervention isn't necessary. Former Ontario premier David Peterson, who the province appointed to begin negotiations in the dispute, said he doubts anyone will take the rally seriously. "There are a lot of wackos in society," he said. "It's important not to give them too much credibility." "I don't think anybody there will think this is a constructive thing to do," Peterson said, adding people need to give the negotiations some time. The provincial police said they are aware of the rally and won't divulge whether they will be increasing the number of officers that weekend. Const. Paula Wright wouldn't say whether police will keep non-aboriginals off the disputed land but said officers won't ``allow situations to develop that will be counterproductive to the peace process." Provincial police met with residents Thursday night to discuss their concerns about the ongoing occupation. Insp. Doug Babbit admitted his officers could have done a better job in managing the standoff, saying, "We dropped the ball on some of those calls." But he stressed that police are handling the situation as best they can and that his main focus is ensuring "no one is seriously injured or killed" as a result of the standoff. Provincial negotiator Chris Mayar, who's only been on the job for about two weeks, told residents he is optimistic negotiations are moving in the right direction.