Some Relevant Provincial Government Links

"About Land Claims: Aboriginal Land Claims and the Federal and Provincial Governments" Ontario Secretariat for Aboriginal Affairs
http://www.aboriginalaffairs.osaa.gov.on.ca/english/negotiate/about.htm

"Six Nations (Caledonia) Negotiations" Ontario Secretariat for Aboriginal Affairs
http://www.aboriginalaffairs.osaa.gov.on.ca/english/caledonia/

"Six Nations (Caledonia) Negotiations: What's New Archive" Ontario Secretariat for Aboriginal Affairs
http://www.aboriginalaffairs.osaa.gov.on.ca/english/caledonia/whatsnew_archive.htm

"Six Nations (Caledonia) Negotiations: Frequently Asked Questions"
http://www.aboriginalaffairs.osaa.gov.on.ca/english/caledonia/faq.htm

"Six Nations (Caledonia) Negotiations: Costs to Date"
http://www.aboriginalaffairs.osaa.gov.on.ca/english/news/news_061102.html

Some Relevant Links.

Haldimand County
(1) Haldimand County 2006 Press Releases (NB: Documents of particular relevance generally refer to "Douglas Creek Estates")
http://www.haldimandcounty.on.ca/includes/list-directory.asp?folder=/Documents/main/newsreleases/2006

"Caledonia Class Action Website
(1) http://www.caledoniaclassaction.com/index.htm

Caledonia Citizens' Alliance Group
"The Caledonia Citizens Alliance is a group of Caledonia and area citizens who have informally and voluntarily responded to the First Nations protest. The Alliance functions as a voice and advocate for recovery and renewal for the community, businesses, households and service clubs by providing information, support and planning."
http://www.caledoniacitizensalliance.com/


Sites Associated with those protesting the Six Nations 'occupation'
(1) "Caledonia Wake Up Call"
http://www.caledoniawakeupcall.com
This site is associated with Gary McHale (a man from Richmond Hill who has been active in organizing protests against the Six Nations protesters in Caledonia).

(2) "Voice of Canada"
http://voiceofcanada.wordpress.com/
This site is "edited" by Mark Vandermaas (has been active in organizing protests against the Six Nations protesters as well).

(3) "Citizens of Caledonia"
http://www.citizensofcaledonia.ca/
*This site shows support with sites such as McHale's "Caledonia Wake Up Call" or Vandermaas's Voice of Canada.


Below are a number of sites which relate to the Six Nations and the conflict in Caledonia. These sites are either directly relating to Six Nations (i.e. the first link) or are sites that have been created in support of Six Nations land claims ('reclamation') in Caledonia.

(1) Six Nations Council Website (Elected Council)
http://www.sixnations.ca/

(2) Haudenosaunee Home Page
http://www.sixnations.org/

(3) Iroquois Confederacy Links
http://www.kahonwes.com/links1/links.html

(4) "Six Nations of Grand River Reserve" - Brief overview (The Pauline Johnson Archive, McMaster University)
http://www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/~pjohnson/six.html

(5) Turtle Island Native Network News site on Land Claims
http://www.turtleisland.org/news/news-sixnations.htm

(6) Friends of First Nations
http://friendsofsixnations.bravehost.com/

(7) "Honour Six Nations" - CommUNITY Friends for Peace and Understanding with Six Nations
http://www.honorsixnations.com/index.html

(8) Autonomy & Solidarity - Six Nations Caledonia Resource Page
http://auto_sol.tao.ca/node/view/2012

(9) NDN News and Native American Issues and Causes
http://www.ndnnews.com/Caledonia%20Occupation.htm

(10) Settlers in Support of Indigenous Sovereignty
http://www.ndnnews.com/Caledonia%20Occupation.htm

(11) Audio interviews with Hazel Hill, Clyde Powless, and Janie Jamieson on McMaster University student radio
http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=17785


NEWLY ADDED LINKS:
(12) "Online home for Six Nations reclaimers and supporters and those interested in learning and discussing - all welcome!"
www.reclamationinfo.com

(13) "Canadians for Aboriginal Rights: Boards for two Six Nations solidarity groups and Canada-wide discussion of aboriginal issues of importance to Canadians."
cfar.proboards104.com






Independent Media - Hamilton
(1) Hamilton Independent Media Center
http://hamilton.indymedia.org/feature/display/21/index.php


Aboriginal Media Sources
(1)Radio station on the Six Nations reserve.
http://www.ckrz.com/index.html

(2) "First Prespective National Aboriginal News: Ongoing reports behind the Native Lines at Caledonia"
http://www.firstperspective.ca/fp_template.php?path=20060421caledonia

Some Relevant Federal Government Websites.

"Backgrounder on the claims of the Six Nations of Grand River Band of Indians"
http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/nr/prs/j-a2006/snjsbk_e.html

"Fact Sheet: Aboriginal Claims in Canada"
http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/pr/info/acc_e.html


Department of Indian and Northern Affairs: Chronology of Events at Caledonia
http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/nr/iss/eac_e.html


New Release - Joint Statement by Minister Jim Prentice and Ontario Minister Responsible for Aboriginal Affairs (June 11, 2006)
http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/nr/prs/m-a2006/2-02767_e.html


"Backgrounder: Six Nations of the Grand River"
http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/nr/prs/s-d2005/02742bk_e.html

"Negotiation or Confrontation: It's Canada's Choice. Final Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples. Special Study on the Federal Specific Claims Process." - The Honourable Gerry St. Germain, P.C., Chair and The Honourable Nick Sibbeston, Deputy Chair (December 2006)
*Note requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/39/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/com-e/abor-e/rep-e/rep05dec06-e.pdf


SETTLING LAND CLAIMS Prepared by: Mary C. Hurley, Law and Government Division
Jill Wherrett, Political and Social Affairs Division
1 September 1999
(Library of Parliament - Parliamentary Information and Research)
http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/PRBpubs/prb9917-e.htm

Economist - September 2006 Article

This land is my land

Sep 14th 2006 | OTTAWA
From The Economist print edition
Yet another land-claim dispute turns ugly and shines a spotlight on the failure of Canada's policies towards its aboriginal people

CANADA'S much vaunted reputation for tolerance took a beating this summer in Caledonia, a town 80km (50 miles) south-west of Toronto, where a new housing development on land claimed by the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy has sparked off a series of ugly clashes between the aboriginals and the town's non-indigenous residents.

The land is part of a much larger tract given by the British to their Indian allies from New York in 1784 when members of the tribes fled to Canada after the American war of independence. Claiming that the land was thereafter sold without their proper consent, members of the Six Nations have been occupying the site for the past six months, setting up barricades and blocking traffic. This, in its turn, has provoked a series of counter-blockades, brawls, vandalism, and a fight with golf balls and stones. In a belated attempt to avert further violence, the provincial government bought the contested property from the private developers in June and opened negotiations with the Six Nations. But tensions in the town spiked again at the end of last month when the protesters threatened to complete the 11 unfinished homes themselves and to live in them throughout the winter.

Because Caledonia is (by Canadian standards) on the doorstep of Canada's largest city, the conflict has been attracting blanket media coverage. But few have bothered to trace its origins back to their source: the spectacular failure of overall aboriginal policy. Treating their indigenous citizens fairly should be the “ultimate moral issue for Canadians”, says Paul Martin, the former Liberal prime minister. Instead, they are treated with a mixture of ignorance and indifference. The current policy, based on “white guilt and aboriginal anger”, does not work, argues John Richards of Simon Fraser University.

Canada's current philosophical approach is a far cry from the 1969 attempt by Pierre Trudeau, another former prime minister, to assimilate the country's aboriginals by abolishing separate Indian status and, with it, any right to special treatment by the state. Aboriginal anger forced Mr Trudeau to climb down. By 1982 he had had a change of heart, enshrining broad aboriginal rights in the new Canadian constitution. Assimilation as an official policy died, although it is still favoured by some academics, including Tom Flanagan of the University of Calgary, who has close ties to the current prime minister.

Yet few Canadians understand the special constitutional status of Canada's aboriginals, comprising Indians, Métis, and Inuit, partly because it is still not fully spelled out in the constitution. The Indians believe they should deal with Canada on a government-to-government basis, just as their ancestors did in the 1700s, when the British bought peace in the colony by signing treaties guaranteeing Indian rights to land and self-government. Those were incorporated in the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and again in Canada's new constitution. Paul Chartrand, a Métis member of a former royal commission on the aboriginals, says that Canadian governments are not interested in long-term solutions, seeking rather to “stamp out fires”. Mr Martin largely agrees: “This is a file that has been shoved under the rug for 150 years.”

The federal government spends an estimated C$9 billion ($8 billion) a year on aboriginal programmes, targeted mainly at the Indians living on 600-odd occupied reserves, where conditions are often dire. Last year the federal government had to evacuate the Kashechewan reserve in northern Ontario after its drinking water was found to be unsafe. The water quality in more than 200 other reserves has also been deemed risky. Although aboriginals living outside the reserves have lower levels of education, health and income than other Canadians, the gap is even wider for those on the reserves.

Meanwhile, disputes over land are frequent and often violent, the result of resurgent aboriginal nationalism and an awareness that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Since 1990 some of the fiercest confrontations have been over an oil development near Lubicon Lake, Alberta, a golf course expansion at Oka, Quebec, a provincial park in Ipperwash, Ontario, a ski resort at Sun Peaks, British Columbia, and military flights over Labrador. Each has followed a depressingly similar course. Ownership is disputed. An aboriginal claim is filed and the federal claims-processing machinery grinds into motion. Years, often decades, go by without resolution. The fuse is lit when the contested activity is at last allowed to proceed, despite the outstanding claim. No matter which side eventually wins, the other regards it as an illegal occupation.

Not all the news is grim. On the land-claims front, there have been a number of cases where aboriginal insistence that their rights be recognised before industrial development proceeds has led to agreements on job creation, revenue-sharing, training and land ownership. This was the case with the Cree over the massive James Bay hydroelectric dams in northern Quebec, the Innu over the Voisey's Bay nickel mine in Labrador, the Inuit over diamond mines in the Northwest Territories, and the 1999 creation of the new territory of Nunavut, the largest land-claim settlement in Canadian history. Now aboriginal groups along the path of the proposed Mackenzie Valley natural-gas pipeline in the Northwest Territories stand to become part-owners of the C$7 billion project—if it goes ahead.

“Large-scale resource development has been the catalyst for just about every major land-claim settlement across the country,” notes David Natcher, professor of aboriginal studies at Memorial University in Newfoundland. The bigger the development, the better the chance at settlement, he says, because the companies put pressure on governments to reach a deal.

But smaller disputes, like the one in Caledonia, are much harder to solve. The present confrontation is happening a full decade after a royal commission presented the federal government with a supposedly clear roadmap on how to repair its deteriorating relations with the aboriginals. Set up by the Conservatives following the 1990 Oka conflict, the commission reported to a Liberal government in 1996. But the Liberals largely ignored its recommendations, including the suggestion that land claims be settled by a tribunal composed of both aboriginal and non-aboriginal members, rather than by the courts.

It is not too late for the new government to dust off that report. But even if all the aboriginals' claims are settled—and that seems unlikely given a backlog of more than 780 claims before the federal government—it would still not solve the aboriginals' plight. Some analysts argue for much more to be done for the two-thirds of aboriginals living within Canadian society. That might tempt more Indians to leave the wretchedness of the reserves. But this would require the two levels of government to stop buck-passing and get their act together. Although the federal government is supposedly responsible for the aboriginals' overall welfare, the provinces have jurisdiction over land and resources.

Is the new Conservative government ready to change decades of failed policies? Early signs are mixed. As a one-time member of a federal claims commission, Jim Prentice, the new minister of Indian and northern affairs, has wide experience of aboriginal affairs. He has already pledged to slash the backlog of claims and to do more for the off-reserve aboriginals. The government has also agreed to honour the promise of $2.2 billion by the previous government to compensate the victims of abuse in aboriginal residential schools. But other moves seem less promising: Mr Prentice has declined to intervene in Caledonia, refused to support a UN declaration on indigenous rights and reneged on the last government's pledge of an extra C$5 billion for social schemes.

As with so many federal issues in Canada, any real change in policy is unlikely until there is a majority government with the strength and will to ram it through. Meanwhile, private firms push ever further into remote areas in search of lumber, minerals, oil and gas, creating a whole new series of potential flashpoints.

CBC News Links

CBC Timelines
CBC has provided two online timelines relating to the conflict in Caledonia. First, here, chronicles events and news stories that have occurred since the occupation in Caledonia began (February 28, 2006). The second provides a historical overview of the landclaim dispute; it is available here.

Solutions from CALEDONIA/SIX NATIONS
This link is a short transcript from a CBC Newsworld show broadcast which asks four people from Caledonia for their solutions to the conflict. It is available here. (Broadcast date: Sunday September 2006).

August Editorial by Michelle Mann (Lawyer, freelance writer)
Available here. The conclusion of this short editorial is:

While the governments involved praise the value of negotiations in putting out the fire in Caledonia, hundreds of other claims are left smoking across the country, with the usual delay and frustration faced by First Nations claimants continuing to build.
Had the provincial and federal governments dealt proactively rather than reactively with the Six Nations land claim we might well count on the patience of First Nations not being exhausted.
They did not, and the result, as pointed out by Marshall, is a breakdown in the rule of law. Just don’t shoot the messenger.

"Reality Check: Inside native politics: the dispute within the dispute in the Six Nations standoff " - Editorial of sorts by Robert Sheppard
This column (or editorial) discusses the context of the landclaim focusing on a different angle than many stories - this focuses on conflict within the Six Nations community. Namely, between elected band councils (a system enforced by the federal government in the 1920s) and the historical 'governance' structure of clan mothers. The article is available here.

The Hour: May 23, 2006 News story
Broadcast of a new story entitled "Peace or Protest" is available here. This pieces focuses on short clips from interviews of both Caledonia residents and Six Nations members.

Videos - Source: "Timmer"

Tim Sywyk (or "Timmer") is a man from Brantford, Ontario [just outside of Caledonia] who travels to Caledonia frequently and has taken a number of videos, particularly surrounding the site of the blockade. Timmer is a supporter of those from the Six Nations who have 'occupied' the land in Caledonia.

This is a video of Timmer speaking with members of CommUNITY Friends on Canada Day 2006.


A video taken of a flag raising that took place in late 2006.


A video taken of Mark Vandermaas

Videos - Source: Unknown.

A short video of Gary McHale on January 20, 2007 at the "March of Freedom" McHale organized in Caledonia.


An interview with "Mike D" a supporter of the Six Nations occupation in Caledonia talking about the OPP raid which took place in April 2006.


Footage of the October 15th, 2006 "March for Freedom" in Caledonia (organized by McHale and others).


Footage from what the video description calls a "Caledonia Town Meeting" April 24, 2006.

Videos - Source: "Voice of Canada"

"Voice of Canada" (available here) is a site edited by Mark Vandermaas a man from London Ontario whom, along with Gary McHale (of Richmond Hill, Ontario) has been active in organizing demonstrations against the Six Nations 'occupation' in Caledonia (including the event a "March for Peace" which was held on January 20, 2007 in Caledonia); both of these men were arrested by the OPP on December 16, 2006 for "breaking the peace."

Again, these videos have a very distinct bias and perspective, and at times employ a vernacular which may be offensive. That said, these voices have emerged, in many regards, as a strong element of the conflict in Caledonia.

The videos below were found on 'youtube' from one use who was associated with the the "Voice of Canada" website (it appears that the voice overs are provided by Mark Vandermass, though it is not certain).


Below is a series of 5 videos that is meant to run concurrently on Caledonia. (Again, it is assumed that the narration is provided by Mark Vandermass or someone else associated with the "Voice of Canada" website).





Another video associated with the same user:

Videos - Source: Autonomy & Solidarity

The group Autonomy & Solidarity has created a number of videos focusing on the conflict in Caledonia, including interviews with local residents. Below are a number of these videos. The website (available here) states that it is "produced and maintained by a network of anti-capitalists who believe that revolutionary transformation will come from the self organization of workers and oppressed people." As such, the group - as other sources of information - is biased, though arguably in this case quite a clearly stated bias. With this in mind, I believe the videos provide interesting insight into the conflict that are not often available through more mainstream media sources.


An interview with Toby Barrett, MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk-Brant (whose riding includes Caledonia) from the weekend of May 22, 2006. The day that the video was taken the Six Nations roadblock had been temporarily removed but was then re-established (for the story see here).



An interview with David Peterson (who was appointed in late April 2006 by the Ontario government as the 'Provincial Lead' to help find solutions to the immediate problems in Caledonia. Peterson is a former liberal Ontario premier).


An interview with a long-time Caledonia resident who was participating in a protest against the Six Nations at the blockade site in Caledonia. (April 2006)


Jan Watson, a Caledonian resident who is part of a group which calls itself 'Community Friends' speaks about why she supports the Six Nations' protest.


"This is an interview with Jaqueline House, a Cayuga member of the Turtle clan and a Six nations spokesperson, about the blockade of the Douglas Creek Estates construction site in Caledonia."


"A member of the Mohawk Warrior Society speaks about the Caledonia Standoff and the significance of the police assault and native response."


A video taken on Friday April 28th, 2006. The description states that a crowd of around "700 people gathered" at the site of the blockade to "demand the opening of highway 6".


Local resident "Custer" speaking to Autonomy & Solidarity on May 22, 2006.


Another Caledonia resident on May 22, 2006.


Another Caledonia resident on May 22, 2006.


OPP being deployed at the site of the blockade on May 22, 2006.

"Robin Williams is a member of Six Nations and gave the following interview on the topic of the current land occupation. She speaks about the situation of housing on the reserves, why protestors have taken back the land from Henco Industries and the importance of outside support."

Jaqueline House on Indigenous Burial Grounds near Caledonia Blockade. She talks about the grave sites that have been found on the land that the Six Nations people have reclaimed.

This video was recorded in April of 2006. The video is described as "a group of local youth express their reasons at the protest against the Six Nations." The video, taken at night, takes place during a time when a large group of Caledonian residents began to protest against the Six Nations 'occupation'. As one can infer from the video, at this time, the OPP - who were present - were not allowing individuals to cross a particular line between the two groups.

Mainstream Media February 2007

February, 2007

Thursday, February 1^st: Toronto lawyer Stephen Ford took another "baby step" Wednesday in a long legal process that could ultimately change the way Aboriginal Canadians are treated in the criminal courts. Mr. Ford filed a writ of prohibition in Ontario court asking Justice Joe Nadel to suspend his jurisdiction and transfer the charges against Six Nations band member Ronald Gibson to Ontario Superior Court. Mr. Ford told reporters he wants the Gibson case heard in Ontario Superior Court because he believes it has the "inherent jurisdiction" to rule on constitutional issues (Paul Legall: HS A8).

Friday, February 2^nd: The Ontario government has reportedly initiated closed door meetings with an unknown number of Caledonia, Ont., residents in an attempt to gain advice on compensation for homeowners affected by the Six Nations occupation. The Ontario government has asked the “Caledonia Community Committee,” to sign agreements to keep the discussions confidential. The move has outraged Haldimand-Norfolk-Brant Tory MPP Toby Barrett, who said some community members have told him they would have preferred to have a more public process because they have concerns about the government’s trustworthiness (Daniel Nolan: HS A11).

Tuesday, February 6^th: According to a Senate report, the federal government should start setting aside $250-million a year to settle land-claim disputes, or risk more Caledonia-style blockades and violent confrontations between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. Tory Senator Gerry St. Germain, chairman of the committee, told reporters that federal leaders should treat their legal liabilities in the same way a business would, setting aside enough money each year so that the debt can be paid off. A spokesperson for Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice said that the minister would examine the report before making any public response (Bill Curry: G&M A9).

Thursday, February 8^th: Incarcerated Six Nations protestor Trevor Miller is expected to get out of jail today. Mr. Miller, whose detention has been a bone of contention for supporters of the Six Nations occupation in Caledonia, will appear in a Cayuga courtroom today for a bail hearing (Marissa Nelson: HS A10).

Saturday, February 10^th: Ontario regional chief Angus Toulouse warned that Canada should brace for more dramatic displays of Aboriginal defiance in 2007, following incidents like the Six Nations occupation in Caledonia. Chief Toulouse said there are 1,000 outstanding land claims across Canada, and “any one of them could trigger the same reaction” (NBN D6).

Roberta Jamieson, a former elected chief of Six Nations, said it will take the expertise of an impartial arbitrator to settle outstanding issues in Caledonia. Ms. Jamieson said an independent mediator must take up the work now underway by Six Nations, Ontario and Canadian negotiators. Ms. Jamieson told an audience at a Brock University lecture series that Caledonia has been a reminder of “how far we have to go to work together” (Karen Best: Welland Tribune A3).

Mohawk activist Trevor Miller was released from prison on $10,000 bail after serving six months. Mr. Miller had just put up $10,000 in cash and two aunts from the Six Nations reserve had each pledged $5,000 to secure his release on bail pending his trial on assault and robbery charges (Paul Legall: HS A15).

Town residents vented their angst and frustration at a community meeting called by the local councillor to discuss the nearly year-old Caledonia standoff. About 200 people attended the meeting to express their concerns to Councillor Craig Grice, who promised to hold the meeting during last fall’s municipal election campaign. Residents gave Mr. Grice, who hosted the meeting along with Mayor Marie Trainer and councillor Buck Sloat, ideas on how the county can best deal with the occupation (Daniel Nolan: HS A10).

Tuesday, February 13^th: More than 200 people overflowed a McMaster University lecture hall to hear Mohawk Chief Allen MacNaughton, Cayuga sub-chief Leroy Hill and occupation spokeswoman Hazel Hill give history they say is not taught in Canada's history books. The speakers recounted Six Nations history along the Grand River in the context of the Caledonia dispute. They said the land in those communities was leased for 990 years in 1798. The trio told the crowd, including a number of Caledonia residents, they never gave up their rights to the land, but over the years it was gradually stolen by the colonial government (Daniel Nolan: HS A10).

Thursday, February 22^nd: A group of Six Nations Mohawks threatened a $4.4-trillion lawsuit over control of the land granted to Joseph Brant. The group claiming to represent the Mohawk Nation, and calling itself the "stewards of the Haldimand Treaty," has filed its intent to sue the Haudenosaunee Six Nations Confederacy, other Aboriginal groups and individuals on the reserve. They are also asking for another $3 trillion in aggravated and punitive damages for undermining Mohawk authority over the land. If the suit goes forward, it would be the largest lawsuit in Canadian history. The group's lawyer, Justin Griffin, was not available for comment (John Burman: HS A1 and A11).

Friday, February 23^rd: Negotiators trying to resolve the Caledonia standoff are not predicting a speedy end to talks as the dispute approaches its first anniversary next Wednesday. According to Ms. Barbara McDougall, a negotiator for the federal government, “(Negotiations) takes a long time (and) if it takes a long time, it takes a long time." Representatives for Ottawa, Queen's Park and the Six Nations Confederacy downplay concerns the sides have hit an impasse and Confederacy spokesman Cayuga sub-chief Leroy Hill believes the sides are at a point where they can develop ideas on how to end it (Daniel Nolan: HS A12).

The staggering $4.4-trillion lawsuit that seeks to gain Mohawk control of Six Nations and land negotiations has been called a “frivolous action” that hacks at the roots of peace. That is what the Haudenosaunee Six Nations Confederacy Council said in a statement last night, blasting the court action as “an obvious attempted 'cash grab.'” Self-titled “stewards of the Haldimand Treaty” said they will sue for $4.4 trillion for “mental anguish, pain and suffering deliberately inflicted on the heirs and descendants of the Mohawk Nation Grand River.” If they win, they also seek another $3 trillion in aggravated and punitive damages. A notice of action, stating intent to file a lawsuit, was filed in Superior Court in Brantford Feb. 12. A man at the centre of the lawsuit seeking Mohawk control of Six Nations was shocked to find his family named as plaintiffs. Trevor Miller said he, his mother and sister are not suing anyone (John Burman: HS A1 & A10).

According to Robert Howard, as the one-year anniversary of the Aboriginal standoff in Caledonia approaches, new “developments” add to the sense of the surreal hanging over this ugly affair. He said for example, “the statement this week by Ontario Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Ramsay that the province has run out of tools to deal with the Caledonia dispute. This is just another ratcheting of the federal-provincial argument over Caledonia, highlighted in November by Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice cancelling a meeting with Mr. Ramsay with virtually no notice. Mr. Prentice cited the province's “political grandstanding” on the occupation. Caledonia residents must not know whether to laugh or cry, at both the multi-trillion-dollar legal action and the intergovernmental squabbling. One year in, it is beginning to look like another long, hot summer ahead” (HS A14).

Hamilton Spectator editorial: According to Susan Clairmont, Constable David Hartless is the subject of a discreditable conduct investigation under the Police Services Act after he wrote an open letter to Premier Dalton McGuinty blasting him and the OPP for their lack of leadership in Caledonia. Off-duty cops are still citizens. They are not owned by the state. Or their chief. Or, more to the point, somebody else's commissioner. They still have some rights. They can still be angry at politicians. They still have the freedom to speak (HS A11).

Saturday, February 24^th: The one-year anniversary of the Six Nations occupation in Caledonia will be marked on Wednesday at the Douglas Creek Estates site with a pot luck dinner and celebration hosted by the Six Nations occupiers (John Paul Zronik: BE A12).

Brantford Expositor editorial: The one-year anniversary of the Caledonia protest offers no reason to celebrate. The cheering will come when Six Nations’ land claims are settled and Grand River neighbours can live side by side in security and respect (BE A8).

Letter writer John Hagopian: It has come time for the politically incorrect truth to be told. The Six Nations have no legal rights to the lands in question, and have had none for over a century (HS A13).

Columnist Susan Gamble: The Caledonia land claim protest has focused the attention of Canadians on land issues. It has cost the provincial and federal governments - and taxpayers - millions of dollars in policing, court time and other costs, and has added an urgency to what has gone from “discussions” to “negotiations” over some of the Six Nations many outstanding land claims (BE A12).

Susan Gamble outlined the various highlights of the Caledonia occupation over the past year (BE A13).

Monday, February 26^th: Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice said during an interview that he does not expect the Six Nations occupation in Caledonia, Ont., to end any time soon. However, Mr. Prentice asserted that negotiations have brought relative stability to the community and, “If people are patient, we will get this resolved.” Six Nations spokesperson Janie Jamieson told reporters that the occupation embodies too much for Six Nations to back down now (Chinta Puxley: G&M A13, LFP C4, TSun 14, TStar A7, KWS B6, WFP A7, SJT A5).

Supporters of imprisoned Six Nations man Chris Hill held a public vigil Sunday afternoon outside Mr. Hill’s jail cell. Mr. Hill was arrested Jan. 3 and faces several charges, including assault of a police officer and assault with a weapon, in connection with an incident at the former Douglas Creek Estates last spring (HS A8).

Marissa Nelson: A year later, and the path to peace in Caledonia still is not clear. It has been a year of discovery, building community, cohesion and pride. Six Nations traditional leaders and culture has found new prominence and power on the reserve. There is change for everyone else involved: the town, the province, the OPP, and for Canada. What the protest means is different for each. Those differences help explain why, a year after it blew up and more than 100 years after it began, the dispute is still unresolved (HS A1).

Marissa Nelson: Initially, the federal government said the Six Nations occupation in Caledonia had, “nothing to do with,” Ottawa. Both Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice and local MP Diane Finley have kept low, sometimes invisible, profiles on the issue. Jurisdiction has been an ongoing spat between the Ontario and federal governments. Even a federal “fact finder” said the arguments between the two levels of government were delaying resolution of the land claim (HS A10).

Letter writer Lori Whiteford: Since when does a citizen of Canada, let alone one directly affected by the Caledonia land claim, not have the right to express their opinion? Apparently since Julian Fantino took the reins of the OPP. David Hartless, a Hamilton police officer and Ontario taxpayer, has the right to his opinion just like anyone else and he is not in violation of the Police Service Act (HS A14).

Mainstream Media January 2007

January 2007

Tuesday, January 2^nd: The Six Nations Confederacy celebrated New Year’s Day by getting back the original building that was the seat of its government before they were removed by Canada in 1924. The elected band council gave keys to the vacant 1864 council house in Ohsweken to Onondoga Chief Arnie General, who was part of an attempt in 1959 to reoccupy the old confederacy council house. Janie Jamieson, a spokesperson for Six Nations demonstrators in Caledonia, said that the Department of Indian Affairs had returned possession of the house to the Six Nations band council (Rob Faulkner: HS A10).

Kitchener-Waterloo Record editorial: Ontario and federal politicians must resolve the land grievances of the Six Nations. The standoff in Caledonia is costly and disruptive to residents there. The Six Nations have claimed the bed and banks of the Grand River. They have a legal right, confirmed by the Supreme Court, to be consulted about projects affecting their claims. However, there is uncertainty about the river claim. There is uncertainty about how consultation is to be practiced. There is uncertainty about who speaks for the Six Nations. These uncertainties have already delayed plans for two new bridges over the Grand River. They may stall other plans to repair or replace other bridges. They may delay other watershed projects, some quite routine. This is unacceptable. If senior governments can not negotiate a complete resolution this year, they should at least clarify how local councils and agencies are to move forward with important projects (KWR A6).

Columnist Lee Prosaska: This has not been a great year for our police organizations. At the provincial level, the image of the OPP has suffered perhaps irreparable damage because of its policing of the Aboriginal occupation in Caledonia. The behaviour of OPP officers policing the occupation in Caledonia has seriously undermined non-Aboriginal people’s respect for the provincial police authority. It is hard to avoid a perception that Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people have been treated differently during the controversial occupation. Certainly, it is understandable for the OPP to work hard to avoid a repeat of the clash at Ipperwash. Commissioner Gwen Boniface, largely invisible throughout the Caledonia occupation, has moved on, with former Toronto police chief Julian Fantino taking over. Mr. Fantino is known as a law-and-order proponent, but he has not yet shown any firm leadership when it comes to Caledonia. It is not enough for him to say there is no double standard in Caledonia; he and his police force need to show us (HS A14).

Wednesday, January 3^rd: The province of Ontario has agreed to pay $150,000 towards a marketing campaign in the community of Caledonia. The province provided finances for the community in November in addition to a sum of $210,000 that it provided for a similar marketing campaign during the summer. Advertisements for the latest marketing campaign have been designed for newsprint and radio, and are meant to entice people into stores and local businesses. In other news, Gary McHale of Richmond Hill has vowed to return to Caledonia on Jan. 20 to put up Canadian flags on utility poles opposite the Six Nations occupation site. OPP spokesperson Paula Wright told reporters that the OPP is aware of Mr. McHale and plan to prevent “anyone’s personal agenda” from interfering “with the safety of the community” (HS A10).

Thursday, January 4^th: Haldimand County Mayor Marie Trainer said the occupation at Douglas Creek Estates has had a profound impact on the growth of Caledonia. Housing company Mattamy Homes was looking at buying more than 200 hectares of property for 2,500 homes in north Caledonia, but Mayor Trainer said it abandoned the project because the land is the subject of a possible land claim. Meanwhile, realtor Bruce MacDonald, who was negotiating the deal, confirmed Mattamy dropped its options for the site last year, but said the decision was due to several factors (Daniel Nolan: HS A10).

The Ontario government will give the OPP more than $20 million to cope with heavy policing costs from the Caledonia standoff. OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino will use the money to help cover policing costs and pay for new officers to patrol Caledonia and help officers seconded from across Ontario to return to their home detachments. He will also receive $1.6 million to put toward expanding the Haldimand OPP detachment in Cayuga, plus pay for new cruisers, computers and other equipment needed to police Caledonia (Daniel Nolan: HS A1; TStar A6).

North Bay Nugget editorial printed in the Kingston Whig-Standard: Continued organized rallies in Caledonia are doing more harm than good. Protest organizer Gary McHale plans to return to the site on Jan. 20 for yet another rally at the disputed site. Negotiations are ongoing, but the situation in Caledonia has gone on for too long and the longer it lasts, the more chance there is of violence. That is the last thing we need (KWS 4).

Friday, January 5^th: The Government of Ontario will provide the OPP with nearly $22 million to aid in the cost of policing the ongoing Six Nations occupation in Caledonia. OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino said the Haldimand OPP detachment will get several dozen new officers, straight from the police academy. The officers will be redeployed elsewhere once a settlement is reached in the nearly year-long occupation (WStar C1).

The OPP have arrested and charged Christopher Hill, 20, of Ohsweken after he was discovered during a routine investigation of an unrelated matter. A warrant for Mr. Hill’s arrest has been outstanding since the OPP’s botched raid in April on the Six Nations occupation site in Caledonia. In other news, OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino criticized Richmond Hill resident Gary McHale who recently announced plans to stage another rally near the contested occupation site, stating: “I think it is provocative. I think it is irresponsible and I think, at the end of the day, intelligent people will see it for what it is. It is mischief making.” Mr. Fantino would not say whether Mr. McHale will face arrest again, but did state: “We will maintain the peace at all costs in Caledonia and lawbreakers will be dealt with” (Daniel Nolan: HS A11).

Monday, January 8^th: Trevor Miller, a Six Nations man who has been incarcerated for the past five months for allegedly assaulting a camera man in Caledonia last June, is scheduled to appear in court today for another bail review. Supporters of Mr. Miller feel the justice system has treated him unfairly and have called his incarceration an act of war against Aboriginal people. Last month, Stuart Myiow, a member of the Mohawk Traditional Council from Kahnawake in Quebec, blamed the problem on the decision by Canada and the U.S. to not ratify a UN declaration on Indigenous rights (Steve Buist: HS A8).

Tuesday, January 9^th: Trevor Miller arrived for a bail hearing Monday wearing a colourful Mohawk headdress. Supporters of Mr. Miller accompanied him into the courtroom where they staged a quiet demonstration by refusing to stand when Superior Court Justice Stephen Glithero entered and left the courtroom. Justice Glithero adjourned Mr. Miller’s case to Jan. 22, when he will appear before Superior Court Justice David Marshall (Paul Legall: HS A9).

Wednesday, January 10^th: OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino announced Tuesday that the OPP detachment in Haldimand will get 50 more officers by the end of the year, doubling the strength of the detachment to deal with the Caledonia dispute. Mr. Fantino said strengthening the detachment with permanent postings will help build bridges with the community and be more cost efficient (Marissa Nelson: HS A1, KWS 9).

In an interview, Commissioner Fantino discussed the strategy that has been adopted by the OPP in dealing with the Six Nations occupation in Caledonia, including how the force deals with non-Aboriginal complainants like those from Richmond Hill resident Gary McHale. Mr. Fantino criticized Mr. McHale’s proposed Jan. 20 rally in Caledonia, saying “It is totally unhelpful. It is agitating the community. It is creating the potential for confrontation and violence. It is totally unnecessary and unhelpful and what makes me very suspicious is that it is done in the shroud of the Canadian flag” (Marissa Nelson: HS A10).

Thursday, January 11th: A brief confrontation took place Wednesday between a member of the Six Nations occupation in Caledonia and Chris Syrie, a musician whose property borders the disputed site. According to reports, Mr. Syrie planted two Canadian flags and two “No Trespassing” signs on his lot which borders the tract of land currently occupied by Six Nations members. The brief confrontation was quickly defused by the OPP and a second Aboriginal man. According to Mr. Syrie, the property he purchased for $106,000 in 2005 is now worthless. Mr. Syrie indicated that his problem is not with the Aboriginal occupiers, but with the provincial government, which has ignored his requests for a buy-out of the property which Mr. Syrie had planned to use for a music school (Daniel Nolan: HS A8).

Sunday, January 14^th: London area resident Mark Vandermaas has vowed to return to Caledonia in a repeat bid to hoist the Canadian flag there. This time, Mr. Vandermaas will be trying to recruit others to join him next Saturday near the site of the Six Nations occupation in Caledonia. Mr. Vandermaas said he has been prepared to be jailed again and hopes to find 50 others willing to be arrested at a planned protest. An OPP spokesperson said police would prefer outsiders stay away from Caledonia (John Miner: LFP A1).

Monday, January 15^th: During a meeting at the Caledonia Lions Club Sunday, Richmond Hill resident Gary McHale called on area residents to join him, and “about 15” other people who are prepared to risk arrest at a demonstration planned for this weekend. The demo has been arranged in order to draw attention to the OPP’s handling of the Six Nations occupation in Caledonia. Mr. McHale also told the crowd that he hoped to “fire Dalton McGuinty” and force the disbanding of the OPP (Bill Dunphy: HS A11).

Lloyd Brown-John, University of Windsor political science department: The situation in Caledonia is absurd. OPP cars and officers are everywhere and likely to remain. Apparently, their job is to keep the peace and apply the law to non-Aboriginal people, but not to Aboriginal people. The Ontario government has just allocated another $22 million of taxpayer money for the OPP to police Caledonia. The federal government has taken a full back-seat role. This has left the McGuinty government to bear the full weight of public opprobrium over the drawn-out Caledonia siege. Never have so many politicians quaked before so many loud- and foul-mouthed protesters as they have at Caledonia. Time is not on the politicians' side (WStar A6).

Wednesday, January 17^th: The OPP have issued an arrest warrant for Jarrod Greene, a 33-year-old Ohsweken man who allegedly caused $6,000 damage to the street in front of Douglas Creek Estates in Caledonia during the 2006 Victoria Day weekend violence. OPP Constable Paula Wright said Mr. Greene is being sought on a charge of mischief for allegedly using a front-end loader to dig up a portion of Argyle Street West near the entrance to the disputed land. In a media release Tuesday, Mohawk Chief Allen MacNaughton argued the OPP has no power to arrest Mr. Greene because Argyle Street is sovereign Six Nations land (Paul Legall: HS A10; Kelly Patrick: NP A4; CP: KWR A3).

Letter writer Hal Jones, Burlington, Ont.: The Indigenous people of the Six Nations were not a conquered nation and as such are hardly subservient to laws and rules that were designed to primarily serve the European colonizers. I give credit to the OPP in their handling of the Six Nations occupation in Caledonia. While it is the federal government that is at fault for not stepping in and taking the initiative in settling this land dispute, it clearly demonstrates that not only here, but around the world, the colonization process is almost never ended and has ongoing costs that must be born by Aboriginal people and the citizens of the present state (HS A14).

Letter writer Patrick O’Connor, London, Ont.: The Sunday edition of The London Free Press gave front-page advertising to Mark Vandermaas so he can find others to flout the law and cause civil disobedience in Caledonia. It even reads like a help-wanted ad. Mr. Vandermaas is not a modern hero, but a self-deluded disturber. This story is not worthy of front-page coverage. It is free advertising (LFP A6).

Thursday, January 18^th: Ontario's Culture Ministry said an archeological dig of around 18 locations in the Caledonia area uncovered stones left behind by nomadic hunting groups thousands of years ago and the remains of an 800-year-old longhouse. News of the discovery was welcomed by Six Nations protesters occupying the former housing development site in Caledonia as proof of the historical connection Aboriginals have with the area. While Six Nations spokeswoman Janie Jamieson said she is convinced there are human remains buried on the site, the Ministry of Culture said no burial grounds have been found. A spokesperson for Ontario Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Ramsay declined to comment on how the findings could affect talks between Six Nations, the province and the federal government. Meanwhile, Liberal leader Stéphane Dion said it is time Ottawa worked out a swifter way to handle Aboriginal land claims, calling for the creation of an independent body to deal with disputes such as the one in Caledonia (Chinta Puxley: KWS 11 and LFP A4, TSun 44; Dana Borcea: HS A10; CP: Gaz A11 and EJ A6, RLP C12, WStar A9, MT&T C4).

About 300 people attended a meeting on resolving the Caledonia occupation. At the meeting, Confederacy officials revealed the Ontario government has offered to create a 6.4-kilometre agricultural belt around Six Nations in an effort to settle the standoff and ward off concerns about encroaching development. They noted the federal government has also pressured Six Nations to accept a financial settlement instead of land (HS A10).

Stephen Ford, the lawyer representing Six Nations protestor Irwin Ronald Gibson, launched a legal challenge that could dramatically affect the way Aboriginal Canadians are treated in criminal court. Mr. Gibson is one of several protesters charged with criminal offences in connection with the occupation. Mr. Ford's plan is to convince the Canadian courts they have no jurisdiction over Aboriginal Canadians like Mr. Gibson who are charged with criminal offences on Aboriginal lands. As a first step on Jan. 31, Mr. Ford will attempt to convince Ontario court Justice David Harris to remove himself from the Gibson case and refer it to Ontario Superior Court. Mr. Ford said his long-term goal is to get the Supreme Court of Canada to make a firm ruling on Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution which relates to Aboriginal Canadians (Paul Legall: HS A10).

Friday, January 19^th: The OPP and Six Nations occupiers of the disputed Caledonia site are preparing for a renewed attempt by white protesters to raise the Canadian flag. OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino asked local municipal police chiefs to provide extra officers tomorrow to prevent physical confrontations. The flag rally is being organized by Gary and Christine McHale, of Richmond Hill. A spokesperson for the occupiers dismissed the McHales as racist publicity-seekers, while the McHales said they are protesting the flag ban since Mohawks are allowed to display their "warrior flags" (Ian Robertson: TSun 16; WSun 16).

Due to the Caledonia occupation, developers are frequently approaching the Six Nations Confederacy, seeking direction on projects they want to build on land the band claims to own along the Grand River. Confederacy officials said the traditional government has heard from 13 developers since November representing $1 billion in projects. Among them is the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, which is looking to build a new Highway 24 between Brantford and Cambridge. Ginette Albert, spokeswoman for Ontario Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Ramsay, said the province has no problem with the situation, adding it submits its own projects within the Haldimand Tract to both the band council and Confederacy (Daniel Nolan: HS A10).

Letter writer Mike Morden: Of late, controversy at Caledonia has rested upon the flying of the Maple Leaf flag. Those that oppose the occupation claim that the flag has been abused, disrespected, disgraced. Truly, this is the case, and it is not the Six Nations at fault. Instead, the reactionary opponents of the occupation have taken to waving the flag in anger. My Maple Leaf is not a symbol of aggression, repression, unthinking opposition to progress. It is not to be used to cover over historical truths. The brilliant contributions of and blinding abuses suffered by our First Nations are written upon its every line. Nor is it a plaything to be waved at OPP officers like a matador waving a red cape at a bull. My Maple Leaf can stand for more than white Canada. It can stand for Canada (HS A15).

Saturday, January 20^th: The OPP has warned residents to stay away from Saturday’s rally near the site of the Caledonia Aboriginal occupation. Police said anyone who crosses the police line at the protest, organized by Gary McHale of Richmond Hill, risks criminal charges. It is the third rally Mr. McHale has organized and the OPP’s statements suggest a stricter stance toward Mr. McHale and his protests. Mr. McHale said he has helped keep things under control in the town, pointing out that since he first announced his first march, there has not been a single clash between Aboriginals and non-Aboriginal protesters. He has staged the rallies to highlight what he says has been different treatment by the OPP of Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals (Marissa Nelson: HS A1).

During an interview, Gary McHale told reporters that he will not stop until he “changes the system.” Mr. McHale said told reporters that a CSIS agent has interviewed him twice: once in his home office, and again over lunch (Haley Mick: G&M A15).

In an interview, Mr. McHale was quoted as saying “My ultimate goal has nothing to do with Caledonia. It is an example of a problem. My ultimate goal is to force every government to live up to what I have been sold as a bill of goods. I firmly believe in multiculturalism. ... But we all have to be equal under the law ... My goal is to expose that the government does not listen to the will of the people” (Marrisa Nelson: HS A2).

Sunday, January 21^st: The OPP held the middle ground between a standoff of Six Nations occupiers and non-Aboriginal protestors in Caledonia, Ont., over the weekend. OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino was critical of out-of-town protestors like Gary McHale who descended on Caledonia, stating: “We are prepared to deal with these people in a way that we will preserve public safety ... and officer safety” (Gregory Bonnell: LFP A10).

Monday, January 22^nd: Commissioner Fantino’s comments on the weekend’s events were repeated (Dana Brown: HS A9; CP: WStar B7).

Tuesday, January 23^rd: Columnist Robert Howard: It has been a long, difficult 11 months for the town's residents and businesses since Six Nations protestors took control of the development site. There has been bad behaviour on both sides of the barricades, and living, and making a living, in Caledonia has been trying. But few residents showed up for Saturday's rally, apparently more interested in doing something constructive with their time. Good on them. OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino told Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals alike that, "We're not going to take any nonsense." Good on him, too (HS A14).

Friday, January 26^th: The federal government asserted in a Department of Justice report that the Six Nations claim in Caledonia would fail if brought before the courts. The report, which was given to members of the Six Nations Confederacy negotiation team, however, has not convinced the Six Nations to call off their occupation and both sides are expected to continue talking (Daniel Nolan: HS A13).

Saturday, January 27^th: The federal government has told the Six Nations Confederacy that its claim to the disputed site in Caledonia would not be recognized in court. The federal government set out that position in a Department of Justice report presented Thursday to Six Nations Confederacy officials (Marissa Nelson: HS A15; G&M A20).

Mainstream Media December 2006

December, 2006

Monday, December 4^th: Over the weekend, the OPP prevented a group of non-Aboriginal people from mounting a number of Canadian flags outside the Douglas Creek Estates, telling the group that such an act could jeopardize the fragile peace in the area (Dana Brown: HS A9, KWR A4).

Wednesday, December 6^th: In a telephone interview, OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino made no apologies for OPP handling of the volatile standoff at Douglas Creek Estates, despite a $25 million policing bill and suggestions his officers are using a double standard. He also stood up for the way his officers handled the latest skirmish between the occupiers and towns people, which occurred on the weekend when local citizens tried to display Canadian flags and yellow ribbons near the protested lands. The OPP ordered them to remove the flags, even though residents said they were on public lands (Paul Legall: HS A1).

Sunday, December 10^th: A number of Aboriginal leaders have said Canadian should expect increased displays of Aboriginal defiance in the upcoming year. Leaders suggested that the dispute in Caledonia, Ont., may be the tipping point for decades of simmering Aboriginal anger. Ontario regional chief Angus Toulouse pointed out that there are 1,000 outstanding land claims across Canada which could trigger a reaction similar to that of the Six Nations in Caledonia (Chinta Puxley: EJ A7).

Monday, December 11^th: A peaceful demonstration was conducted Saturday by supporters of Trevor Miller, a Six Nations man arrested in connection with violent incidents near the former Douglas Creek Estates. Approximately 30 demonstrators gathered outside the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre where they called for the release of Mr. Miller from the facility (HS A9).

Thursday, December 14^th: Haldimand County Mayor Marie Trainer pleaded with Gary McHale to cancel another planned march in Caledonia this Saturday near the site of the Six Nations occupation. Mr. McHale dismissed Ms. Trainer's comments and said he is not advocating trouble. He said he wants to demonstrate his belief Aboriginal people are being treated differently from non-Aboriginals by the OPP and new commissioner Julian Fantino. Meanwhile, negotiations are set to resume today between the federal and Ontario governments and the Six Nations Confederacy to try to resolve the occupation (Daniel Nolan: HS A14).

Mayor Trainer is anxiously awaiting a crucial ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal that could have a critical impact on the occupation. The court will issue a decision this morning on the legality of a ruling by Justice T. David Marshall of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that found that the continued occupation of the site is illegal and ordered it cleared. Ms. Trainer said she hoped “they will rule in Judge Marshall's favour.” In the legislature yesterday, when Conservative Leader John Tory asked Mr. McGuinty if he would keep his word and end the occupation by Christmas, the Premier accused him of being “eager to pour gasoline on the situation” (James Rusk: G&M A19).

Friday, December 15^th: The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled in favour of allowing Six Nations protestors to continue occupying the disputed site in Caledonia. The decision was criticized by Haldimand County Mayor Marie Trainer, who said the decision shows Aboriginals are above the law. She added that she had hoped the appeals court would uphold the lower court order to halt negotiations until the occupiers cleared off the land. 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. The court found that the occupiers are no longer on the land illegally because the province bought it and does not object to the occupation. Ontario Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Ramsay said the ruling is a vindication of the province's approach to the occupation. He added Aboriginal people should be treated differently (Chinta Puxley: TSun 12 and WStar C1; Jessica Leeder: TStar A11; Kirk Makin: G&M A17; Marissa Nelson: HS A9; CP: CG A9 and Gaz A17, VTC A6, LFP B12, MT&T C1).

Now that the continued occupation has been found to be legal by the Ontario Court of Appeal, both sides in the dispute said negotiators must step up their efforts to resolve central issues. Mayor Trainer said she hoped “that the couple of claims that no one is disputing get resolved, and that will, hopefully, prove to the Natives that everyone is serious about resolving all the claims.” If that were to happen, the mayor is hopeful that the occupation would end. Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said his government is now waiting for the federal government to bring a “substantive proposal to the table” regarding the land claim (James Rusk and Mary Gazze: G&M A17).

The federal Department of Justice is still reviewing a Six Nations claim that it never surrendered the land on the disputed Douglas Creek Estates. The Six Nations Confederacy presented federal officials last month with an 80-page report on its claim for the site. It was expected Ottawa would file a response Thursday as talks at the main negotiation table resumed, but federal officials have promised to present Six Nations with a formal written response before the next meeting on January 11 (HS A9).

OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino strongly criticized plans for a weekend protest at Douglas Creek Estates. Commissioner Fantino said the planned event, ostensibly billed as a “support our troops” rally, is nothing more than a clever way for organizers to set up a mood for disorder. He said the plan is intended to make police look like they are playing favourites, are against the troops and are not being constitutional (Joe Warmington: TSun 12).

Saturday, December 16^th: A demonstration scheduled for Saturday morning only feet away from the Six Nations occupation in Caledonia has increased fears of a showdown between demonstrators who plan to hang Canadian flags near the disputed land and Six Nations occupiers. David Ramsay, Ontario’s minister responsible for Aboriginal affairs, stated: “This is most counterproductive and, in fact, potentially dangerous” (TSun 4).

Columnist Lee Prokaska: The impact of the Ontario appeal court’s action this week has not been totally negative. In effect, it legitimizes the Ontario government’s strategy in negotiating with Aboriginal representatives about the disputed land in Caledonia (Lee Prokaska: HS A22).

Sunday, December 17^th: The OPP arrested Gary McHale of Richmond Hill and Mark Vandermaas of London during a demonstration Saturday near the site of the Six Nations occupation in Caledonia (Alan Cairns: TSun 11; John Miner: LFP 1; Ctz A9).

Monday, December 18^th: Approximately 30 people protesting against the Six Nations occupation in Caledonia said Sunday that a local house has been trashed, with such graffiti as swear words and “Racist go home” scrawled on the walls. The OPP have indicated they are treating the incident as a break and enter (CP: WStar A10, Gaz A12, LFP C4, Ctz A5, CSun 10, KWR A4, HCH A3, SJT A5, VTC A5, KWS 9, EJ A5, MT&T B7, NBTJ A3; Sharon Boase: HS A1).

OPP detained a non-Aboriginal man on Sunday from taking down a Mohawk Warriors flag near the site of the Six Nations occupation. According to sources, the man was upset over alleged vandalism to a house in Caledonia (HS A10).

Tuesday, December 19^th: Following his release from jail, Mark Vandermaas told reporters that it is time for the creation of a new political party designed to deal with Aboriginal people. Mr. Vandermaas, who was arrested Saturday during a demonstration in Caledonia, accused the OPP of implementing two-tier justice in dealing with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people involved in the Caledonia dispute. Six Nations spokesperson Hazel Hill agreed that a two-tier justice system is being implemented in Caledonia - one that is slanted against Aboriginal people. Ms. Hill pointed out that when non-Aboriginal people have been arrested, they have been released unconditionally but that when Six Nations members have been arrested, they have been charged and bail has been set exceedingly high (John Miner: LFP B1).

Approximately 30 people took part in a demonstration outside the Ontario attorney-general’s office in Toronto to demand the release of Trevor Miller, who was jailed in August after being accused of assaulting two members of a television crew near the occupation site in Caledonia. Demonstrators described Mr. Miller as a “political prisoner” being kept behind bars to deter other Aboriginal People from standing up for their land rights (Chinta Puxley: TSun 31, Gaz A12, WStar C1, KWS 16).

Wednesday, December 20^th: Ontario Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Ramsay said Tuesday that compensation cheques are to be mailed out in the next few months to residents who have suffered while living with the Six Nations occupation in Caledonia (Chinta Puxley: G&M A17, TStar A8; Paul Legall: HS A12; CP: KWR A4, KWS 11).

A poll conducted by SES Research/Osprey Media has found that only one in ten citizens of Ontario blame the Caledonia land dispute on Six Nations occupiers. Rather, according to the polls, 40% of respondents blame either or both the provincial and federal governments for the standoff. Nik Nanos, president of SES Research, told reporters: “There is lots of blame for everyone, but I think it would be fair to say at this point that the people that Ontarians blame the least are the Six Nations band, compared to the federal and provincial governments” (James Wallace: KWS 8).

Thursday, December 21^st: Editorial taken from the St. Catherine’s Standard: Ontario's government was quite pleased with itself after last week's court ruling on the standoff in Caledonia. While land negotiations drag out in the backrooms, people on both sides of this dispute are living a different reality every day - a reality of tension teetering on the brink of violence. It is shameful that the province would be proud of this record, and feel vindicated that it is doing the right thing. The people of Caledonia - and Six Nations for that matter - have every right to expect to live their daily lives without fear of vandalism, assault or worse. The rule of law is paramount in Canada's society and must be upheld (TStar A28).

Wednesday, December 27^th: Lee Prokaska: The Spectator's editorial board has consistently advocated negotiation as the only way to achieve a lasting and peaceful solution to the standoff in Caledonia. There is no question the residents of Caledonia have been caught in the jaws of a historically complicated dispute between Aboriginals and government. There is no question that local people on both sides of this dispute hoped for a speedy resolution to reduce tensions in the community. Those at the bargaining table must move into 2007 determined to resolve this painful impasse. That is in everyone's best interest (HS A18).

Saturday, December 30^th: Brantford Expositor editorial: A recent poll has given a clear indication that it has come time for Canada’s federal and provincial governments to take a new look at how they handle First Nations land claims. According to the SES Research/Osprey Media survey, 40% of Ontarians blame either the federal or provincial government or both for the development dispute in Caledonia. The federal government must commit more effort to resolving these issues. There must be real, tangible moves made toward finding solutions to the many problems causing these disputes (BE A19).