Mainstream Media November 2006

November, 2006

Wednesday, November 1^st: Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice reportedly refused to meet with David Ramsay, Ontario’s minister in charge of Aboriginal affairs, on Tuesday night when he arrived in Ottawa do discuss federal compensation for the ongoing costs of the Six Nations occupation in Caledonia. The Ontario government is seeking $39.3-million, which includes $15 million to date for policing of the dispute, $15.8 million for the purchase of the disputed land, and various amounts in compensation to area builders and businesses hurt by the eight-month-old standoff. Earlier on Tuesday, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty told reporters that, “The only people who are in a position to wrap up this negotiation are the federal government, and to a very large extent they have been missing in action... We would welcome them coming to the table with concrete proposals and any kind of effort that would accelerate these negotiations” (April Lindgren: Ctz A7, WStar C1; Karen Howlett: G&M A17; Marissa Nelson & Daniel Nolan: HS A1; Keith Leslie: KWS 13; Rob Ferguson: TStar A7; CP: CSun 25, TSun 4, KWR A3, HCH A6, Gaz A12, EJ A6, LH A2).

On Tuesday, Ontario opposition leader John Tory took issue with the Ontario government trying to charge the Hamilton Spectator $5,500 to find out how much OPP policing in Caledonia is costing taxpayers. Mr. Tory accused the Ontario government of subverting changes to laws governing Freedom of Information to prevent the public from getting information (Marissa Nelson: HS A11).

Columnist Christina Blizzard: The province of Ontario appears to be bashing its way out of Caledonia using the federal government as the battering ram. And, fair enough, the Harper government has been conspicuous by its absence in Caledonia, where Ontario Premier McGuinty estimates policing has cost the OPP around $25 million, even though Aboriginal affairs are essentially a federal matter. All the same, the province has invited trouble by buying the disputed land - at an estimated $20 million. Perhaps Premier McGuinty could set the ball rolling by asking the PM to take control - by sending in the army. It is one way to get the province off the hook for policing costs (TSun 20).

Thursday, November 2^nd: Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice suggested Wednesday that the federal and Ontario governments share responsibility for resolving the Six Nations land claim dispute, because the initial land claim predates Confederation. Mr. Prentice, in an interview, drew a distinction between Aboriginal land claims that arose before the British North America Act came into existence in 1867, and those that followed. David Ramsay, the Ontario minister responsible for Aboriginal affairs, accused Mr. Prentice of casting aside more than 100 years of tradition entrenched in Canada's Constitution (Karen Howlett & Bill Curry: G&M A1).

Minister Prentice defended his decision to cancel a Tuesday meeting with his provincial counterpart David Ramsay, stating: “I am prepared to sit down in a serious way and talk about these issues, but I do not compare them to a hockey game and I do not appreciate the sort of political grandstanding that has been going on, and frankly I am not going to put up with it.” Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said Wednesday that the federal government should set aside its “sensitivities” and get serious about settling the eight-month-old dispute (April Lindgren: Ctz A8; Rob Ferguson: TStar A19).

Haldimand County Mayor Marie Trainer called on federal and provincial politicians Wednesday to “stop acting like children,” and focus on ending the Six Nations occupation in Caledonia. Six Nations Chief Allen MacNaughton urged Mr. Prentice to become directly involved in talks with Six Nations Confederacy chiefs to reach a settlement in the land dispute (Chinta Puxley & Jennifer Ditchburn: LFP A9, HCH A8).

The Hamilton Spectator published a Question and Answer interview between Mr. Prentice and one of its editorial board staff in which Mr. Prentice stated, “At the heart of this there is concern about land claims ... There is federal jurisdiction there, not exclusive jurisdiction and I understand that and we are working on that. The claim itself predates Confederation - it is a claim Ontario brought into Confederation with it, so to suggest it is exclusive federal jurisdiction is not the case (HS A13).

The Hamilton Spectator published a Question and Answer interview between Mr. Ramsay and one of its editorial board staff in which Mr. Ramsay stated, “We are all big boys and girls in this game and it is a full-contact sport ... Jim Prentice knows that, too. There is no room to be overly sensitive” (HS A13).

Columnist Murray Campbell: Minister Prentice may argue that he is not responsible for land claims by the Six Nations because its 1784 treaty predated Confederation. That is hogwash. Treaties are made with the Crown and the federal government is Her Majesty's senior government. Ontario is stuck because it has discovered it can not afford the cost of keeping the peace. The two sides have no choice but to keep talking (G&M A7).

Columnist Lee Prosaka: Minister Prentice needs to learn some manners after he cancelled a meeting with his Ontario counterpart this week with virtually no notice. Regardless of so-called grandstanding by the Ontario government, Mr. Prentice's last-minute cancellation was rude and insulting. It was also irresponsible and simply unacceptable (HS A16).

Friday, November 3^rd: Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty suggested Thursday that claims by INAC Minister Jim Prentice that pre-Confederation land claim disputes, including the long-running Aboriginal occupation in Caledonia, are a provincial responsibility is simply posturing by the federal Conservatives. Mr. McGuinty called Mr. Prentice's new approach "novel," and said he had not heard the federal government ever suggest to any other province or territory that Aboriginal land claims were anything but a federal responsibility, and insisted Ottawa must take a lead role to end the eight-month Caledonia occupation (CP: WStar D8).

Columnist Christina Blizzard: Both levels of government need to work together to resolve the Caledonia occupation. Perhaps Premier McGuinty could set the ball rolling by asking Prime Minister Harper to take control - by sending in the military. That would be one way to get the province off the hook for policing costs (LFP A10).

Saturday, November 4^th: Phil Monture, an advisor to the Six Nations Confederacy, questioned the accuracy of an 1844 federal document which indicates the band surrendered and sold the land currently occupied by Six Nations members in Caledonia. According to Mr. Monture, the document was prepared by a discredited Aboriginal agent and was illegal because it did not contain a survey plan (Daniel Nolan: HS A14).

Sunday, November 5^th: Columnist Lorrie Goldstein: Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice should start taking his job seriously and finally address the long lasting dispute over land in Caledonia (TSun C3).

Monday, November 6^th: Prime Minister Harper and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty held a private meeting in Ottawa on Saturday. No details were available, but it is expected federal transfer payments and the Caledonia land dispute were discussed (CP: TStar A9).

Wednesday, November 8^th: According to provincial sources, the situation in Caledonia was discussed during a secretive meeting between Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Prime Minister Harper last Saturday. The PM reportedly undertook to consider sharing the escalating cost of policing the volatile situation in Caledonia (Ian Urquhart: TStar A25).

Sunday, November 12^th: A Toronto Star editorial asserted that the signs that the federal government wants little to do with the Caledonia dispute are clear. First, federal Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice rudely stood up his Ontario counterpart David Ramsay on Halloween when Mr. Ramsay arrived at Mr. Prentice’s Ottawa office for a scheduled meeting on the issue. Then, Mr. Prentice suggested the occupation by Six Nations protestors of a housing development south of Hamilton might not be exclusively a federal matter, because their claim to the land predates 1867, when Canada came into being. Such pettiness shows the lengths to which the Conservative government will go to pass the buck on this politically sensitive issue. Rather than try to deny its legal duties, Ottawa should work with Aboriginal leaders and Ontario to settle this dispute once and for all (TStar A16).

Monday, November 13^th: Newly appointed OPP commissioner Julian Fantino said the “sooner the better” it will be once the Ontario and federal governments sort out the land claim situation in Caledonia. Mr. Fantino stated, “I think the OPP has taken a bad rap ... because I think what was perceived is the OPP was there to solve this (land claim) problem. The resolution of this is not a police problem” (Richard Brennan: TStar A08).

Tuesday, November 14^th: Haldimand County Mayor Marie Trainer was reelected despite fears that the ongoing Six Nations occupation in Caledonia would hurt her at the polls (Timothy Appleby: G&M A18; Mike Oliveira: TSun 4; CP: OSun 12, KWR A3, HS A11).

Wednesday, November 15^th: According to David Ramsay, Ontario’s minister responsible for Aboriginal affairs, the federal government is prepared to take a new leadership role in settling the Six Nations land claims dispute in Caledonia. Mr. Ramsay said that he and Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice have agreed to set aside their differences on the issue. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty also indicated that the federal government had agreed to step up its role in the dispute, stating: “We are caught up in a police action here which apparently we are going to have to maintain indefinitely. Fundamentally, this is a dispute between the Six Nations community and the federal government ... My sense is the federal government is more impressed with the urgency of the situation” (Karen Howlett: G&M A7; Rob Ferguson: TStar A4; CP: WStar B4, HS A8, LFP B12, KWS 11).

A spokesperson for Minister Prentice told reporters that the federal government’s role in the Six Nations land claims dispute has not changed (CP: TSun 46).

Columnist Christina Blizzard: Premier McGuinty noted that the federal government is “more impressed with the urgency of the situation” in Caledonia, following a meeting between Minister Prentice and his Ontario counterpart. Perhaps the feds will just “resolve the situation,” by sending cash on a daily basis to pay for the cops. But I do not think so. Ontario Progressive Conservative leader John Tory said he has pleaded with Mr. McGuinty to sit down with community leaders in Caledonia to negotiate an end to the occupation. That has not happened. It will not happen (TSun 20, OSun 15).

Thursday, November 16^th: Columnist Lee Prokaska: Marie Trainer's re-election as Haldimand County mayor comes at a time of some new impetus and renewed hope for resolution in Caledonia. After meeting with Prime Minister Harper and Minister Prentice earlier this month, Premier Dalton McGuinty believes Ottawa understands the urgency of ending the occupation. The federal government seems willing to at least consider helping with the costs. More importantly, there seems a willingness for a stronger federal leadership role at the negotiating table. That is good news for Caledonia and for Ms. Trainer as she starts her second term as county mayor (HS A16).

Christina Blizzard’s column was repeated from Wednesday (LFP A13).

Friday, November 17^th: OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino said continuing friction between Six Nations, residents and police at Caledonia will not be solved by the OPP’s presence at the site (Ian Robertson: TSun 16).

Monday, November 20^th: Toronto Sun: There is one group of people hurt by the Six Nations occupation in Caledonia which has been largely ignored up to now: The OPP. There have been allegations during this standoff that the OPP stood idly by and allowed law-breaking to occur while doing nothing. Newly-appointed OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino has rightly noted that politicians have to resolve this standoff, because that is not the job of the OPP. Are Premier McGuinty and PM Harper even listening as they pass the buck between them? (TSun 20).

Wednesday, November 22^nd: Letter writer Aaron Williams: The problems in Caledonia highlight the lack of recognition of the Aboriginal voice in Canada. The scandal in Kashechewan has demonstrated that the level of services in our reserves is disgraceful, compared to those in our other communities. Aboriginal women continue to be abused at a level that is completely unacceptable and the substance abuse problem is out of control. How is it that with all these problems our PM feels righteous enough to talk about the abuse of human rights in China? (TStar A27).

Monday, November 27^th: The Grand River Conservation Authority has reversed a previous committee decision and agreed to consult with the Six Nations Confederacy before embarking on a number of projects. Confederacy spokesperson Wes Elliott said it has no intention of causing long delays for authority projects. However, Mr. Elliott pointed out that the Confederacy does want to be consulted on issues that could affect the Grand River or land subject to First Nations land claims (Bob Burtt: KWR B1).

Thursday, November 30^th: Documents obtained by the Hamilton Spectator through access to information laws found the federal government is paying Barbara McDougall $1,600 a day to be Ottawa's representative in the Caledonia negotiations. Between May and the end of August, Ms. McDougall billed Ottawa for 185 hours or about a day and a half a week. Her tab for those hours was $39,000, including GST. Ian Sadinsky, who returned calls for Ms. McDougall, said the pace of work has picked up significantly in the last six weeks to more than two days a week. Ms. McDougall's bill does not include expenses, which during the first five months were $5,740. Mr. Sadinsky said most of that cost was for a limousine she uses to get to and from Caledonia. Mr. Sadinsky's bill for communications work he has done for Ms. McDougall was not included in the amount. Six Nations spokesperson Janie Jamieson said that from her experience, Ms. McDougall is much less involved than her provincial counterpart Jane Stewart. Ms. Jamieson suggested taxpayers are not getting their money's worth (Marissa Nelson: HS A11).