Native Reserves turn their backs too.

RE: “North Bay turns it back on people in need.” Nugget (April 30, 2008)

 

The people of Kashechewan have been evacuated due to flooding again.

 

Maurice Switzer has accused North Bay of turning its back on those people in need. By implication, he is saying that our city does not have a compassionate or generous spirit.

 

If North Bay lacks neighborly compassion due to the fact that we have not accepted any evacuees, by extension, every community that has not taken in evacuees is also lacking in compassion.

 

According to Switzer, the following communities have taken in evacuees:  Timmins, Sudbury, Cochrane, Stratford, Perth and St. Mary’s.

 

That list is interesting for the total lack of native communities on it.

 

I am shocked and appalled that not one native reserve in Ontario could find it in their hearts to take in one of the 1800 Kashechewan evacuees.

 

Maurice Switzer is the Director of Communications for the Union of Ontario Indians. He is also a hypocrite who owes North Bay an apology.

 

 

Caledonia Shrouded in Silence

When I first heard that Sam Gualtieri was beaten to within an inch of his life in a house he owns, by several thugs, associated with an illegal land claim protest, I thought there would be a long overdue public outcry demanding to know how the situation was allowed to escalate to this point. I was sure that Caledonia was going to be an election issue after that, and if the media was doing it’s job, it would be.

The media seems to disagree. There is very little beyond the local coverage in Hamilton and Caledonia, and if the latest polls can be trusted, the Liberals have not been affected by their lack of performance.

If the discomfort I feel just writing my personal thoughts on this matter is any indication of why it would be difficult for members of the actual media to render a balanced account of what is happening in Caledonia, then fear of political incorrectness is enforcing the silence on this matter. Racists and non-racists have at least one thing in common; they don’t like being called racist. I know that by writing this article, I expose myself to the possibility of being called racist.

Yesterday, at a press conference to announce the compensation package for natives who were victimized by the Catholic Church at residential schools, Phil Fontaine shot back at critics of the plan who say that the two billion dollars could be spent in a better way, by saying: “I sense a tone of racism to all of those concerns and worries.”

Accusing one’s critics of racism is a good way to shut people up, but unfortunately, shutting people up for the simple reason that they do not agree with you, does not serve the greater good.

An objective account of what is happening in Caledonia, would inevitably seem like criticism of the hypocrisy of Six Nations and the tactics they have employed in this so-called land claim protest. After having commented upon the illegal activity of a group of people who are very accustomed to getting political mileage out of their history of being victimized by who they commonly refer to as “The White Man”, one would have to expect splash back in the form of being accused of racism. The ability to throw out that accusation, buys a lot of silence, and First Nation leaders are not shy about using it.

During this election, I thought that the Conservatives would be able to nail Caledonia right into McGuinty’s forehead. However, John Tory is not hammering on this issue for fear of hitting himself on the Ipperwash thumb. Without John Tory forcing this issue, the media is not forced to cover it, and in fact, is content not to.

This conspicuous silence must create a terrible feeling of isolation for the citizens of Caledonia. The OPP upholds the law very reluctantly, if at all. The government of Ontario has washed its hands of the mess, while the government of Canada properly sees the land claim as having no merit in law, and doesn’t have jurisdiction to enforce the law where the OPP should be. Now that the media has refused to use the occasion of the savage attack on Sam Gualtieri to bring this story forcefully to Canadians who would certainly be keenly interested in this. Caledonians can properly conclude that they will face the lawless intimidation tactics of the Six Nations natives, virtually alone.

There is likely a lot of carefully guarded support among the Canadian populace, but perhaps no one understands what the people of Caledonia are going through as do the people of Ipperwash. Due to the fact that Ontario natives would be stupid not to recognize the fact that they are able to practice extortion with virtual impunity, I suppose that people in many other Ontario communities will learn first hand what it must be like to live in Caledonia right now. At least Caledonians will feel less isolated. They’ll have friends in places like Sharbot Lake.

For some interesting reading on this subject, check out:

Indispensible resource on the Caledonia stand-off:

http://www.caledoniawakeupcall.com/

A lot of information pertaining to the land claim, and experiences of Caledonians

http://www.citizensofcaledonia.ca/

Blog on Caledonia and Ipperwash

http://voiceofcanada.wordpress.com/

Excellent investigative report on the Six Nations tobacco and gambling industries. Hmmm … I wonder if
there is any connection with the land claim stand-off.

http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/Render&c=Page&cid=1159869701435

Yes … it seems that there is a connection.

http://www.canadaka.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=15432

Same connection … from a source sympathetic to Six Nations.

http://sisis.nativeweb.org/actionalert/updates/060623expositor-b.html

Caledonia May Bite McGuinty in the Hind-quarters …

… and well it should.

For the Liberals, this is the exact wrong time for a flare-up of the situation in Caledonia. Media references to this debacle have been rare lately, but due to a very unfortunate incident on Thursday, Caledonia may become an important voting issue in this election.

Sam Gualtieri, was attacked by native youths in a house he was building for his daughter, several kilometers away from the protest site in Caledonia.

He is now in serious condition, drifting in and out of consciousness. His brother Joe says he believes Sam was one strike away from being murdered. He also says he expects Dalton McGuinty to bear some responsibility for the attack.

The Globe and Mail reports that Joe Gualtieri said Ontario Provincial Police officers on the site “stood there, and they did not intervene” until after the beating, when the attackers had fled.

If this story has legs, and the media decides it likes Joe Gualtieri, then I predict that Caledonia will be McGuinty’s inverted Ipperwash.

I think that there should be an investigation to determine to what extent that Dalton McGuinty has influenced the OPP to prevent them from enforcing the law in Caledonia.

Six Nations Chief, Allen MacNaughton has said “We cannot condone the violent actions of a few.” Not condoning something is a few steps short of condemning it. Also, it remains to be seen how co-operative Six Nations authorities will be in terms of identifying the assailants.

McGuinty was very quick to lash out at the federal government, saying that they need to do what is necessary to resolve the dispute.

The last time I checked, the OPP is responsible for policing Caledonia. If someone is trespassing on someone else’s land, it is up to the OPP to arrest that person. The owner of the land is the person whose name is on the deed. Any outstanding issues between the Canadian government and the aboriginal community are not relevant. The courts are the proper place to sort that out. By refusing to enforce the law in this situation, the OPP has exceeded its authority by interjecting itself into the land claims resolution process. It is that simple.

Due to the fact people of a different race would never get away with these sorts of actions, Caledonia is an example of the fact that there is no equality under the law in McGuinty’s Ontario.