Who You Calling a Terrorist?
Efforts to peacefully solve the problem at the proposed "Douglas Creek Estates" land development site may just have been dealt a severe blow by Ontario Superior Court Justice David Marshall yesterday. It seems the good judge has decried the "lawlessness" taking place and ruled that the federal and provincial governments have to cease their negotiations with Six Nation representatives until the native protesters leave a housing development they took over on February 28.
The natives claimed the land is theirs, granted to them in 1783 by treaty. The developer, Henco Industries sought an order from Marshall in March to remove the protesters. Both sides dug in and the move to violence happened after an April 20 police raid. Ugly scenes have taken place repeatedly between local residents and the people of the Six Nations. In June, Queen's Park bought the disputed land from the developer to forestall the perceived threat of development and facilitate talks. Roadblocks were taken down and a detente of sorts held sway.
Then Marshall felt obliged to mount his high horse and make his holier-than-thou proclamation, in spite of the fact that neither the province not the original developer had asked for his involvement.
"The court has been patient, but the court can not turn a blind eye to blatant contempt of the court's lawful order." says Marshall. (Didn't Marshall listen, by the way, when his teacher told the class about repetitive use of a word - court, court, court? I think he just gets off on the sound of that word coming from his own little pouty lips, don't you?)
Frustration on both sides is understandable, but open provocation is not. What does Marshall think he will accomplish with his order, other than exacerbating a situation that might well lead to the destruction of any possible feelings of community, and maybe even the loss of life?
An August 9 article in the Toronto Star states that the ruling "reflects widespread concern that ... there are different laws for natives and non-natives." There are indeed different laws on the books for Canada's first citizens than there are for any others. For instance, the law books of Nova Scotia still declare a bounty on Indians - per scalp. What other group in Canada's populace is expected to live with the ongoing indignity of such a law? Why isn't it immediately expunged from the books? Why, in the name of everything fair that Canada is supposed to stand for, hasn't it already been done? What possible explanation can be given for the fact that requests made by Mikmaq Daniel N. Paul for the bounty to be removed have been met with the admonition to "let bygones be bygones"?
Indeed there are different laws for the peoples of the First Nations. In Saskatchewan, for instance, the current aboriginal demographics of four children per family mean that in five years the majority of the population will be First Nations, and yet they will be among the only members of Canada's citizenry whose lives are ruled by the western world's sole piece of race-based legislation. The Indian Act, penned in 1876, makes all aboriginals wards of the state. Until one revision in 1985 it denied various expressions of culture, like the potlatch. Do we tell the Italians or the Iranians or any other group that multi-culturalism is verboten in Canada? There have been other revisions made to the act, but it still exists and it is still based on race. That fact is a sad reality, an ugly stain on the pride of the "strong and free".
Section 91 and Section 92 of the constitution of Canada list items controlled by the government. "Indians" are number 24 on the list. On their reserves, where some say they "get everything for free", they can not construct a clean water well without government permission. A first reaction might be, that doesn't sound too bad, after all, they just fill in the forms and dig away. Before you react, however, keep this in mind. 30% of the 633 reserves in Canada have unsafe drinking water. Maybe it isn't all quite as simple as it would seem. Maybe there is indeed systemic prejudice holding these people back at damn near every turn. After all, the United Nations Human Development Index ranks the First Nations of Canada in 63rd place, a ranking which places them at Third World level. The rest of the country ranks at 5th in the world. The latter ranking, by the way, is the only one presented in grade eight textbooks. Certainly gives the students a realistic idea of their country, a totally fair and unbiased accounting of what their brothers under the red and white flag deal with, wouldn't you say?
Until the inequities of the whole situation are acknowledged and addressed, there will be little progress made. There will be little opportunity for the peaceful and positive settlement of problems as long as Marshall and his ilk misuse their power.
When the blockade was still up on Highway 6 near the currently disputed land, more than one driver passing by would yell out their window, "We don't deal with terrorists." I guess it really all depends on how you view this whole issue as to who you might call the terrorists.
The natives claimed the land is theirs, granted to them in 1783 by treaty. The developer, Henco Industries sought an order from Marshall in March to remove the protesters. Both sides dug in and the move to violence happened after an April 20 police raid. Ugly scenes have taken place repeatedly between local residents and the people of the Six Nations. In June, Queen's Park bought the disputed land from the developer to forestall the perceived threat of development and facilitate talks. Roadblocks were taken down and a detente of sorts held sway.
Then Marshall felt obliged to mount his high horse and make his holier-than-thou proclamation, in spite of the fact that neither the province not the original developer had asked for his involvement.
"The court has been patient, but the court can not turn a blind eye to blatant contempt of the court's lawful order." says Marshall. (Didn't Marshall listen, by the way, when his teacher told the class about repetitive use of a word - court, court, court? I think he just gets off on the sound of that word coming from his own little pouty lips, don't you?)
Frustration on both sides is understandable, but open provocation is not. What does Marshall think he will accomplish with his order, other than exacerbating a situation that might well lead to the destruction of any possible feelings of community, and maybe even the loss of life?
An August 9 article in the Toronto Star states that the ruling "reflects widespread concern that ... there are different laws for natives and non-natives." There are indeed different laws on the books for Canada's first citizens than there are for any others. For instance, the law books of Nova Scotia still declare a bounty on Indians - per scalp. What other group in Canada's populace is expected to live with the ongoing indignity of such a law? Why isn't it immediately expunged from the books? Why, in the name of everything fair that Canada is supposed to stand for, hasn't it already been done? What possible explanation can be given for the fact that requests made by Mikmaq Daniel N. Paul for the bounty to be removed have been met with the admonition to "let bygones be bygones"?
Indeed there are different laws for the peoples of the First Nations. In Saskatchewan, for instance, the current aboriginal demographics of four children per family mean that in five years the majority of the population will be First Nations, and yet they will be among the only members of Canada's citizenry whose lives are ruled by the western world's sole piece of race-based legislation. The Indian Act, penned in 1876, makes all aboriginals wards of the state. Until one revision in 1985 it denied various expressions of culture, like the potlatch. Do we tell the Italians or the Iranians or any other group that multi-culturalism is verboten in Canada? There have been other revisions made to the act, but it still exists and it is still based on race. That fact is a sad reality, an ugly stain on the pride of the "strong and free".
Section 91 and Section 92 of the constitution of Canada list items controlled by the government. "Indians" are number 24 on the list. On their reserves, where some say they "get everything for free", they can not construct a clean water well without government permission. A first reaction might be, that doesn't sound too bad, after all, they just fill in the forms and dig away. Before you react, however, keep this in mind. 30% of the 633 reserves in Canada have unsafe drinking water. Maybe it isn't all quite as simple as it would seem. Maybe there is indeed systemic prejudice holding these people back at damn near every turn. After all, the United Nations Human Development Index ranks the First Nations of Canada in 63rd place, a ranking which places them at Third World level. The rest of the country ranks at 5th in the world. The latter ranking, by the way, is the only one presented in grade eight textbooks. Certainly gives the students a realistic idea of their country, a totally fair and unbiased accounting of what their brothers under the red and white flag deal with, wouldn't you say?
Until the inequities of the whole situation are acknowledged and addressed, there will be little progress made. There will be little opportunity for the peaceful and positive settlement of problems as long as Marshall and his ilk misuse their power.
When the blockade was still up on Highway 6 near the currently disputed land, more than one driver passing by would yell out their window, "We don't deal with terrorists." I guess it really all depends on how you view this whole issue as to who you might call the terrorists.
2 Comments:
Very well written. This is Canada's shame. If anything, we should be holding our first nations population in high regard. They were the first ones here. At the very least, this nation is theirs as much as it is every other citizen. If we were being fair, we'd compensate them for the injustices of the past. We, the new comers, systematically went about destroying them -- socially, economically and biologically. It was colonial genocide. Terrorists? We continue to behave that way today.
While I completely agree with what you have written, I don't agree with the actions of the tribe at Caledonia. Blockades, burning things, etc. that is wrong. I was hoping that a peaceful solution would be found but with the judges new ruling, it looks like it is going back to the violence.
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