Blue Like You

Archive for the ‘Caledonia’ Category

Dalton McGuinty plans to ask the federal party leaders for fairness for Ontario:

…After meeting with students at a Pickering high school today, McGuinty said he will ask each federal party leader how they would deal with Ontario’s claims that it is not treated fairly by the federal government…

Too bad Dalton doesn’t worry about fair and equal treatment of Ontario citizens himself.

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Wednesday Update : Waterloo Region has big problems with long wait times for specialists. Here is the latest crisis developing - Region loses two dermatologists (Record). Where is Dalton McGuinty on this file? Why is he ignoring the health of Waterloo Region citizens?

…Area dermatologists see a mix of medical and cosmetic cases. But Papp said they could see more medical cases if the province provides more funding.

Money to introduce electronic health records would boost efficiency, he said. And hiring nurse practitioners or other trained practitioners to help monitor less serious cases would free up specialists to care for complex ones, he said.

Two years ago, Papp asked the province for funding for a nurse practitioner but was told none was available.

He added that there have been only minor increases to fee-for-service payments for dermatologists.

"Basically, we are getting paid the same as we did in 1986 and the costs are much, much higher."

Dalton McGuinty should stop pandering to unions and start funding the health sector properly. Where is our health tax going???

Regarding McGuinty’s electioneering style, check this out: Obama goes to McGuinty U. (Sun)

Yesterday we were visiting some relatives in Brantford, Ontario. The conversation turned to native issues, as it often does these days.

Actually, this time the topic came up quite abruptly when it was discovered that one of the guests had had an SUV stolen that very day from a cinema parking lot. The general feeling was that it was likely now on a nearby reserve being dismantled for parts. Car thefts are a big industry for some native youth. The problem is that police rarely enter the reserves so it is quite a lucrative racket.

Just like illegal smokes, this is a very difficult area to prosecute since the current provincial government is disinclined to take a hard stand against crimes committed by natives.

The OPP is losing the respect of many citizens in Brantford and Caledonia. Police are not being seen to enforce the law, and this has left many non-natives angry and cynical.

The whole Six Nations situation in Southern Ontario is a boiling pot of resentment on both sides. One of the guests last night blamed the feds for not taking action. I reminded him that law enforcement is a provincial issue, but he said that tons of money is flowing from the Federal Government to help pay for the OPP reinforcements in Caledonia. These costs are escalated by virtue of the fact that many cops are having to be housed in local hotels because there simply aren’t enough officers living in the area. They also make huge overtime bonuses as well, according to what I was told.

I didn’t want to get into an argument with him, but I was thinking that having the federal government (and therefore all Canadian taxpayers) bankrole the policing costs in Caledonia hardly makes the feds responsible for the milquetoast attitude of the OPP. If that is the case, then we are all complicit in the application of two-tier justice in Southern Ontario.

This morning I came across this article from the Brantford Expositor - "We don’t have a solution to your problem ", says land claims negotiator.

There are a few very important items here that everyone needs to be made aware of:

The federal government is doing all it can to resolve Six Nations land claims, said Ron Doering, chief federal negotiator, during a speech to the Rotary Club of Brantford on Friday.

However, the federal government has no jurisdiction or responsibility when it comes to land development or law enforcement concerns , he said…

…For the federal government to intrude into the realm of land development issues would be illegal , Doering said, adding that the government has no part in law enforcement.

Doering, a lawyer with 35 years’ experience in law and public policy administration, told the gathering that he does not recall a "more complicated" set of negotiations than the current talks with Six Nations.

He said it annoys him to read media reports that take "cheap shots" at the government and ask why the feds have not stepped up to the plate.

"I’ve been at the plate," he said…

…a $125-million offer was presented in May 2007 to Six Nations to settle four outstanding claims. No reply was received.

Government negotiators then decided to focus on a single, smaller and more straightforward claim involving lands flooded by the building of the Welland Canal in the 1820s. That offer for $26 million has neither been accepted nor rejected, Doering said.

"If we can’t settle this, I’m getting discouraged about if we can settle any claims," he said, adding that other Six Nations claims, some involving stock- holdings of the Grand River Navigation Company and dating back to the mid- 1800s are "diabolically complicated."

Doering also explained how the monetary figures for land claims settlements are determined through complex calculations of the value of money and land over time.

If anything, the government’s $26-million offer erred "on the side of being fair and generous as final and full compensation" for the Welland Canal flooding of 1829, he said…

…Talks between the Six Nations’ and government representatives are temporarily on hold while Six Nations’ negotiators are "taking a break," he said.

"I’ve given up making predictions but I hope to be back at the table in the next couple of weeks."

So in reality, if anyone should be ’stepping up to the plate’, it should be Julian Fantino, Dalton McGuinty and the dysfunctional Six Nations’ negotiating ‘team’, which is often at odds with itself.

And if Dalton tries to tell you otherwise, send him that Expositor link.

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Update: And you gotta love this from Ontario Aboriginal Affairs Minister Michael Bryant :

"We are not where we should be," Bryant said. "It’s been 200 years. … The Harper government needs to stop hesitating and get on with a solution."

200 years and suddenly the Harper government is at fault for not coming up with a solution fast enough. It is enough to make you want to laugh - or weep in despair and frustration at the empty rhetoric and ridiculous finger pointing.

Related: Why are talks taking so long? Ron Doering offers his top 10 reasons.

Update: This post has been featured at Jack’s Newswatch - Daily Blogger.

Maybe I’m missing something here, but why are municipalities in Ontario continuing to issue building permits on disputed land? Why not wait until the land claim is resolved?

Or would that make too much sense?

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Update: Not much work going on today.

Jeff Allan just had Aaron Detlor and Ken Hewitt on his show, discussing native protesters ignoring a court injunction to stay away from a Brantford construction site.

Of course, no arrests were made. Ken Hewitt said it’s like déjà vu. Detlor says it is justified because it is native land.

Do you think this is justified? Would you buy a property in Brantford now?

Jeff says it’s (native occupation) like ‘gangrene coming up your leg.’

Related: Expositor - Not a step forward.

For anyone following the Caledonia debacle, this post by Jonathan Kay is excellent. It has links to several recent events including Michael Bryant’s pathetic use of YouTube as a PR forum for communicating with residents.

Well the townsfolk have returned the favour. Videos can be found here. (The Spectator suggests trying here).

Psst, Rick Mercer… I see skit potential here!

Good on the National Post for continuing to be one of the few MSM voices supporting the citizens of Caledonia and the theory of a non-discriminatory police and justice system - even if it doesn’t exist in Ontario at the present time.

Are you guys outside of Ontario alright with Dalton McGuinty clamoring for more money to offset the $50 million tab for Caledonia (which is actually closer to $54 million)?

Remember now, he bought the land. The Province of Ontario now owns it. Negotiations continue even though the land is occupied.

Bear in mind too, that the Feds already gave Dalton $26 million of your hard-earned tax dollars last year to help offset Caledonia costs, and this problem has no end in sight.

Michael Bryant calls it “…the cost of keeping the peace“.

Do you agree to foot this bill, ROC?

The Record pegs the cost of the Caledonia dispute at $54 million at the second year mark, with no end in sight.

All new land development along the Grand River watershed, including various Waterloo Regional bridge construction projects could be highjacked by the demands of the HDI, which has obviously been emboldened by the lack of consequences for law-breakers.

And the Post notes that this attitude appears to be extending into car-theft industries, and other illegal undertakings.

Yet the McGuinty government looks the other way when it comes to law-enforcement, which is under Provincial jurisdiction.

And then Dalton gets angry when Jim Flaherty tells him that Ontario is not the best province in which to invest?

Duh!

The truth hurts, doesn’t it?

Today is the Second Anniversary of the Caledonia dispute, and my frustration with the McGuinty government has reached its zenith.

First we have the arrogant Aboriginal Affairs Minister Michael Bryant responding to the HDI extortion policy with the following:

“My experience with developers . . . is they didn’t just fall off the turnip truck,” Bryant said. “They know very well what the rules are and the laws are. The only fees that need to be paid are paid to municipalities. That is the law.”

So what the flick does that mean? If they were farmers, then you’d step in and help?

He maintains that “It’s up to the police, not the province, to intervene and press charges.”

Well everyone who didn’t just fall off a turnip truck knows that the OPP has to follow the mandate of the McGuinty Government, which has been so intimidated by a fear of an Ipperwash reoccurrence, that it has effectively castrated Julian Fantino and the OPP in terms of any power to enforce the law regarding native disruptions.

This story alone could take up the whole post, but it’s hard on my blood pressure to dwell on it too long.

So we’ll move onto Health Minister George Smitherman, who feels the need to announce several times that he’s going to wear a diaper to test out the modern incontinence products.

Pull-eeze! Spare us the gruesome mental images and just do something about those poor seniors sitting in their own waste in nursing homes!! We’re talking about human dignity here.

And if the Liberals are so into first-hand experiencing of problems, why hasn’t McGuinty gone to Caledonia yet? Or Fantino for that matter?

Finally, I am sick and tired of Dalton McGuinty’s knee-jerk response of pointing his finger at Ottawa whenever a reporter or taxpayer raises an issue.

For example, he is in shock that the Feds aren’t going to bail him out of the manufacturing crisis in Ontario, which Jim Flaherty suggests could be eased somewhat with provincial corporate tax cuts.

McGuinty refutes this suggestion stating:

Mr. McGuinty said it is easy for the federal government to cut taxes because it is awash in cash.

“We’re in a slightly different situation here,” he said.

No kidding - Because the high costs of a continual policy of appeasement, incompetence and bending over will catch up with you in the end.

He’s great at giving out holidays, banning stuff and taking away prayers though.

As the Second Anniversary of the Douglas Creek occupation/reclamation draws closer, MPP Toby Barrett registers his disgust with the two-tiered system in Caledonia - Police Ignoring Native Violence, MPP Alleges.

It’s amazing how McGuinty acted so outraged when the protesters suggested wintering through the first year. Now it’s just become an accepted way of dealing with native disputes - Bend over and take it.

So thanks to Dalton, we now have Race-Based school funding in Ontario, as well as Race-Based policing.

Clearly, some citizens are more equal than others.

For anyone who might be under the false assumption that the Federal Government isn’t doing anything regarding native claims, there is in fact a Six Nations meeting going on this evening to discuss a $26 million offer from Ottawa to settle a compensation claim from 1829. Reports available from the Spectator and the Record.

Also, Chief Patrick Brazeau had an excellent letter to the editor in today’s Post:

…It is time for Canada to move beyond an archaic position of aboriginal affairs that is rooted in Victorian paternalism that aimed to deal with “the Indian problem,” as it was termed in the day. To do so, calls for many to act: Parliament, the machinery of government that often resists progressive change, the national aboriginal leadership and, most importantly, this country’s aboriginal peoples.

We have a moral duty and an obligation to act now on behalf of those who seek a better life off-reserve. As a wise man once said, “If not us, whom? If not now, when?”

I have great respect for Chief Brazeau, is the National Chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples. He advocates for off-reserve natives, but challenges all natives to strive for greater self-sufficiency.

Saturday’s Post included a great piece by Julie Smythe about Chief Brazeau - Shaking up Canada’s native establishment. Well worth the read.

Also please check out the Brazman’s blog, Chief Chat. You’ll find a respectful discussion going on with natives from both on and off-reserve, as well as non-natives such as myself who are seeking a greater understanding of the problems and challenges that Canadian aboriginals face today.