SW Ontario Rebellion Update

Good opinion piece in today's Kitchener Record, "Six Nations can't dictate new laws".

Six Nations can't dictate new laws
THE RECORD

The rule of Canadian law is breaking down in the Grand River valley. And Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty is letting it break piece by piece in a vast region of the province more than 800,000 people call home.

Already, a man is in hospital after being knocked unconscious by aboriginal protesters who claim authority over the Caledonia development he is building on. Already, there are reasons to fear that the tensions, and perhaps the violence, that have shaken Caledonia for more than 18 months could spread throughout the Grand River valley, including Waterloo Region, where a group of Six Nations natives are asserting bold new demands that have no foundation in Ontario law.

Yet, at this critical moment when leadership at the highest level is so urgently required, Premier McGuinty is missing in action on the election campaign trail. Mr. Premier, with respect, your silence, your evasion, your insistence that this is a job for the federal government, are simply not good enough -- not for the non-natives of the area, not for the people of the Six Nations either.

[...]

On Thursday, about 15 young natives occupied and shut down the Sterling South development site. The occupation was supposed to end peacefully but didn't. An encounter between a house builder, Sam Gualtieri, and the natives ended in a fight and with him being rushed to hospital with serious head injuries. The reason for the occupation, it seems, was that the developer had not obtained approval for the project from the Six Nations.

This kind of outrage should have no place in Ontario. The demand for a development fee, backed up by thugs accountable to no one but themselves, is not a reasonable request; it is blackmail and a precursor to anarchy. Is this what developers can expect in Waterloo Region? Will builders who have followed and respected all the development rules mandated by the democratically elected governments of this region and province face threats and intimidation from an unelected rabble? And if they do, to whom can they turn for help?

[...]

However, the police cannot be relied upon to defend the rights of landowners enshrined in Ontario law. This sets a terrible precedent. It reinforces the belief of some Six Nations members that they are not bound by Canadian or Ontario law and that they are essentially a sovereign nation administering a huge part of southern Ontario. And it is for this reason that we repeat with a sad conviction: The rule of Canadian law is breaking down in the valley of the Grand.

IF, and that's a BIG IF, the media actually report on this issue, it could be the defining issue of this election. 800,000 people... that's a whole lot of votes. Seven or so ridings. About a 50-50% split on who controls them, between the Liberals and the PC's. With the race being as tight as it is, this region, and therefore this issue, could be the deciding factor.

And Mr. McGuinty doesn't want to talk about it... well Mr. McGuinty, those of us who live in the region DO want to talk about it. I'll be rasing the issue with your candidate... TRUST ME.