[Indigsol] Canadian Press: Stephen Lewis, Margaret Atwood call on McGuinty to Free Aboriginal Leaders

[Angela Schleihauf]

 Stephen Lewis, Margaret Atwood plea to free jailed Ont. protesters *Last
Updated: Monday, April 21, 2008 | 12:58 PM ET
*Comments18<http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2008/04/21/ot-celebrities-protest-080421.html#storypost>
Recommend25<http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2008/04/21/ot-celebrities-protest-080421.html#>
The
Canadian Press

Author Margaret Atwood, actor Cathy Jones and musician Sarah Harmer are
among 20 prominent Canadians calling on Premier Dalton McGuinty to
immediately free seven jailed aboriginal leaders and stop controversial
mineral exploration across the province.

In a letter being sent to McGuinty on Tuesday, the group — which also
includes former UN ambassador Stephen Lewis — pleads the case of jailed
aboriginals trying to stop mining in their traditional northern territory,
and says mining shouldn't take precedence over people's homes and health.

Six members of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) First Nation, including
Chief Donny Morris and Deputy Chief Jack MacKay, were sentenced to six
months in jail last December after ignoring an injunction allowing Platinex
to start drilling on traditional
aboriginal territory 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont.

Retired Algonquin chief Bob Lovelace was also sentenced to six months in
jail for his role in opposing a uranium project in eastern Ontario.

"We support the right of a community to say 'no' to mineral exploration and
mining projects that threaten the health of people and ecosystems in
Ontario," states the letter, which also notes a grandmother will spend her
60th birthday behind bars for protesting mineral exploration on her
traditional land.

"These are fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, grandfathers and
grandmothers."
Overhaul mining act: letter

McGuinty must immediately free the jailed leaders and stop mineral
exploration both in northern and eastern Ontario, the letter states.

The governing Liberals also need to overhaul the 100-year-old mining act to
ensure this doesn't happen again, the group added.

Ontario's current "free entry" system allows companies to come into people's
backyards to look for minerals without permission with little recourse for
anyone who wants to stop it, they said.

Instead, the group said mining companies should only be granted exploration
permits after proper environmental assessments and real consultation with
aboriginal communities.

This will ensure "the health of the people of Ontario and its vital
ecosystems will be protected," said the letter, obtained by the Canadian
Press.

Angus McKay, one of the few remaining councillors left at the KI band
office, said the group is grateful for all the support it has received
across the country. There is more at stake than the freedom of the six
jailed leaders, he said.

"This issue touches every native band," McKay said. "It's far-reaching. It's
not just about mining. It's not just about Platinex. It's also about human
rights."

Aboriginal Affairs Minister Michael Bryant has said the government has
offered $200,000 toward the legal fees of the jailed aboriginal leaders and
is willing to do more if they decide to appeal their convictions.

But both McGuinty and Bryant have said they can't interfere with the court
process or unilaterally release the jailed leaders.
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