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     Thursday » April 20 » 2006 
        
      Ontario provincial police move in; end native occupation of housing development
              
           
            Canadian Press 


      Thursday, April 20, 2006


      CALEDONIA, Ont. (CP) - Ontario Provincial Police officers mounted a pre-dawn raid Thursday to evict aboriginal protesters who had been occupying a southwestern Ontario construction site for almost two months. 

      Since Feb. 28, dozens of Six Nations protesters had occupied the Douglas Creek Estates housing project southwest of Hamilton, which they say sits on native land. 

      Police moved "incredibly quickly with overwhelming force," just before 5 a.m., protester Mike Desroches told Hamilton TV station CHCH. 

      "The police just completely swarmed the territory." 

      Police had guns drawn and were armed with tear gas and Tasers, said Desroches, but there was no sign of a violent confrontation. 

      At least nine people were arrested, according to the CBC. 

      OPP Sgt. Dave Rektor told The Canadian Press that the operation was ongoing and there would be no official comment until a news media briefing, likely to be held Thursday afternoon. 

      Police vehicles were cruising the surrounding countryside looking for anyone who may have slipped away from the protest site during the night, according to CHCH. 

      At least 20 police officers were visible at the entrance to the construction site, where a campfire that had remained lit throughout the 52-day occupation was dying out. 

      Tensions rose on Tuesday after talks to end the dispute apparently broke down. 

      A judge granted an injunction in March to remove the occupiers, but police did not enforce it now. 

      "By the time anybody saw that they were coming, the police were all over the site and basically began arresting people," said Desroches. 

      The protesters argued that the site was part of a large land grant back in 1784, but the provincial and federal governments say the land was surrendered in 1841 to help build a major highway. 

      The protest has irked local residents, 500 of whom turned out earlier this month for a rally to demand that authorities end the occupation. 

      A spokeswoman for federal Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice has described the occupation as a provincial matter. 

      The Ontario government said earlier this month that it wanted a negotiated end to the standoff. 

      The standoff was reminiscent of the aboriginal occupation of Ipperwash Provincial Park, which resulted in the death of protester Dudley George from a police sniper's bullet. 

      The park was seized by First Nations protesters on Sept. 4, 1995, under the belief it was native territory that had never been properly surrendered. 

      Provincial police marched on the park two days later, and George was slain in the ensuing showdown. 

      George's death prompted accusations of police and government racism and an inquiry that is still ongoing. 

      © The Canadian Press 2006 
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