[IPSM] Mohawks fear action on trade in tobacco (Toronto Star)

[Jaggi Singh]

Mohawks fear action on trade in tobacco
Mar. 6, 2006. 01:00 AM
PETER EDWARDS
STAFF REPORTER

Community members of the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory in eastern Ontario 
say they're bracing for a combined Canadian Forces/RCMP operation 
targeting the cigarette trade next month.
"The whole community thinks it is the gospel and people are gearing up for 
it as if it was a fact," said Shawn Brant, 41, a father of three in the 
community of 2,800.
Brant said news of the planned operation leaked out from military sources, 
but he declined to elaborate.
Sgt. Martin Blais of the RCMP in Ottawa declined to comment.
"We would not confirm or deny this or any operational matter," Blais said.
Among those attending a public meeting in Tyendinaga this week that dealt 
with fears there will be a military/RCMP operation was Brant Bardy, 43, 
co-ordinator for the aboriginal media course at the First Nations 
Technical Institute at Tyendinaga.
The meeting heard the operation would target businesses that sell 
cigarettes and tobacco products without paying sales tax.
Bardy, a life-long Tyendinaga resident, said the community was already 
upset after low-flying military helicopters from nearby Canadian Forces 
Base Trenton flew over residences and businesses the night of Feb. 8 and 
during the next day.
"They (the military) just come in here when they want," Bardy said.
"There's a growing animosity here. The attitude of the military has got to 
change."
However, Maj. Mike Lagace of the Canadian Air Force Air Wings headquarters 
in Winnipeg said relationships with local communities are important for 
the military.
"Stakeholder relations are an important consideration when conducting 
flying exercise or operations," Lagace said.
"As planners we consider how it affects surrounding communities. The 
Canadian Forces are very open to discussing concerns such as this," Lagace 
added.
Chief R. Donald Maracle of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, which 
includes the Tyendinaga reserve, said he wasn't able to attend this week's 
meeting about concerns over a combined Canadian Forces/RCMP operation on 
community land because he was undergoing surgery in Toronto.
However, Maracle noted he wrote a letter to the military Feb. 9 protesting 
the helicopter flights, saying "further activities will be viewed as 
harassment and a serious breach of protocol."
"We have a lot of people in our community who are decorated veterans," 
Maracle said in an interview.
"We do want to have a positive relationship with the military."
Bardy said he fears any operation on the reserve would end tragically, 
like when the Ontario Provincial Police marched on Ipperwash Provincial 
Park late at night Sept. 6, 1995, after Stoney Point Indians occupied the 
park.