[IPSM] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Direct Evidence of Ontario Governmnet Contravening its own Laws: Province must revoke Quarry Licence

[stef at tao.ca]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

DIRECT EVIDENCE OF ONTARIO GOVERNMENT CONTRAVENING ITS OWN LAWS:
PROVINCE MUST REVOKE QUARRY LICENCE

DATE: Monday, April 23
TIME: 11 am
LOCATION: Premier’s Office/Ministry of Natural Resources
23 Queen’s Park Cresent, Whitney Block

MONDAY, APRIL 20: Join us as we deliver direct evidence of illegal dumping
and the demands of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte to the steps of the
Premier’s Office and the Ministry of Natural Resources.  Join us as we
demand the Province of Ontario own up to its inaction and answer for its
role in the devastation and pilfering of indigenous land.

The Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte (MBQ) ended their rail blockadeon
Saturday morning, after 30 hours of disruption. The blockade was an
escalation for the MBQ in the face of government at inaction on the return
of the Culbertson Tract to its rightful owners.

 One month ago, the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte reclaimed a quarry
operation, part of the Culbertson Tract – 925 acres of land taken from
their community, Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, in 1832.  The MBQ is
preparing for further action at this time.

In response to the frustration expressed by the Mohawk community, the
Province of Ontario has refused to take responsibility its  complicity
in the theft of indigenous land.  Premier McGuinty’s only response was
to call for federal intervention in the situation, despite his Ministry’s
ability to take positive action by revoking the quarry licence.

According to Section 20 (1) of the Aggregate Resources Act, which governs
the conditions of such operations, “The Minister may revoke a licence for
any contravention of this act, the regulations, the site plan, or the
conditions of the licence”.   Furthermore, the Act clearly states that one
of its explicit purposes is to minimize adverse impacts on the
environment.

Beyond the obvious plunder of stolen land that quarry operations so
blatantly embody – more than 100,000 tonnes of Mohawk land are trucked out
every year, to benefit settler Canadian business interests – quarry
operators Thurlow Aggregates were also carrying out illegal dumping of
waste on this site. Building materials, batteries and highway asphalt have
been uncovered.

If the Ontario government is content to repeat the legacy of the Harris
government  by refusing to take responsibility for their role in the theft
of indigenous land, it is clear that such refusal is reckless, and could
end in injury or death. Join us on Monday, as we demand the Province of
Ontario revoke the quarry license immediately.

This demonstration is organized by a coalition including No One Is
Illegal-Toronto, Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, Coalition Against
Israeli Apartheid, and members of the Coalition In Support of Indigenous
Sovereignty.

DATE: Monday, April 23
TIME: 11:00 am
LOCATION: Premier’s Office/Ministry of Natural Resources
23 Queen’s Park Cresent, Whitney Block


For more information, please contact:

(Tyendinaga) (613) 391-4055
(Toronto) (647) 891-7691 or (416) 997-1562

-----------------------------------------------

RECENT MAINSTREAM PRESS BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Next target chosen: Mohawks

http://www.thestar.com/article/205777

Apr 21, 2007 02:06 PM
Matthew Chung
Toronto Star

The leader of an aboriginal blockade that paralyzed rail traffic between
Toronto and Montreal for more than 30 hours promised yesterday morning
there will be more “economic disruptions” like the protest ended ahead of
schedule.

“Believe it or not, it was the first soft step of the campaign,” said
Shawn Brant around 8 a.m., two hours after the group removed a school bus
blocking the tracks. “We have identified three different targets, and we
will escalate the degree of severity as is necessary.”

Those targets are the railway, provincial highways and the town of
Deseronto, Brant said as he puffed on cigarettes at the gravel quarry that
is the heart of the dispute

The next target has been selected already and plans for the action are
being finalized, he said. They’ll continue the protests until the
provincial government revokes a licence that allows gravel to be trucked
away from the quarry, he said.

The protesters had said they’d stay at the blockade for 48 hours but
decided to call it off early because some community members feared a
violent conclusion to the protest, Brant said.

“Yesterday there was a series of exchanges. It was escalating into a
standoff-type situation,” Brant said. “Some people were bringing concerns
forward that this was to be a first step of a series of steps.

“The first stand wasn’t to be the last stand.”

The aboriginals have been in discussion with a federally appointed
land-claims negotiator but Brant says the community is tired of talking
while a company continues to operate at the 923-acre quarry.

“People in the community see it as a company removing the very land while
we have people sitting at a table and discussing it,” Brant said. “We
recognize there can be no meaningful negotiations while these things are
happening.”

No arrests have been made at this point, said Ontario Provincial
Police Sgt. Kristine Rae.

“We’re pleased that it was a peaceful resolution.”

Federal Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Jim Prentice
said in an interview today that the blockade was mounted by a splinter
group in the Mohawk community — against the will of its chief and council.

The blockade and others like it do nothing to speed such talks, he added.

“What they do is they contribute to an erosion of good will towards
aboriginal people and land claims. And I don’t think that is in the
interest of First Nation communities.”

Prentice says he understands the frustration of First Nations who’ve
watched unsettled land claims balloon from about 250 cases in 1993 to more
than 800 now.

“I’m aware of that, and that’s why I’ve been insistent that we need to
change the process.”

Prentice has promised an action plan to accelerate settlement of specific
claims. He said he will approach cabinet soon and present details this
spring.

He added that related land-claim negotiations have been going well since
January.

Friday also marked the one-year anniversary of a police raid on another
aboriginal occupation — in the southwestern Ontario town of Caledonia,
which has been marred by violence in the past.

Aboriginal groups have warned that a lack of political will to settle that
claim had protesters considering further standoffs in Ontario.

The protesters in Deseronto want the province to revoke a licence that
allows gravel to be trucked away from the quarry, operated by Thurlow
Aggregates.

Today, the protesters offered no apologies to commuters and businesses who
were inconvenienced by the blockade. Thousands of rail passengers were
sent scrambling onto buses to reach their destinations while CN Rail shut
down all its operations.

“I don’t think they should expect an apology,” said Brant, who suggested
the blockade was prompted by government inaction on the Mohawk’s land
claim.

CN Rail reported the tracks reopened this morning at around 10:15 a.m.

VIA Rail said it was expecting normal operations to resume late this
afternoon or evening, once freight congestion had cleared.

“Even though we are very happy to announce that we are resuming our
operations this afternoon, at the same time our customers that will be
travelling with us are being advised that they should anticipate delays
between two and three hours on their total trip time,” said spokeswoman
Catherine Kaloutsky.

The protesters initially set up barricades at the gravel quarry for a day
in November, and again in January. A third barricade went up last month,
and the group warned at the time that the demonstration might be expanded
to the town of Deseronto itself.

Condominiums are planned using gravel from the quarry for an area known as
the Culbertson Land Tract, which is on a section of land given to the Six
Nations in 1793. The Mohawks contend they never relinquished any part of
it.

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FOR FURTHER BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Please visit: http://www.ocap.ca/




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