New First Nations Treaty Map Introduced Into Ontario Schools

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One response to “New First Nations Treaty Map Introduced Into Ontario Schools”

1. 

   Toby Barrett

   September 2, 2020

   Caledonia: We can learn from precedents that have been set

   On February 28, 2006, as MPPs began to assemble at Queen’s Park for afternoon
   Question Period, I was alerted by a colleague that construction workers were being
   driven out of a subdivision in my riding, in Caledonia.

   As a Member of the Opposition, I crossed the floor and sat down with then-Minister
   of Natural Resources, David Ramsay, who had responsibility for Aboriginal Affairs.
   Given the seriousness of this very recent development, and because we both wanted to
   know who was in charge, we went through his briefing books together. At every turn,
   the advice indicated—’this matter is federal’.

   The next morning, I drove down to Caledonia and walked back into the Douglas Creek
   Estates subdivision to find out what was going on and who was in charge. I
   explained I was MPP for both Caledonia and Six Nations but was ignored, other than
   being invited to come to the fire to keep warm. After a few hours one of the
   organizers explained they could not talk to me—’this matter is federal’.

   Over the ensuing weeks, I continued to walk into the subdivision many times. And, as
   communication and trust developed, I served as a bit of a liaison with the police,
   talked to clan mothers and most of the players, and at one point drove to Ottawa to
   present their case to the Office of the Governor General.

   These efforts pretty well ground to a halt after an aborted police raid on April 20,
   2006 and the subsequent purchase of the subdivision by the McGuinty government.

   But what then happened was unprecedented. In spite of a Cayuga court ruling by
   Justice David Marshall, Premier McGuinty sent taxpayer-funded lawyers to essentially
   legalize the militant occupation—basically arguing that since Mr. McGuinty welcomed
   the occupiers, there should be no injunction against their presence.

   On August 8, 2006, the province appealed Justice Marshall’s judgement ordering the
   Attorney General to take carriage of the ongoing contempt of court, and to report
   back at a later date.

   In court on August 22, government lawyers argued that Justice Marshall’s orders
   should be set aside until the fall appeal could be heard. They pointed out that the
   province does not wish to remove the protestors from the occupied site, and
   therefore, does not believe the protestors are breaking the law.

   At that point, we had a government in Ontario that had found a way to tacitly signal
   its willingness to tolerate suspensions of the rule of law. Justice Marshall warned
   at the time, “If court orders can be disregarded, the whole fabric of democracy
   falls to pieces.”

   When the previous government signaled its willingness to look the other way while
   laws were being broken, it raised concerns. In 2006, people were watching, coast to
   coast, and were critical.

   The Vancouver Sun reported at the time that the “…Liberal government is more
   concerned with political sensitivities then with upholding the law.” The Nanaimo
   Daily News labelled “McGuinty’s Caledonia gambit a catastrophe,” and the Winnipeg
   Free Press lamented, “The OPP, in fact, has been standing by since April, apparently
   on the instructions of Premier Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal government.”

   We can learn from the past. Precedents were set and locked in place over the past
   14 years. We now have provincial leadership that realizes it’s time for a change.

   Toby Barrett MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk

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