Freemen-on-the-Land occupy Crown property

Public told to leave wooded area near Grande Prairie if challenged

A group identifying themselves as Freeman-on-theLand are refusing to obey a government eviction notice from provincial land south of Grande Prairie they’ve been occupying since June.

Both the Alberta government and RCMP have told people to be cautious and avoid confrontations in the sparsely populated rural area.

The situation began when Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development served an eviction notice to a number of people living in a tent on public land in June. Those people identified themselves as Freemen-on-the-Land.

“My understanding is that there was two of them, but there may be more people,” said a department official. “It appears they may have tried to build their own structure and may have taken over someone else’s structure.”

Officials were unclear if the group is now illegally living in a trapper’s cabin.

The department’s communications office requested that the official who spoke to the Journal not be named out of fear of harassment by Freeman-on-the-Land members.

The land in question, roughly 80 kilometres south of Grande Prairie, is thickly wooded, and crossed with access roads and traplines.

The trappers who own those lines are allowed to build shelters, such as cabins, as long as they are registered with the government. The Freeman-on-the-Land members are allowed to enter the land, but not live on it, according to the Public Lands Act.

Once the eviction notice was ignored, the case was eventually passed to the RCMP.

Neither the government nor RCMP would provide details on exactly where the disputed land is.

Cpl. Roy Kennedy of Grande Prairie RCMP said officers were in the early stages of trying to separate rumour from fact. He would not comment about any threats

We are taking steps to ensure people are safe in that area.

RCMPCP L . ROY KENNEDY

from the people living at the site, but did say there were no reports of injuries.

“We’re trying to ascertain what this group is doing in this very rural area, we’re trying to ascertain how many people are out there and who they are,” Kennedy said. “We’re taking steps to ensure people are safe in that area. If people are challenged on their right to be in that area, rather than get into a confrontation, we encourage them to leave the area and call RCMP immediately.”

Ken nedy added that RCMP are “trying to see this resolved in a peaceful manner.”

The province is encouraging people to not enter the area unless necessary.

Alberta Fish and Wildlife officers are being kept away.

The land in question is in the Municipal District of Greenview, which issued a statement Thursday: “Greenview is aware of the presence of individuals claiming to be Freeman-on-the-Land located south of Grande Prairie. Greenview will continue to work with the province, and law officials to protect the lands, interests and public from any illegal actions involving this group.”

The situation came to public attention after an email was circulated among energy companies warning people about a potential conflict in the area. That email specifically mentioned the Freeman-on-the-Land.

The movement is based around a belief that “government operates outside of its legal jurisdiction and therefore Freeman members do not recognize the authority of national, provincial or municipal laws, policies or regulations,” according to a Canadian Security Intelligence Service report.

That same report labelled the group “a major policing problem” and “domestic extremists” associated with environmentalism, anti-capitalism, anti-globalization and far-right racism.

Members have rejected automobile insurance, drivers’ licences, property taxes, mortgages, birth certificates, social insurance numbers and firearms certificates.

The exact number of Freeman-on-the-Land members is difficult to pin down, but the CSIS report suggested 30,000 might live in Canada.

The movement also has a presence in the United States and England.

Members have previously come into conflict with both police and the courts in Alberta.

Sawyer Robison, charged with shooting two Mounties and murdering his uncle near Killam, was ordered to have no contact with the group as a condition of his bail.

Robison’s case is still before the courts.

Last year, Court of Queen’s Bench Associate Chief Justice John Rooke issued a scathing ruling against one Freeman, Dennis Larry Meads, at the conclusion of his divorce proceedings.

Rooke called Meads’ arguments in court “bluntly idiotic.”

After the judge informed Meads of the basics of family law proceedings, Meads replied that “there are rules above man’s rules, and God’s laws is where your laws originated from.”

In Calgary recently, a member of the movement declared his rental home an embassy, paid no rent and refused to leave. He was eventually arrested on an outstanding Quebec warrant.

In the United States, the FBI considers the Freeman-on-the-Land movement a domestic terror threat.

A 2011 FBI report cited several cases where followers clashed with law enforcement, including the 2010 shootings of two Arkansas officers during a routine traffic stop.