Six Nations land defenders dig in
An overturned school bus and other vehicles added to Argyle Street blockade overnight
CALEDONIA — Road barricades that went up in Caledonia late Thursday became entrenched overnight, as Indigenous land defenders added an overturned school bus — which wwas put upright Friday afternoon — a and other vehicles to a blockade of Argyle Street near Canadian Tire.
“We’ve been here for a hundred days so far, and we’ll probably be here for a hundred days more,” said Skyler Williams of Six Nations. “And maybe 100 more weeks after t that.”
A section of Highway 6, as well as McKenzie Road in front of the occupied land, have been dug up with excavators. Demonstrators set fire to a utility pole on Argyle late Thursday, prompting the power to be cut for some residents.
A spokesperson from Hydro One said power was cut for about 1,200 customers after a pole fire in the Caledonia area shortly after 8:20 p.m. By about 11:45 p.m., power had been restored to most customers affected. As of Friday evening, four c customers remained without pow- er.
Hydro One says its crews are “on standby” to make necessary repairs once roads reopen.
The protest group is objecting to police action Thursday evening at the back entrance to 1492 Land Back Lane, the construction site tthat has been occupied by Six Na- tions members and their allies since July.
The OPP said officers used “nonlethal force ” — which Williams described as rubber bullets and a Taser — when confronted with
demonstrators throwing rocks at police cruisers on Argyle Street near Sixth Line.
The land defenders say officers’ aggressive behaviour prompted the flare-up.
I think this is somewhat typical of any time Indigenous people stand up for their rights,” Williams said. “That violent OPP response … has been par for the course.”
That confrontation came a few hours after a Superior Court judge ruled that injunctions barring road barricades and ordering land defenders off the disputed territory would be made permanent.
“This was a court judge in Haldimand County, Ontario, deciding the fate of the Haudenosaunee land claims,” Williams said. “That is infuriating for folks like me.”
Haldimand County Mayor Ken Hewitt said the court’s decision didn’t come as a surprise.
“The courts made it pretty clear that if those people didn’t remove themselves from the land that the judge was going to issue the order, and he did,” he told The Spectator on Friday. “From our perspective, we’ve been living here for many years, we’ve had to work with those on Six Nations and we see their frustration with respect to dealing with the one party that’s not here and that’s the federal government.”
Hewitt said it’s a two-way street.
“There needs to be that dialogue between our federal government and those on Six Nations,” he said. “On the other hand, there also needs to be those on Six Nations willing to come together in a way that can represent the broader issues of Six Nations in a transparent way so that they can have a nation-to-nation conversation.”
Police have closed Highway 6 between Fourth Line and Greens Road, Argyle Street between Braemar Avenue and Highway 6, and McKenzie Road between Fuller Drive and York Road.
A rail line running through the community is also blocked.
Six Nations elected council released a statement Friday afternoon calling for “calm, peaceful and respectful relations on all sides.”
“We do not condone the violence or the destruction of property and we are calling for calm to refocus our minds,” the statement reads.
The elected council says they hope to work “in unity” to address Six Nations land claims.
“We acknowledge the tensions in our community and are committed to taking actions to repair relations here at Six Nations,” it reads. “We have heard from many community members that they feel it was not the best decision for the territory, and we are listening.”
Elected council said they thought the McKenzie Meadows accommodation agreement was in the community’s best interest.
“We are bound to the agreement, but please know that we have learned from it. We commit to you that we can, and will, do better.”
In an emailed statement to The Spectator, Foxgate Developments said the decision to issue a permanent injunction “was welcome news for our homeowners.”
The company said it “regrets the complete breakdown of law and order that occurred in Caledonia late (Thursday) afternoon.”
Foxgate says it was “hopeful” the OPP would uphold the injunctions and remove the group on the site.
“However, it is clear that the OPP do not have the situation under control,” the statement reads.
Speaking to reporters at a news conference Friday, Premier Doug Ford said he felt sympathy for the people who might have poured their savings into a new home in the development that’s now at the centre of the dispute.
“These people have saved everything they’ve had,” Ford said. “They go in to a community. They buy a home, like all of us ... and all of a sudden someone comes in and says, ‘No, it’s not yours anymore, it’s ours.’ It’s unacceptable.”
Ford stressed, however, that he would like to have discussions with the demonstrators.
“We will do whatever it takes to make sure we have peaceful dialogue,” he said. “Not violent dialogue, peaceful dialogue.”