Protesters shut down King and Benton site
Hampton Inn project put on notice
Posted By JOHN PAUL ZRONIK, EXPOSITOR STAFF
Posted 5 hours ago
More than 30 Six Nations protesters shut down work on a $500-million industrial and commercial development on Oak Park Road Tuesday morning, saying environmental concerns must be addressed.
Protesters visited the King and Benton development site -- formerly a gravel pit near the city's northwest business park -- at about 7 a. m., asking that work stop. They told company president Steve Charest they are concerned that PCBs and other contaminants on the site are being released into the environment because of the movement of soil, potentially contaminating a nearby aquifer that drains into the Grand River. Protesters also said the land was under claim by Six Nations.
"(Charest) said there would be no development on the site until an agreement is reached," said protest spokesman Oron:ia Otsihstohkwa. "The Haudenosaunee will see he keeps his word."
After attending the King and Benton site, protesters visited a nearby Hampton Inn hotel development on Fen Ridge Court, warning that the property owner has two days to talk with Six Nations or work will be shut down. Construction was taking place at the hotel site Tuesday.
No workers were on another nearby site, where Kingspan Insulation is constructing a new office and warehouse, that has been the subject of Six Nations protests.
The Hampton Inn and Kingspan are among a handful of sites subject to a temporary injunction won by the city in June that
prevents protesters from interfering with construction. The King and Benton project is not part of the injunction.
More than 50 people working on the King and Benton site Tuesday morning were sent home for the day.
Charest said workers won't return to the site until Six Nations concerns are addressed. All will receive pay until that happens, he said.
The developer said he's confident that environmental concerns will be dealt with.
"We welcome the opportunity to address those concerns," Charest said. "We're confident that through dialogue we can do that."
Charest recently spearheaded the creation of a group called the Haldimand Tract Good Neighbours
Coalition, which has put forward a proposal that would see the city pay Six Nations a percentage of municipal taxes on development taking place on land under claim by the native community.
In return, Six Nations would agree to stop protests on development sites, as well as reimburse Brantford when it receives federal or provincial money
to settle land claims. At least seven local development companies have joined the coalition, which has also attracted the interest of some in the Six Nations community.
Charest said current Six Nations protests in the city -- including at his company's work site -- should be looked upon as an opportunity to address the native community's historic land claims grievances, as well enter into a public debate.
- - -
"We welcome the opportunity to address those
concerns. We're
confident that through dialogue we can do that."
STEVE CHAREST,
PRESIDENT OF
KING AND BENTON
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Charest agreed to negotiate through the HDI, I believe. I guess he read the Ontario Court of Appeal decision (AAFN July 7 2008): the province, the company and the Indigenous Council must negotiate a resolution.
And at the Hampton? site on the other side of the 403 where active construction was in progress. That's where I joined them today. The Brantford police took their message into the site, and the response was "two days". mhm
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