Algonquins upset by police behaviour

Sûreté du Quebec breaks up aboriginal highway blockade

Dave Rogers, The Ottawa Citizen

Published: Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Quebec police fired teargas or some kind of irritant at children and attacked elderly demonstrators when they cleared an aboriginal blockade on Highway 117 north of Maniwaki, Barrière Lake Algonquins said yesterday.

The Sûreté du Québec charged nine people, including two juveniles, with mischief yesterday after officers cleared a pile of logs from the highway that links the Outaouais to the Abitibi region.

Police released the accused on condition that they keep the peace.

Sgt. Melanie Larouche said police fired canisters containing a chemical irritant, not teargas at the crowd. She said paramedics determined afterwards that no one was injured.

The blockade began at 6:30 a.m. and police began removing the protesters and barricade from the highway at about 4 p.m.

Michel Thusky, a spokes-man for the Barrière Lake Algonquins, said police fired canisters into the crowd of 74 adults and about 40 children after reporters left the blockade.

The band said the police roughed up a 59-year-old woman when they removed protesters and an Algonquin man in his 20s struck by a canister was treated in hospital for neck burns yesterday.

Martin Lukacs, a volunteer who works for the band, said children were on the highway because the blockade was a community event and the Algonquins did not expect a violent confrontation. He said the police struck while the children were eating.

The Algonquins of Barrière Lake want the Indian and Northern Affairs Department to recognize their traditional council and chief and a federal-provincial treaty that would give them a share of natural resource profits on their land.

The unemployment rate in the community of 650 people, 300 kilometres north of Ottawa, is about 90 per cent.

In 1991, the Barrière Lake Algonquins signed an agreement with Canada and Quebec to sustainably develop its 10,000-square-kilometre territory. Since 1996, the federal government has recognized a minority group and chief that oppose the agreement.

Mr. Thusky said a police riot squad damaged tents and the children's tables.

"They tossed teargas into the crowd that hit our children right after the media left," Mr. Thusky said. "The police just ignored the presence of the children, elderly people and the disabled.

"We piled logs and six barrels on the road and put out food for the children and the elderly. The riot squad threw our beaver meat and other traditional food on the ground when they moved in, which is not respectful."

Mr. Thusky said the Algonquins will continue demonstrations to convince the federal and Quebec governments to honour an agreement with the band to manage the land co-operatively.

He said the Algonquin community doesn't receive any benefit from the millions of dollars earned each year from forestry, electric power generation and sports hunting on Barrière Lake land.

Indian and Northern Affairs has recognized the new band council headed by Chief Casey Ratt, whose house burned down in the spring under suspicious circumstances.

The previous band council, headed by former acting chief Benjamin Nottaway, has the support of the Algonquin Nation Secretariat and the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, which accused Indian Affairs of supporting a coup in the community.

© The Ottawa Citizen 2008

Algonquin protesters, Quebec police trade accusations of force http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/10/07/ot-blockade-folo-081007.html?Authorized=1&AuthenticationKey=2_38_c4929c06-67af-44a2-a103-ea0603abb1d0.pakhplgemjjeaj Algonquin protesters, Quebec police trade accusations of force

Last Updated: Tuesday, October 7, 2008 | 5:11 PM ET

CBC News

A group of Algonquin demonstrators is accusing Quebec police of hurting a man and a little girl while breaking up a peaceful highway blockade on Monday, even as police accuse the protesters of violence that made tear gas necessary.

About 50 protesters of all ages from the Barriere Lake reserve, about 300 kilometres north of Ottawa, shut down Highway 117 for most of the day near Grand-Remous, where the highway joins du Lac Rapide Road in La Vérandrye wildlife reserve.

The highway is the sole direct route between the Abitibi region and the rest of Quebec. Riot police used tear gas to break up the protest late in the afternoon.

Quebec provincial police spokeswoman Melanie Larouche said police used tear gas only after giving protesters a verbal warning.

"We did a line in front of them and they became very violent at that time," she said. "They took cement blocks and they broke them on the road, and they took the pieces of cement in their hands."

Michel Thusky, a spokesman for the protesters, maintained that police were not being provoked when they began launching tear gas at the group, which included children, the disabled and the elderly.

Protesters said a three-year-old girl was hurt when she was hit by a tear-gas canister, as was a man who had to be hospitalized. Others required oxygen treatment, they said.

The group was protesting because they say the Canadian and Quebec governments are not respecting economic development and resource management agreements within their territory. They were also demanding that the federal government appoint an observer to oversee the selection of a new chief for the reserve, and said the blockade would continue until those demands were met.

Thusky said Tuesday that protesters were forced to reopen the road because their children were being hurt, but he added that the community will keep using pressure tactics until the provincial government agrees to meet with them.

Gee ... was the 3 yr old threatening the SQ with a tiny piece of brick? Was she being "violent". hisssssssssssssssssssssssss

The group was protesting because they say the Canadian and Quebec governments are not respecting economic development and resource management agreements within their territory. They were also demanding that the federal government appoint an observer to oversee the selection of a new chief for the reserve, and said the blockade would continue until those demands were met.

Sounds very lawful and very reasonable to me. What's Canada's answer? Why is Canada violently attacking the traditional Indigenous people of Barriere Lake? Why is Canada violently attacking the Traditional Council of Barriere Lake? Why has Canada violently imposed its own puppet leaders in power in Barriere Lake? Why has Canada not honoured its new treaties with Barriere Lake ? Why do we ... Canadians ... permit our governments to violently attack Indigenous Peoples instead of honouring our agreements with them? BTW ... this is a typical piece of government stalling and dismissal: Canada won't recognize their selection process unless we send an observer. Chuck Strahl/Harper won't send one, so their puppets remain in control of the funds of Barriere Lake. They also won't honour the tripartite agreements negotiated at great cost to Canadian taxpayers, in the interests of peace and prosperity for all. The Barriere Lake people are right to be incensed, but it wasn't them who threw the first stone. They had pieces of cement block to defend themselves from heavily armed forces, who struck first ... hitting a 3 year old with a tear gas canister. I'm deeply ashamed of Canada.

Canada: A nation torn from its aboriginal roots ... by greed?

Canada is in trouble because it has been untethered from its aboriginal moorings.

The central inspiration of our country is aboriginal ... "How we imagine ourselves, how we govern, how we live together, how we treat one another when we are not being stupid is deeply aboriginal ...

TheStar.com - Opinion Writer Saul ponders reason for Canada's failure to achieve its full potential September 21, 2008 Haroon Siddiqui Flying back to Canada from abroad, have you ever noticed that the immigration officer examining your passport is wearing, and perhaps sweating in, a bulletproof vest? Why the vests when the arriving passengers had already been thoroughly vetted before boarding their flight? This bureaucratic madness is part of the post-9/11 politics of fear. The vests came with a federal decision to arm all border guards. "When was the last armed attack at a border post? How many border guards have been shot at? Two? One? Zero? Are they in any real danger? Is the danger greater than for a child crossing a street after school? What is the border guard to do with the pistol, a little training and no daily experience in armed crises?" The critic is John Ralston Saul, philosopher and prolific writer. He is the author of such groundbreaking bestsellers as The Collapse of Globalism (challenging prevailing economic orthodoxy) and Voltaire's Bastard: The Dictatorship of Reason (bemoaning the trumping of justice by reason). His latest book is A Fair Country, Telling Truths about Canada (Viking), to be released, propitiously, as it turns out, in time for the Oct. 14 election. What better time than now for voters and campaigning politicians alike to address Saul's central question: What's wrong with Canada – why has it not reached its full potential, under either the Liberals or the Conservatives? He raises several sub-questions, which he elaborated on in an interview with me: Why is it that Canadians "imagine ourselves playing particular roles at home and abroad, yet rarely play them?" Why do we allow more foreign ownership than any other democracy, thereby losing control of such key sectors as the steel industry? Why do we have more trade barriers between provinces than with the U.S. and the rest of the world? Why are more than 4 million Canadians without a family doctor, the emergency wards overwhelmed, and waiting times for essential surgery unacceptably long? Why do we allow our school boards to sell junk food in return for a few corporate dollars, even though youth obesity will cost us all a lot more in health dollars in the long run? Why have 5 million Canadians fallen below the poverty line and 750,000 are dependant on food banks, 40 per cent of them children, and nearly 70,000 Torontonians are waiting for affordable housing? Saul says it took him 10 years to think through these questions and come up with one answer. In the past, he has lambasted the Canadian bureaucratic/managerial class that, starting in the 1980s, replaced visionary political and economic leaders. Now he has combined that critique with an intriguing hypothesis: Canada is in trouble because it has been untethered from its aboriginal moorings. It pretends to be what it is not. It is not European or American. He writes: "In spite of the enormous role played by churches over the centuries, ours is not a civilization that emerged out of the Judeo-Christian line. Nor did we rise out of the opposite, the secular or the laic. The central inspiration of our country is aboriginal ... "How we imagine ourselves, how we govern, how we live together, how we treat one another when we are not being stupid is deeply aboriginal ... "We are a Métis civilization. What we are today is inspired as much by four centuries of life with the indigenous civilizations as by four centuries of immigration." The aboriginals, with their "idea of expandable and inclusive circles of people," welcomed the French settlers. They taught the newcomers how to survive. They encouraged intermarriage, as did Champlain: "Our young men will marry your daughters, and we shall be one people." But this mutual approach was abandoned by later settlers in favour of land grabs, broken treaty promises and an assault on the aboriginal way of life. The Orangemen, in particular, importing their extremist Protestantism, applied their "old European prejudices in a new place," and imposed the language of a "monolithic nation-state, with its ideas of racial purity." The First Nations were to be assimilated. "This was the underlying theory of the residential school system, with its deadly health conditions, the banning of language and culture, the sexual degradation, physical violence and the disruption of families." All this was an "artificial Europeanization of Canada." Along the way, Canada's old governing principle of peace, welfare and good government was replaced by the British in the 1860s with peace, order and good government. This, too, changed the nature of Canada. Gone was the sense of societal welfare, of "the public good, the public weal and the welfare of the people." If we feel adrift today, Saul argues, it is because we refuse to accept who we were and still are. It is the aboriginal ideas of harmony, balanced relationships, an inclusive circle, and an appropriate equilibrium between peoples and the land that explain Canada's invention of peacekeeping, the pioneering environmental efforts of Greenpeace, Maurice Strong and David Suzuki, and multiculturalism. Yet "we have trained ourselves not to see the aboriginal nature of Canadian society ... Our single greatest failure has been our inability to normalize – that is, to internalize consciously – the First Nations as the senior founding pillar of our civilization." If we did, we would, first, "see the native as a normal person in his or her own right," settle land claims and help stabilize aboriginal communities and, second, come to terms with our identity, develop enough self-confidence to eviscerate our "colonial mentality" and "get on with life." This would also "give us the strength to transform our ruling elites," who remain hobbled by a colonial insecurity, an inferiority complex. They remain fixated with "the Empire" – London-Paris in the old days, Washington today. They believe that Canada is too insignificant a player in the world to decide its own fate. But it is not. More on Thursday. Haroon Siddiqui's column appears Thursday and Sunday. hsiddiq@thestar.ca This is so awesome. Thank you Jon Ralston Saul. You speak from the heart of Canadians. We are three founding nations, Indigenous, French, British, in that chroinological order. They are, as Saul so rightly points out, "the senior founding pillar of our civilization." More to the point, they hold the underlying title to Canada. We live on Indigenous land by the Treaties with Indigenous Nations, Treaties that are the legal basis for Canada. And therein lies the corruption by greed: Canada assumed the role of 'the Crown' as 'protector' of our Indigenous allies - assumed control of their land, their financial assets, their children ... (need I say more?) Canada's economy is entirely dependent on natural resources taken from Indigenous land, without respect for the land, the rights of Indigenous Peoples, and without sharing the revenues with the original titleholders. Thus are Indigenous communities held in poverty, while Canada, the 'trustee', rapes the land of its ability to sustain human life, and we, Canadians, reap all of the the rewards: Our 'economy' is thriving well, on the 'assets' of Indigenous Peoples, and so are we. And the answers, of course, lie in honouring our foundations, becoming educated about the layers of 'titles' that define Canada, and the responsibilities that rest with our governments ... 'the Crown': The validity of our provincial land titles - 'property deeds' - rests in Canada's right to use land for settlement, rights by treaty with Indigenous Peoples for our rights to live on their land. These are treaties that are honoured by Indigenous Peoples. They don't want our homes, our businesses. They want a say in development, and a share in revenues ... and it is quite simply long overdue. granny

John Ralston Saul:

2 October 2008 — Speaking Event at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, 7:00 p.m. Hamilton, ON Contact: Richard Bachmann Tel: 905-639-0925

Tories apologize for "sober" remark to aboriginal protester

Here's the real issue, buried in election foofurrah ... The Federal government took all funding from the community and gave it to their new 'Council'. As for the background behind yesterday's protest, Mr. Matchewan was speaking on behalf of a group that supports the previous chief and council at Barriere Lake, led by Jean Maurice Matchewan and Benjamin Nottaway. Indian Affairs minister Chuck Strahl now recognizes a new chief and council led by Casey Ratt on the grounds that the previous leadership was replaced during a leadership review meeting in January. Supporters of the former council say the meeting was not conducted fairly and that Mr. Strahl is interfering in local band matters.

Tories apologize for "sober" remark to aboriginal protester BILL CURRY Globe and Mail Update September 18, 2008 at 2:31 PM EDT OTTAWA — The Conservatives have issued another apology, this time for comments caught on video Wednesday by an assistant to Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon. Mr. Cannon was campaigning in Maniwaki, Que., Wednesday when a group of protesters from the divided native community of Barriere Lake showed up to outline their demands. Mr. Cannon listened to their speech and then left, but his constituency assistant continued an exchange with the lead protester, Norman Matchewan. The exchange was caught on video and broadcast as the lead item Wednesday by the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. “If you behave and you're sober and there's no problems and if you don't do a sit down and whatever, I don't care,” said Mr. Cannon's assistant Darlene Lannigan to Mr. Matchewan. She then added: “One of them showed up the other day and was drinking.” “Are you calling me an alcoholic?” replied Mr. Matchewan. “I'm not calling you an alcoholic. No. It was just to say that you're in a federal office. If you're coming in to negotiate, I expect, there's [decorum] that has to be respected,” said Ms. Lannigan. APTN then read on-air a statement from Mr. Cannon's director of communications, Catherine Loubier. “The comments from Mr. Cannon's riding office official do not reflect the views of the Government of Canada. We would like to take this opportunity to apologize for any offence given,” Ms. Loubier stated, according to APTN. “We also understand these comments were made in a difficult context. That is regrettable. The good news is the parties have agreed to meet later this week in a spirit of collaboration.” The apology provided to APTN came the same evening Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz issued a public apology for remarks he made in relation to the outbreak of listeria during a conference call. A Conservative party spokesman, Ryan Sparrow, has also issued an apology and was suspended from the campaign for suggesting remarks made by the father of a fallen Canadian soldier were politically motivated. Meanwhile the Liberals have also had issues this campaign related to aboriginals. Two Liberal candidates in Quebec resigned last week in relation to controversial remarks. Simon Bédard is no longer the Liberal candidate in the riding of Quebec for comments the former radio-host made in French to the Le Soleil newspaper about his views during the 1990 Oka standoff. “Everyone was scandalized because I said: ‘Send in the Army and let's clean this up once and for all!' But maybe we should have done that because 17 years later, it's still the same thing. If anything, it's worse,” said Mr. Bédard, according to Le Soleil. The Liberal candidate in Beauharnois-Salaberry, Ricardo Lopez, also resigned after attention was drawn to remarks he made in 1988 when he was a Tory MP. “I think all the Indians should be sent to Labrador, to go live together and have peace and leave us in peace,” Mr. Lopez was quoted as saying at the time. The Green Party dropped its candidate in Newton-North Delta, John Shavluk, early in the campaign over internet postings that were deemed anti-Semitic. On Wednesday, the NDP accepted the resignation of West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast candidate Dana Larsen after the Globe and Mail made inquiries about his role in a company that sold coca seedlings. Mr. Larsen was questioned about his involvement with the Vancouver Seed Bank, a company that sells seeds for marijuana, poppy and hemp seeds, as well as for coca plants that produce cocaine alkaloids. As for the background behind yesterday's protest, Mr. Matchewan was speaking on behalf of a group that supports the previous chief and council at Barriere Lake, led by Jean Maurice Matchewan and Benjamin Nottaway. Indian Affairs minister Chuck Strahl now recognizes a new chief and council led by Casey Ratt on the grounds that the previous leadership was replaced during a leadership review meeting in January. Supporters of the former council say the meeting was not conducted fairly and that Mr. Strahl is interfering in local band matters. They have held several protests in Ottawa, as well as one in June at Mr. Cannon's Buckingham, Que. constituency office. At that time, six of the protesters were arrested. The group appealed to the Federal Court, requesting that the leadership change be overturned. However justice Kevin Aalto struck down the request in an Aug. 28 ruling. Justice Aalto pointed out that if there are Barriere Lake members who are not happy with the Ratt-led council, they are free to invoke the band's custom code rules for leadership review. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080918.welxncanapolgy0918/BNStory/Front I must say, I am glad to see such things treated with importance. I wonder how many times Indigenous people have been publicly offended and it never came to anyone's attention. Now a little more attention to the wishes of the people of Barierre Lake would help too. Ratt and Co. were parachuted in to take control of the money away from the traditional Council selected by the people. The Federal government doesn't like traditional leaders, traditional rights, so they disappear from power 'somehow'.

Federal contamination of Indigenous lands John Hummel has created a usable database of federal contaminated sites by federal riding, and has alerted federal MP's. Excellent work John!!

“It really hit me that so many of the ridings with the most contaminated sites were northern, or rural, or heavily First Nations in population. (MP Cullen)

Dear Friends,

It took a while but, this is is exactly what I had hoped would happen from my press releases and the other emails I sent to 2,500 people including: every MP in Canada, all opposition candidates for each Federal riding where there were 9 or more Federal toxic sites plus, to hundreds of media, Environmental and Social/Justice NGO's Worldwide, hundreds of First Nations, Métis and Inuit leaders, hundreds of 'Grassroots' people and Dr.'s and scientists worldwide. Unity amongst all people is all I am seeking on this issue. Think, for a moment, of the children who might be left with this toxic legacy if we ignore it in our generation! Now, perhaps, this toxic mess in Canada will finally be cleaned up before even more people get sick!

Link to One of Many news articles on this topic in the last few days:

http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_north/lakesdistrictnews/news/27139674.html

For Land and Life,

John H.W. Hummel

Pollution Researcher,

Nelson, B.C.

Canada

Cullen calls for strong action on contaminated sites Published: August 19, 2008 11:00 PM

Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen has reacted strongly to the Aug. 13 LD News story detailing that 984 federal contaminated sites are located in his riding, the highest total for federal ridings in B.C., and the second-highest in Canada.

“I’ve been the NDP’s Environment critic in Parliament for four years, and I’ve never even seen this report,” commented Cullen.

“It really hit me that so many of the ridings with the most contaminated sites were northern, or rural, or heavily First Nations in population.

What really struck me was how many sites had no action plan and no site management strategy,” he said.

The Treasury Board database came to the notice of MPs due to the efforts of a toxics researcher in Nelson, B.C.

“It just shows what citizens can do when they’re determined to fight pollution,” said Cullen.

“I think the number of contaminated sites in Skeena-Bulkley Valley may be a little high; I went through and sampled the database, and some sites appear to be duplicated,” he commented.

“But, still, we need the Treasury Board to step up, and any individual owners who are responsible for those contaminated sites.

We need to be more strict, and have better laws. Anyone who contaminates a site ought to have to post bonds to take care of clean-up costs. We need better protection.

There’s two issues: the list itself, and adding to the list. That’s what we don’t want. In order to stop the list of contaminated sites growing, people have to know they’re going to be hit with fines, if they don’t adhere to the laws.”

He said the policy of the federal Conservative government is woefully inadequate. “We release toxins into the environment, and find them in the products we buy, and the government just blinks.”

“Ignorance is not an excuse; especially if it’s willful. There were no laws, and no fines, but that can’t go on. We can no longer pretend there is no cost to pollution.”

“If you have 6,000 metres of contaminated soil, you can’t just put in a front end loader and clean it up in an afternoon. Some of those sites could take years to clean up, and it could take hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions.”

The President of the Treasury Board and the Minister of the Environment should be aware of the report.

“They’re given briefings by their officials,” he said.

Cullen said the NDP caucus intends to put pressure on both ministers to get some action.

“As the party’s Environment critic, I’ve alerted all NDP MPs as to the contaminated sites database. We’re going to meet as a caucus and develop a policy we hope to take to an all-party committee in Parliament.

We need some action across party lines on this. The contaminated sites are a national problem. We need to band together to clean up these sites, and then enact tougher legislation to protect future generations,” he concluded.

- US aggression for oil, power - War in the Caucasus: Towards a Broader Russia-US Military Confrontation? By Michel Chossudovsky URL of this article: www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=9788 Global Research, August 10, 2008 During the night of August 7, coinciding with the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, Georgia's president Saakashvili ordered an all-out military attack on Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia. The aerial bombardments and ground attacks were largely directed against civilian targets including residential areas, hospitals and the university. The provincial capital Tskhinvali was destroyed. The attacks resulted in some 1500 civilian deaths, according to both Russian and Western sources. "The air and artillery bombardment left the provincial capital without water, food, electricity and gas. Horrified civilians crawled out of the basements into the streets as fighting eased, looking for supplies." (AP, August 9, 2008). According to reports, some 34,000 people from South Ossetia have fled to Russia. (Deseret Morning News, Salt Lake City, August 10, 2008) The importance and timing of this military operation must be carefully analyzed. It has far-reaching implications. Georgia is an outpost of US and NATO forces, on the immediate border of the Russian Federation and within proximity of the Middle East Central Asian war theater. South Ossetia is also at the crossroads of strategic oil and gas pipeline routes. Georgia does not act militarily without the assent of Washington. The Georgian head of State is a US proxy and Georgia is a de facto US protectorate. Who is behind this military agenda? What interests are being served? What is the purpose of the military operation. There is evidence that the attacks were carefully coordinated by the US military and NATO. Moscow has accused NATO of "encouraging Georgia". Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov underscored the destabilizing impacts of "foreign" military aid to Georgia: . “It all confirms our numerous warnings addressed to the international community that it is necessary to pay attention to massive arms purchasing by Georgia during several years. Now we see how these arms and Georgian special troops who had been trained by foreign specialists are used,” he said.(Moscow accuses NATO of having "encouraged Georgia" to attack South Ossetia, Russia Today, August 9, 2008) Moscow's envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, sent an official note to the representatives of all NATO member countries: “Russia has already begun consultations with the ambassadors of the NATO countries and consultations with NATO military representatives will be held tomorrow," Rogozin said. "We will caution them against continuing to further support of Saakashvili." “It is an undisguised aggression accompanied by a mass propaganda war,” he said. (See Moscow accuses NATO of having "encouraged Georgia" to attack South Ossetia, Russia Today, August 9, 2008) According to Rogozin, Georgia had initially planned to: "start military action against Abkhazia, however, 'the Abkhaz fortified region turned out to be unassailable for Georgian armed formations, therefore a different tactic was chosen aimed against South Ossetia', which is more accessible territorially. The envoy has no doubts that Mikheil Saakashvili had agreed his actions with "sponsors", "those with whom he is negotiating Georgia's accession to NATO ". (RIA Novosti, August 8, 2008) Contrary to what was conveyed by Western media reports, the attacks were anticipated by Moscow. The attacks were timed to coincide with the opening of the Olympics, largely with a view to avoiding frontpage media coverage of the Georgian military operation. On August 7, Russian forces were in an advanced state readiness. The counterattack was swiftly carried out. Russian paratroopers were sent in from Russia's Ivanovo, Moscow and Pskov airborne divisions. Tanks, armored vehicles and several thousand ground troops have been deployed. Russian air strikes have largely targeted military facilities inside Georgia including the Gori military base. The Georgian military attack was repealed with a massive show of strength on the part of the Russian military.

Canada Arms 'Fair' 2008 MNN article Link "SECURE CANADA 2008", OR "SICKO CAN" "SECURE CANADA 2008", OR “SICKO CAN” – OTTAWA HOSTS WARMONGERS TRADE SHOW by Iako’ha:kowa of Sharbot Lake, Haudenosaunee Territory and MNN Staff. MNN. August 4, 2008. War is illegal. Did Canada forget? In 1989 there was a ban on military trade shows in Ottawa. Now the industry is going to sneak one on us. War or fascism is preceded by techniques to PSYCHE out the opponents or victims to scare everybody into hopeless despair. One way is to parade military and despotic hardware in front of the public to get us use to it. Hitler, Mouselini and Stalin all used this tactic. TV ads are recruiting youth into the military; video war games extol death and destruction; air shows mesmerize children and glamorize bomber planes that kill people; and military trade shows promote the war industry. Soon only innocent human beings will be killed. It’s called “low level warfare” designed to attack the unarmed people. This "Pukey Canada 2008" trade show for war makers is the height of absurdity, at Ottawa's Lansdowne Park on September 30 to October 1st. It’s about cutting edge "remote warfare" to help their military and police agents of repression in their quest for global domination and control. There they can buy all the lethal trinkets they need to kill, control or maim us from afar without getting their fingers dirty. Exhibitors will show off toxic toys for domestic control such as uav's [remote unmanned flying objects that shoot s..t at people] and all manner of satellite spy ware. This “Nauseating Canada” trade show will feature C4ISR “gizmos” to "command, control, communications and computer based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance". They hope to have domestic repression of Turtle Island in place by 2010. As if! Watch out, unarmed protestors! You could be used as practice targets of these newly equipped gunslingers. 20 of the 58 exhibitors are members of the “Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries” CADSI known as the “merchants of death”. They are Boeing Aerospace, Canadian Center for Unmanned Vehicle Systems, Canadian Defence Review, Commissionaires, Dessau, ESRI Canada, Frontline Robotics, Green Hills Software, Harris Canada, Inc., Meggitt, M/ACOM Tyco Electronics, and Technopole Defense. [Excuse us, since when has Canada been attacked? Where are the imaginary enemies? They are the enemies of the people.] L3 Mas, CAE and General Dynamics Canada are on the CADSI board. L3 Communications Holdings Inc. is on the "list of 38 companies that the Canadian Securities and Exchange Commission fingered as involved in 'put options' profiteering on 911". Who are these “Wannabee Big Shots”?: Frontlines Robotics, [CADSI member] based in Ottawa, has offices in Israel. Jeremy “Jiminy Jim” James is the president and ceo. They work with InRob Tech that specializes in military robots and remote controlled vehicles. They can kill men, women and babies without getting a scratch. Their "perimeter security" are robots that guard anything from nuclear reactors to military bases. GreenHills Software, a US outfit, has offices in Ottawa. They work with CAE, IBM, Lockheed Martin (F35 Joint strike fighters), Toshiba, Raytheon, Toyota (Prius), Ford (Lincoln Aviator), Northrop Grunman (Airbus 380), Nera Wireless Networking and many other companies. They'll be at the “RealTime & Embedded Computing [How-to-Slaughter] Conferences” in Ottawa and Montreal at the end of August. Technopôle Defence & Security, [CADSI member] based in Quebec City is a professional business network. They set up trade shows and bring together butchers like "technology integrators, producers and suppliers, private and public research and development centres, universities and other educational institutions and government departments and agencies" that are researching more ways to kill people. Technopole's members include SNC, TEC, DRDC, General Dynamics Canada, Universite Laval, CGI, Thales Systems, and lesser known companies like Telops, Analytical Systems, Opto Security, Black Coral, Creaform, RoboMotio, Gentec and Cargolution. Canada Economic Development is their main partner and funder. Why aren’t there any trade shows on how to defend ourselves from these homicidal maniacs? Black Coral of Ottawa "specializes in map enabled technologies" to help their “hired guns”, like police and military agencies, during "emergencies" and "terrorist events" [which they’ll create!]. If they’re so smart, why did the Winnipeg cops shoot and kill an Indigenous man who had a cell phone in his hand and not a knife? Black Coral's advisory board consists of three men with long police or military careers. Phil "He aint my Brother" Murray, former Commissioner of the RCMP, was a member of the Research Advisory Committee on the “Ipperwash Commission of Inquiry into Aboriginal Relations with the Police”. It carefully studied the OPP murder of Indigenous demonstrator, Dudley George, on how to get away with it without being questioned. Creepy Phil seems to have a sinister interest in Indigenous people. Phil is a Member of the Advisory Panel for the “Cornwall Commission of Inquiry into Historical Sexual Abuse” by police, church, city, judiciary, Childrens Aid and other public bodies. Jim "Freaky James" Fraser is retired from the US military where he trained police assassins on SWAT tactics. He is a member of the Fort Benning Georgia “Officer Candidate Hall of Fame”. Fort Benning is famous for the “School of the Americas” (SOA) that sets up “death squads” in third world regimes. They teach advanced brutality and torture. Jim’s specialty is creating “terrorist events”. These insane guys create dire situations so they can use their evil toys. Bob "Sleeps-Hanging-Upside-Down-from-a-Technopole" Fischer, a past President of CADSI, was in the Canadian military before going to General Dynamics Canada. He became Vice President Business Development and Government Relations. He is now the current Chairman of the “Canadian NATO Industry Advisory Group”. The “St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency” of New York State is boogying up to the Sec Can trade show. They say they "act as a liaison between your firm, local municipalities, financing sources and governmental agencies". In other words, they’re going there to party with “war-like minds”! These sadistic ghouls could be offering a space in NYS to make tools of repression? St. Lawrence County is near the Mohawk community of Akwesasne. These perverts want to boost the economy with a military buildup. The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Canada Chapter will be promoting their own “show within a show”, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. Imstat president, Tom Last, could run the UAV's by remote control from their lab in Carleton Place just outside of Ottawa. Well Known Big Shots/Bigots: CAE of Montreal has a current annual revenue of over $1.2B [which can kill an awful lot of people]. They get a lot of research and development money, a term for “corporate welfare” or money from the government. They specialize in civil and military simulations for full flight training, such as for the C130 Hercules and many fighter planes plus helicopters, as well as commercial jets. CAE will hold a special shareholders meeting on August 13 at the Hotel Bonaventure in Montreal. They have 2 boards, one in Canada and another in the US, made up mostly of retired military. [Geez! They should be stopping these terrorists from coming over the border instead of inviting them!] Marc "Wants to Kill Other People's Children" Parent, previously of Bombardier, is on both CAE boards. He’s the Group President, Simulation Products and Military Training & Services. Morbid Marc is on the board at CADSI and the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC). Another noxious CAE director is James "who-blows-out-missile-exhaust” Hankinson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ontario Power Generation Inc. CAE announced at a July 8 air show in the UK that it had $128 million in new contracts. They’re making a flight simulator for Bombardier's Montreal training center. Lurking In The Shadows: Oxford educated David "Living-High-on-the-Hog" Luxton thinks he’s a major driving force in Ottawa's make-war industry. [see photo at flickr.com]. He was in the Canadian military. He’s been a bureaucrat, advisor in the Privy Council where Canada 's laws are drafted, Director and Registrar of Copyright and Industrial Design for Canada. ”Warped” Luxton is founding president and ceo at Allen Vanguard, an Ottawa based electronics manufacturer of terrorist gadgetry for their mercenaries. They used to test their bomb suits, robots and other CBRNE [chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive] stuff at MREL's facility near Sharbot Lake where they loved simulating mangled corpses. Then MREL was shut down by protesters in the summer of 2007. Allen Vanguard has plants in Pembroke Ontario and other places. Ken Deane, the OPP sniper who shot and killed Dudley George, was hired by Allen Vanguard as a security guard after being kicked out of the OPP. He died in a car "accident" on the 401 just before he was to testify at the Ipperwash Inquiry. ”Canker Sore” Luxton is also founding president of Def [Death] Sec, an Ottawa investment company for the military industry. Luxton and Ken Murray founded Simunition which specializes in police and military "reality training" with "projectiles" like paint ball. They teach cops how to overcome their fears and shoot to kill. War Monger Luxton is on the board of CADSI. Though his companies may not be exhibiting at the Sec Can trade show, he'll be hanging around looking over the projectiles. Luxton supports the elite cartel that doesn’t like Indigenous and people of color, want to plunder the Earth's riches and set up a global government. Like his buddies, he's locked into a “terrorkillhigh” adrenalin mindset, who needs to get it off regularly. That’s no excuse for his inhumanity. Someone should get him into “war monger rehab” in a remote Indigenous community quick! Look out for shadowy Frenchman, Marcel "Mortal-Liquidateur" Picciotto, president and ceo of Thales Systems Canada based in Montreal with offices in Ottawa. [CADSI board for 3 years]. Thales, a French company had sales of $12 billion in 2007. They specialize in C4ISR for armies, navies, air forces and anybody with the cash. Thales have just renewed their deal with NATO to expand communications and logistics in Afghanistan. [Whoa! Who wants to keep this war going and why? It’s big bucks for someone! High taxes for the rest! Thales makes flight control systems for Bombardier and other plane builders and control systems for railways. Just in time for the Olympics, Beijing Mass Transit Railway Operation Corp. has launched its Thales contact-less fare collection system. [Are non-payers disintegrated?] JeanMarc Gardin, Vice President and Managing Director of Thales remarked, "China represents a huge opportunity for us..." These incestuous companies work together on ‘genocide’ projects. These “glorified gunmen” fancy themselves to be an elite bunch. They use their sadistic delusions to siphon a lot of money from the public purse. Indigenous people constantly resist the theft of our freedom. We are defenders of the land and the Earth's riches. We stand in the way of big military plans for the St. Lawrence/Great Lakes region. We all have minds to think and untapped abilities and creativity that can resolve overwhelming dilemmas. No one person has ALL the answers. Each can contribute a piece to the puzzle. Our sense of isolation and alienation in Western society is designed to make us feel alone and vulnerable. There is much strength in our ties to the Earth and each other. We need to work together to stop these ruthlessly demented demons. Iakoha'ko:wa kittoh@storm.ca Eagle Watch, Haudenosaunee Territory Notes and Sources COALITION TO OPPOSE THE ARMS TRADE http://coat.ncf.ca/ARMX/ContactCity.htm MOHAWKNATIONNEWS www.mohawknationnews.com Secure Canada 2008 Exhibitor List http://www.securecan.ca/exhibitor_list/ CITY OF OTTAWA SEND THEM A MESSAGE TO CANCEL THE SHOW Mayor Larry O'Brien and Councillors City of Ottawa, 110 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, K1P 1J1 Phone them at (613) 580 2400 or 1 866 261 9799. Larry.OBrien@ottawa.ca, Alex.Cullen@ottawa.ca, Bob.Monette@ottawa.ca, Clive.Doucet@ottawa.ca, Diane.Deans@ottawa.ca, Diane.Holmes@ottawa.ca, Doug.Thompson@ottawa.ca, Eli.ElChantiry@ottawa.ca, Georges.Bedard@ottawa.ca, Glenn.Brooks@ottawa.ca, Gord.Hunter@ottawa.ca, Jacques.Legendre@ottawa.ca, Jan.Harder@ottawa.ca, Kitchissippi@ottawa.ca, Maria.Mcrae@ottawa.ca, Marianne.Wilkinson@ottawa.ca, Michel.Bellemare@ottawa.ca, Peggy.Feltmate@ottawa.ca, Peter.Hume@ottawa.ca, Rainer.Bloess@ottawa.ca, Rick.Chiarelli@ottawa.ca, Rob.Jellett@ottawa.ca, Shad.Qadri@ottawa.ca, Steve.Desroches@ottawa.ca, susan.scott@ottawa.ca, Sukuen.Tam@ottawa.ca, Doug Moore A/Director, Real Property Asset Management (RPAM) Branch City of Ottawa 110 Laurier Avenue West Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1J1 6135802424 x413017 6135602718 Mail Code: 2686 douglas.moore@ottawa.ca CADSI Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries List of Merchants of Death https://www.defenceandsecurity.ca/public/index.asp?action=profiles THE EXHIBITORS WILL BE STAYING AT: Les Suites Hotel, Ottawa, 130 Besserer Street, Ottawa, K1N 9M9 www.lessuites.com Frontline Robotics Inc. 6968 McKeown Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K4P 1A2 Tel: +1.613.739.2687 Toll Free: 866.450.2687 (within North America) Fax: +1.613.821.4729 info@FrontlineRobotics.com www.FrontlineRobotics.com Inrob Tech http://www.inrobtech.com/ Green Hills Software Canada, Ltd., 555 Legget Drive, Suite 304, Ottawa, Ontario Canada K2K 2X3 Tel: 613.271.2115 Fax: 613.271.2121 http://www.ghs.com/ Technopôle Defence & Security, Sonia Lebel, Building 200, Office 103, South Site, DRDC Valcartier, 2459, PieXI Blvd North, Quebec, Quebec Canada G3J1X5 Tel: 4188442454 Fax: 4188442739 Email: sonia.lebel@technopoleds.org Website: www.technopoleds.org Black Coral, 25 Holland Ave, Suite 200, Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 4R9 . Canada | Sales Office: 221 W. Park Avenue . Tallahassee . Florida . 323021774 . USA info@blackcoral.net http://www.blackcoral.net/ General Dynamics Canada http://www.gdcanada.com/ "Canada's C4ISR System Integrator" General Dynamics Canada 3785 Richmond Rd, Ottawa, Ontario K2H 5B7 Tel.: +1 613 5967000 Fax: +1 613 5967396 and expanding to a huge new space at 350 Legget in Kanata Research Park, just down the street from GreenHills Software. General Dynamics Canada 31 Millbrook Avenue Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B2V 0A2 Tel.: +1 902 4063701 Fax: +1 902 4043119 General Dynamics Canada 102068th Avenue N.E. Calgary, Alberta, T2E 8P2 Tel.: +1 403 2956700 Fax: +1 403 7301197 St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency 80 State Highway 310, Suite 6, Canton, New York 13617 (315) 3799806 http://www.slcida.com info@slcida.com Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International Anne Healey, Executive Director, AUVSICanada 60 Queen Street, Suite 1206, Ottawa, ON K1P 5Y7 Tel: 6132347542 Fax: 613 232 1142 healey@auvsicanada.org http://www.auvsicanada.org CAE INC., Ms. Nathalie Bourque, 8585 CôtedeLiesse, St Laurent, Quebec Canada H4L 4X4 Tel: (514) 7345788 Fax: (514) 7345718 Email: nathalie.bourque@cae.com Website: www.cae.com ALLENVANGUARD CORPORATION 5459 Canotek Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1J 9M3 18004299198 16137498343 www.allenvanguard.com http://www.integratir.com/overview.asp?ticker=t.vrs david.luxton@allenvanguard.com, Photo of David Luxton http://www.flickr.com/photos/77536533@N00/2474185541 Def Sec DEFSEC Corporation, David Luxton 304131 Wurtemburg St., Falling Waters Building Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 1J2 Tel: 613 769 5353 http://www.defsec.ca/ (nothing there) dluxton@defsec.ca (613) 7895136 Luxton is also contact person for Ottawa Security Cluster http://securitycluster.com/About_Us/ExCom.html Thales Canada Inc 7190 FrederickBanting Street, Suite 100 StLaurent, Quebec H4S 2A1 Contact: Hélène Fortier Manager, Communications +1 514 832 2935 Thales Canada Inc. David W. Spagnolo, 1 Chrysalis Way, Ottawa, Ontario Canada K2G 6P9 Tel: (613) 7237000 Fax: (613) 7235600 Email: Dave.Spagnolo@ca.thalesgroup.com Website: www.thalesgroup.com/canada Here are some emails for the gentry all grouped together for easy use: info@afceaottawa.ca, rvp_canada@rogers.com, kstewar6@csc.com, claude.gelinas@sun.com, rick@electricstrategies.com, info@defsec.ca, dluxton@defsec.ca, sandra.freeman@sympatico.ca, mmcarthur@ocri.ca, chenderson@lumosenergy.com, SFANJOY@welchandco.ca, mrayat@ocri.ca, david.mcinnes@mdsinc.com, jjames@frontlinerobotics.com, mzipparo@ghs.com, nknudsen@sympatico.ca, bruce.lazenby@hotmail.com, michael_scott@rogers.com, david.luxton@allenvanguard.com, nathalie.bourque@cae.com, chris.stellwag@cae.com, andrew.arnovitz@cae.com, sonia.lebel@technopoleds.org, info@blackcoral.net, phil@philmurray.ca, jhfraser@ix.netcom.com, healey@auvsicanada.org, victoire.lebarazer@thalesgroup.com, caroline.philips@thalesgroup.com, Dave.Spagnolo@ca.thalesgroup.com, inquiries@ca.thalesgroup.com, info@gdcanada.com, Amy.MacLeod@gdcanada.com, See Category "Canada" New MNN Books Available Now! Mohawk Warriors Three - The Trial of Lasagna, Noriega, 20/20 $20.00 usd The Agonizing Death of "Colonialism" and "Federal Indian Law" in Kaianere'ko:wa/Great Law Territory $20.00 usd Who's Sorry Now? The good, the bad and the unapologetic Mohawks of Kanehsatake $20.00 usd The Confusion between The Great Law and The Handsome Lake Code $20.00 usd Rebuilding the Iroquois Confederacy Karoniaktajeh $10 usd Warriors Hand Book Karoniaktajeh $10 usd Mail checks and money orders to... MNN P.O. Box 991 Kahnawake, QC J0L 1B0 Purchase t-shirts, mugs and more at our CafePress Store http://www.cafepress.com/mohawknews Subscribe to MNN for breaking news updates http://www.mohawknationnews.com/news/subscription.php Sign Women Title Holders petition! http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Iroquois Link to MNN Get the code and banners to link to Mohawk Nation News. http://www.mohawknationnews.com/pg.php?page=promote.html Your Support Make a contribution to our newsgroup. 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Shelley Brant: Open letter to Canada and First Nation Leaders An Open Letter to Canada and All First Nation Leaders….. By Shelley Brant Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory August 6, 2008 The recent questionable killing of yet another First Nations man, Craig McDougall 26 by police in Winnipeg has led me to write this letter: How many more inquiries and bodies is it going to take???? How many more unimplemented recommendations???? How many more police lies and cover-ups supported by the governments in this so called great country before people wake up to the truth????? How many more planted weapons in the media and on our own people????? This is the list of First Nations people killed by police across Canada and some have led to inquiries and some haven’t and is probably not even a complete list: Frank Paul, a 47-year-old Mik’maq man - Vancouver- Vancouver police officer dragged the man, soaking wet and unconscious, from the downtown holding cells and dumped him in an alley across town. - Paul had died of hypothermia accelerated by acute alcohol poisoning. Dudley George, aged 38, - Ipperwash - Ontario - was killed by a police sniper during a Native land protest at Ipperwash Provincial Park. Craig McDougall 26 - Winnipeg - shot 4 times by police while on a cell phone with his girlfriend. Matthew Dumas, an 18-year-old Anishnabe, - Winnipeg - was pepper-sprayed, shot twice and killed by a Winnipeg Police officer. Dennis St. Paul - Norway House Cree Nation reserve - Winnipeg - shot and killed by the RCMP. Donald Miles - Winnipeg - shot and killed by police. Howard Fleury - Winnipeg - shot and killed by police. John Joseph Harper - Winnipeg - shot and killed by police. Helen Betty Osbourne 16 - The Pas- police complicity in the murder case of Cree teen The Pas Manitoba. Neil Stone child 17 - Saskatoon - inquiry was released, stating that the Saskatoon police investigation into the 1990 freezing death of the 17-year-old - Saskatoon. Rodney Naistus and Lawrence Wegner - Saskatoon- whose bodies were also found on the outskirts of town in February, 2000 Geronimo Fobister at the Anishnabe - Ontario - reserve of Grassy Narrows Lorraine Jacobsen 40 - British Columbia - on a Kwagiutl reserve at Alert Bay - shot and killed by police. Gerald Chenery, a Nisga’ man - Vancouver - was shot 12 times and killed by two Vancouver cops Michael Langan , Metis 19 - Winnipeg- Death by police taser You stepped into Iraq with the U.S. because of a dictator who was killing his own people, yet there is no difference between mustard gas and police bullets, they are both a permanent means of death, which makes you no better!!!!! Perhaps someone should invade Canada and come to the aid of the First Nations people in this country who are at the mercy of it’s governments and their police forces, just as Canada comes to the aid of people in other countries for the same reasons. I will say right now that I am ashamed to live in a country so full of hatred and racism, to the point where you can’t even trust the very people who are suppose to protect you which are the police not to shoot to kill because you are a First Nations person. There is case after case after case of First Nations people being killed by police who lie and cover up their deaths, only for the ugly truth to come out later yet they get exonerated and you would like people to think these are isolated incidents. They are not, they are country wide and you turn a blind eye because it might stain your quaint reputation. Well I am here to tell you: your secret is out and now we know why the U.N Declaration of Indigenous Rights did not get signed by Canada don’t we. It’s because in Canada we are not considered humans so therefore why should we have any rights that might empower us?????? It is quite apparent that the lives of First Nations people mean nothing in this country and I am ashamed to say it also doesn’t mean a lot to the Native leaders of this country either. If it did the people would not be left on their own to speak out on police killings or attempts, yet they remain silent, all except one group decrying the deaths of two recent First Nations men in Winnipeg. My point???? This going on all across Canada and where is the public outcry from the First Nations leaders???????? It’s going on right here in Ontario, where is the public outcry from the First Nations leaders?????? Have we become so colonized and politicized that the human lives of our own people boil down to who they are???? Does one life means more than another????? Are we so afraid that we might not get a vote or that the government might deny us something that we can’t even speak out and stand up for what is wrong in this country together, even when life and death is at stake?????? Silence means consent as far as I am concerned and if we have lost the meaning and value of human lives, the lives of our own people then we have completely lost who we are as a people. We might as well quit the nation talk and quit the cultural talk and quit the talk about who we are as a people because they are just words, your actions as leaders of all the nations across this country tell me there is nothing left worthy of fighting for. The only things left are an illusion and come from the outside, which has no meaning when it comes to being a First Nations person in this country. I will stand here today and say that I am no longer proud to be a Mohawk woman whose leaders can’t even stand up and do what’s right for their own people and that goes for the rest of the leaders across the country too. I hang my head in shame at both this country and the First Nations leaders it has produced who would rather be silent than stand together with their own people who are systematically being killed by the police in this country!!!!!!!!! Canada you can take your apology and stick it where the sun don’t shine because they are just mere words that mean nothing and perhaps in another 100 years rather than do something about the deaths of First Nations people at the hands of police now, you can apologize again!!!!!! Shelley Brant Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory _______________________________________________ six_nations_info mailing list six_nations_info@masses.tao.ca https://masses.tao.ca/lists/listinfo/six_nations_info

Kahnawake: Teen cyclist killed in SQ chase

"The local police know where people live, and they wouldn't be as reckless and endanger the local children. So why would the officers of police who don't know the neighbourhood have any business on the reserve?" she asked. Police have not released the victim's name.

Update: Hearing pending ... http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=c305a705-d0f4-49d9-93af-c8d977aaf96c Teen cyclist killed when police chase enters Mohawk reserve Last Updated: Friday, August 1, 2008 | 10:58 AM ET Comments28Recommended16 CBC News A 15-year-old was killed while riding his bicycle on the Kahnawake reserve west of Montreal on Wednesday night when he was hit by a car being chased by police from the nearby County of Roussillon. Mohawk peacekeepers said Thursday the cruiser was out of its jurisdiction when it followed the speeding car onto the reserve. Kahnawake police spokesman David Lahache said many aspects the accident are still unknown. "Early on, the Kahnawake peacekeepers called in the assistance of the Sûreté du Québec's accident reconstruction unit to help them with their investigation," he said. Lahache said the 25-year-old driver, who has not yet been identified, will likely face multiple charges, including reckless driving causing death. Roussillon police said they were on the reserve for only a few seconds. But local residents are angry about it. "All the boys and girls in our neighbourhood who know this little boy are being affected — the mothers, parents — everyone is being affected. These are our children that are walking on the streets," said Samantha McComber, who lives in an area called Mohawk Valley right next to the accident scene. Kahente Doxtater also lives in the area. "The local police know where people live, and they wouldn't be as reckless and endanger the local children. So why would the officers of police who don't know the neighbourhood have any business on the reserve?" she asked. Police have not released the victim's name. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story ... chase.html

Six Nations, Brantford - "legal landscape has changed" Provincial Court plays politics? "Injunction hearing set for December" What is this? The Ontario Superior Court in Brantford previously adjourned a motion for a permanent interlocutory injunction against Six Nations to prevent them from interfering with development in Brantford, saying ...

I am mindful that this is an adjournment for what should be a relatively short period of time to allow the parties to compile a complete record to be placed before the judge hearing the motion for the interlocutory injunction.

In adjourning the proceedings, the judge set 'terms' saying ...

[7] In my view, whether the defendants or other aboriginal persons have an interest in the lands described in Schedule A is a triable issue. Further, in my view, irreparable harm will be suffered by the City of Brantford if it is not permitted to control development of, and construction on, lands within its jurisdiction. Thirdly, the balance of convenience favors the plaintiff.

In my view, the judge failed to consider Six Nations Constitutional right to be consulted about all development on their traditional lands, regardless of "triable" 'land claims'. He also failed to consider the 'inconvenience' to Six Nations if land on which they have rights or title is being paved and developed without their consent. Since the Adjournment, an Ontario Court of Appeal decision came down in the case of Ardoch Algonquins v Frontenac Ventures which has significant implications for Brantford. In it, the Appeal Court set aside sentences for 'contempt' for AAFN people violating an injunction. The court further reinforced the fact that the Crown, the company and the First Nation all had a duty to negotiate a resolution of the issue of development on traditional Algonquin land. It is clear that the Brantford judge erred on the side of Brantford in setting terms for adjounment of an injunction that amounted to an injunction anyway. It is also clear that the permanent motion decision must take into account this decision of the Court of Appeal. How best to maintain Brantford's development plans? Hmm ... I know! Let's not 'hear' the case until the construction season is over! YA!! So that is what exactly what Brantford's court has done. As in Haldimand County court, when 'Ontario Superior Courts' act only in defense of the economic development of that community, to the detriment of the Constitutional rights of Indigenous Peoples and their own economic development, one has to ask why the rights of one group are placed above the other's. One might also wonder about the independence of the court. http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1141026 Injunction hearing set for December Lawyers representing the Haudenosaunee Development Institute want a judge to hear the city's application for a permanent injunction. On Friday morning, lawyers filed a motion to set a court date for a hearing on the city's application for a permanent injunction against native protesters. Lou Strezos, one of the lawyers representing HDI, said the first available dates were Dec. 22 and 23. They're hoping to work with the city to find an earlier date to hear the injunction. "We're going to do everything we can to get an earlier date," Strezos said. The city filed for a permanent injunction in May. The injunction would restrain Six Nations protesters from interfering with development sites and grant the city $110 million in damages. That request was turned down, but Justice G. E. Taylor granted a temporary injunction against native protests at a number of contested development sites. The temporary injunction lasts until the parties return to court for a hearing into the permanent injunction. FRONTENAC COUNTY Strezos said they filed the motion in light of a decision in favour of native protesters in Frontenac County. They believe the judge's ruling in that case will mean the city's application for an injunction will be overturned. ... "It's our view that the legal landscape has changed since Justice Taylor issued his decision," Strezos said. However, he stressed that the issue is one for the court to decide. Copyright © 2008 Brantford Expositor

Truth Commission: Ottawa interference? LaForme concerned.

"We have to make sure that our $58-million budget isn't eaten up and virtually clawed back by the government of Canada," he said.

Worry over Ottawa interference delays residential schools truth commission

4 hours ago

TORONTO — The head of a commission set up to help exorcise the demons that haunt the aboriginal survivors of Canada's residential school system is warning that federal government control over spending and administration could threaten the integrity of his mandate.

In an interview, Justice Harry LaForme said political or bureaucratic interference could compromise his fledgling Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the concerns are delaying its startup.

The Ontario Court of Appeal justice said the panel cannot allow itself to be "shackled" by bureaucratic requirements, and that the commissioners, not government, must be able to decide how to spend their $58-million budget.

"It's an issue that's very important," LaForme told The Canadian Press.

"If we've got to answer for the mandate, then we've got to have control of the mandate."

LaForme said it came as "a surprise" to discover the feds had created a secretariat as a government department staffed by civil servants reporting to the minister of Indian Affairs, instead of allowing the commission to set up its own office.

The government is also insisting it appoint the secretariat's executive director as part of its desire to ensure financial accountability.

"There is the potential for this friction with our independence," LaForme said.

LaForme called it imperative the panel, set up June 1 as part of a $1.9-billion class-action settlement, not be seen as an arm of government. He noted that part of its five-year task is to encourage former students and others affected by the tragic legacy to share their experiences in a culturally appropriate and safe manner.

more... http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5iltCyPNxedKkHPN1AhhKWLyVCPMA

It isn't about financial accountability. Sounds to me like a good portion of the TRC money is already being spent, by the Government of Canada, on its own defense! Canada is the accused party to the court's orders. The TRC does NOT pay for Canada's role as a defendant. There's a very important distinction to be maintained here. 1) The TRC is a judicial body created by order of the court. It is independent of politics and political control. That's one budget line. 2) INAC represents Canada, the guilty defendant in a successful class action suit and thus a party to the legal proceedings, with a role in providing their information to the TRC on request, just like the churches, RCMP, etc., and that's from their own budget! To be clear ... The TRC budget does not pay for Canada's information and staffing needs related to Canada's obligations to fully disclose information to the TRC. That doesn't come from the TRC budget. That's INACanada ... but INAC is now unilaterally and systematically sucking back the TRC budget to fund its own obligations. This is outrageous. Email: Strahl.C@parl.gc.ca I am glad Judge LaForme is asserting judicial independence. It is absolutely necessary. INAC is totally out of line, setting itself up to do its own work, by usurping the TRC budget!! g

Deaths in Custody: Neil Stonechild - Officers are still FIRED!

Commission rejects appeal of officers fired after death of Neil Stonechild

The Canadian Press

July 28, 2008 at 6:53 PM EDT

SASKATOON — The Saskatchewan Police Commission has dismissed the appeals of two Saskatoon officers fired after the freezing death of aboriginal teen Neil Stonechild. Constables Larry Hartwig and Brad Senger were dismissed from their jobs in November, 2004, after an inquiry into Stonechild's death ruled the officers had the 17-year-old in their patrol car the last night he was seen alive. Mr. Hartwig and Mr. Senger have always denied they saw Mr. Stonechild that night in November, 1990. The commission ruled it was reasonable to conclude Mr. Stonechild was in the custody of the two officers. The police commission also decided not to consider new evidence of a career criminal who said his former cellmate admitted to beating Mr. Stonechild and dumping him on the outskirts of Saskatoon. The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal earlier rejected a bid to overturn the findings of the public inquiry.

Four RCMP sexually assault aboriginal girl with taser.

Mounties pinned me down in cell and tasered me, Manitoba girl says

JOE FRIESEN

From Friday's Globe and Mail

July 25, 2008 at 3:14 AM EDT

WINNIPEG — A 17-year-old girl says she was tasered three times while confined to an RCMP holding cell in Selkirk, Man.

The girl, who was 16 at the time of the incident, said she was held down by four officers, one for each limb, while a taser was used on her legs and groin area. She said the third shock lasted between five and eight seconds and left her screaming in pain.

She still has scarred skin tissue and irregular shooting pains in her legs, and is seeing a psychologist to deal with the trauma. Her mother wants to know why the officers had to resort to such force when they could have walked away and left her in the locked cell.

The RCMP carried out an internal investigation into the incident, which occurred last November, but the girl's lawyer said the force recently advised them in a letter that it had concluded there was no criminal wrongdoing.

The family will now proceed with a public complaint against the officers involved.

A spokesman for the RCMP said he couldn't comment on the specifics of the case.

But, speaking in general terms, the spokesman added that there's no prohibition against using tasers in cells. They are used when officers feel there is a risk to their safety, he said.

The girl, who was arrested as a minor and can't be named, admits she was behaving badly at the time.

She had been intoxicated and resisted officers when they attempted to put her in the holding cell overnight. She fought back, and eventually four officers threw her into the cell. She says she hit out in anger at the last officer to leave the cell, at which point he called the others back in and they held her down and tasered her.

"I think the tasering of a child under the age of 18 in a locked cell is an abominable and excessive use of force," said the girl's lawyer, Catherine Dunn.

The girl's mother said her daughter was never charged in connection with the incident. It began when her mother came home and found the family van missing and reported it stolen. Police intercepted the vehicle, which was being driven by her daughter's friend, and arrested the group of girls.

The RCMP then told her at the police station that she would be kept overnight because she was intoxicated. She says she panicked, and refused to let go of her chair. Two male officers then physically pulled her away, removed items of her clothing including her bra, and threw her into the cell.

That's when she was tasered.

"She's in a cell. She's no danger to anybody," her mother said. "Whatever she did, she didn't deserve to be tortured like that. ... As a parent, if I did that to a child I would be arrested, charged and my children would be apprehended."

Her mother said she believes her daughter's treatment was exacerbated because she's aboriginal.

The girl, who is a high-school student, said her wounds were painful for days. The taser broke the skin, leaving red and bloody circular marks on her thighs. The police didn't tell the girl's mother about the incident when she picked her up the next morning, and the girl was too ashamed to tell. As a result, the wounds became infected.

The recent death of a 17-year-old boy who was tasered by Winnipeg police brought horrible memories flooding back for the girl. She knew what he was feeling, she said: a hot, burning pain that rips through every muscle.

"I have dreams about it," she said. "It was like an intense, sharp, rushing pain through my whole body. They didn't need to taser me."

Let's see ... 16 ... a minor ... Suppose a parent did that to a teen? The cops would arrest the parent. So who arrests the cops??

Sexual assault with a weapon, threats to a third party or causing bodily harm

272. (1) Every person commits an offence who, in committing a sexual assault,

(a) carries, uses or threatens to use a weapon or an imitation of a weapon;

(b) threatens to cause bodily harm to a person other than the complainant;

(c) causes bodily harm to the complainant; or

(d) is a party to the offence with any other person.

Punishment

(2) Every person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable

(a) if a restricted firearm or prohibited firearm is used in the commission of the offence or if any firearm is used in the commission of the offence and the offence is committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with, a criminal organization, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of

(i) in the case of a first offence, five years, and

(ii) in the case of a second or subsequent offence, seven years;

(a.1) in any other case where a firearm is used in the commission of the offence, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of four years; and

(b) in any other case, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years.

http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/ShowFullDoc/cs/C-46///en