Re: "Protesters pose no threat: Hazel Hill". (Grand River Sachem. Friday June 30, 2006)
Thank you, Hazel, for reassuring the residents of Caledonia that the protesters will not be threatening anyone with their presence on the Douglas Creek Estates (DCE) in Caledonia. Thank-you, for your reassurances that all those nasty rumours of re-routing water, building bunkers, filling half built houses with gasoline drenched tires, stock piling Molotov cocktails, terrorizing residents with verbal abuse, handing out eviction notices and blocking rail lines were completely off base.
It is less "distressing" to read that the peaceful protesters didn't create the "rowdy behaviour" at DCE; that these people were "Non-Native Outsiders". It must be a typoâ that some of the arrest warrants issued and publicized by the O.P.P. had Ohsweken addresses written on them. No doubt they were probably paid agitators like the Caledonia residents group that bussed their way to Queen's Park on June 21, 2006, as your fellow "peaceful protester" Doreen Silversmith pointed out. I am even further less stressed with the knowledge that there are no guns or ammunition on site.
Sorry if I sound skeptical, but here's why:
Could you please explain to me what that big piece of plywood slapped against one of the houses on DCE with the long narrow rectangular opening might be used for. If it is not for fortification, then what is it? The residents in the area who have to stare at that all day long deserve an explanation. No wonder they don't want to have barbeques in their backyards. So why are 200 plus O.P.P. officers still on standby every weekend? Why did I see a police helicopter fly into Unity Road OPP headquarters? Why was there a guy with his face covered waving the Unity flag on the Six Line overpass as I drove under it at the start of the Canada Day weekend? Why are there still scores of hydro towers lying on their sides strewn on either side of the bypass? If there is "no threat", then there is no reason why the Hydro One work crews can't finish the project. Why is there a constant police presence at the gates of the transformer station? Why are there still five arrests warrants outstanding from the June 9 fiasco? Why are there still visual effects of an occupation when there is a moratorium?
If I give you the "benefit-of-the-doubt", will you mind if I stop my car on Argyle Street and take a few pictures of Surry Street on DCE without your permission so that my grandchildren can use the images for their school projects one day? Can I then assume your patrolling security apparatus won't mind if my kids were to take a walk along the CN Rail line adjacent to DCE without being harassed? Would I be able to, maybe, do an interview with a CH TV cameraman on the Canadian Tire parking lot without both of us getting our bells rung?
Finally, I would like to point out as I write this note on Canada Day, that the term "Colonialists" hardly applies any more. That word became redundant exactly 139 years ago today, when Canada became a Dominion. Look it up. I would agree with you if you were Pocahontas - sitting on a beach watching European colonial ships come in for the first time, however, "you're no Pocahontas." Perhaps the good people of the Six Nations, whose opinions should be valued, need a better spokesperson-someone who can tone down the rhetoric and explain to us why Caledonia still needs to be occupied.
Rick Vanderwyk,
Caledonia