By CP - posted London Free Press
The government has previously encouraged frustrated residents of the southern
Yesterday, the minister responsible for aboriginal affairs said he has no plans to meet with the group because a meeting wasn't formally requested.
David Ramsay said he doesn't have time to meet with residents today but added he would be willing to meet them down the road if they make an appointment.
"We know what's happening on the ground," Ramsay said.
"We know how people's lives are being disrupted. We have great sympathy for that. We're working very hard at the (negotiating) table to resolve this so we can get life back to normal."
Some residents say they don't know how the governing Liberals can have any understanding of what life has been like in the town, just south of
Dan Roberts, who helped organize today's convoy and rally, said few politicians -- with the exception of Conservative Leader John Tory -- have bothered to visit the town that had, at one point, been cut in half by barricades and has seen violent clashes between residents and Six Nations protesters.
After being invited to raise their concerns on the front lawn of the legislature, Roberts said the government's refusal to meet with residents just shows their lack of interest in getting the dispute resolved quickly.
"We get the feeling that they're just not interested in discussing it and would like to bury it," said Roberts, who lives about 30 metres away from the occupied former housing development site.
"With an election coming up, they don't want the