Caledonia and the OPP: We’ll decide what’s illegal around here
July 13, 2006 · By Peter Rempel
Well, it’s day 1,000,000 (or so) of the illegal native occupation of disputed land in Caledonia and the OPP has yet to enforce an injunction and remove those protesters. This despite being called before the judge and being re-ordered to enforce the injunction.
So what we know is that the OPP refuses to listen to the courts and has, if we are to believe the OPP commissioner, received no direction from the government on how to proceed.
Getting back to our political science foundations: What’s it called when the coercive arm of the state refuses to be directed by the judicial or executive branches and instead does whatever the hell it wants?
Anyone from Latin America care to hazard a guess?
I’m just glad Harper has stayed out of it. It’s an Ontario problem, one clearly indicative of what’s wrong with that part of the country. And if Ontarians can’t hold their government and police service accountable, then they need to suffer some more.
The last time I checked, Aboriginal Affairs was federal jurisdiction.
Lyndon Simmons
the land claim is against Ontario, not Canada.
It’s been the native strategy since day #1 to drag the federal government into this conflict. Because Big Mean Steve would be such a better foil than is Dalton. Harper has wisely denied the hooligans this opportunity.
“And if Ontarians can’t hold their government and police service accountable, then they need to suffer some more.”
But it’s Caledonians that are really suffering, as the rest of Ontario buries its head in the sand. I expect Liberals to abandon people when it becomes inconvienent to support them any longer, but the whole province??
Would this happen in Alberta? To quote a great man, “There’s no fucking way.”
Interesting Peter, if the Aboriginals on the Blood Reserve blocked the road between Lethbridge and Cardston, what would Alberta do differently?
“Interesting Peter, if the Aboriginals on the Blood Reserve blocked the road between Lethbridge and Cardston, what would Alberta do differently?”
I was referring to the OPP’s abandonment of the Caledonian citizens.
But if there was a provincial police force in Alberta, hopefully it would deal with any blockades with a fast moving tank, followed up by tear gas and dogs off their leads.
As per Lyndon’s comment, one can only hope Alberta would provide the political cover to the RCMP (the province’s rent-a-cop) to enforce the necessary court injunctions, especially if the RCMP was the least bit nervous about it.
It seems to me that McGuinty’s government has abandoned not only Caledonia but the OPP. And for its part, instead of the commissioner of the OPP saying flat out the government has abandoned them, that there has to be political support for their actions, she has chosen the worst possible route: not enforce a court injuction, twice instantiated and still unrevoked, and thereby not uphold the rule of law. The Commissioner and the OPP are merely trying to hold on to their jobs and avoid culpability at some “inquiry” down the road. The Commissioner should have told McGuinty she would resign if he did not provide the necessary support for the police to take the court ordered action. So Ontario is left with both McGuinty and the OPP as complete and utter chicken shits on Caledonia. And civil society in Ontario is left wanting.
As per Rempel’s comment 4, point taken. But the longer Caledonia continues the uglier it will become, the more native bands across Ontario will try for the same strategy, the harder it is for the rest of the province to bury its head in the sand. So again, clearly Ontario needs to suffer some more if Caledonia hasn’t awoken wide spread anger across Ontario yet.
Actually fella’s, your prejudice against Native’s aside, you are all missing the real point behind the inaction of the OPP.
The judge who ordered the Government to disband the roadblock did have have the legal power to do so. What is really happening in reality is that the Provincial government has appealed the order from the court to impose the injunction, and the appeal process is still taking place. Is that enough due process and civil society for you?
It’s amazing how folks like Peter Rempel can talk this way about Native people, not really aware of the issues. All Peter knows is “Brown Bad, White Good”…life is simpler that way.
You can call it whatever you want, the rest of the world calls it “bigotry”. Look it up.
This person apparently knows nothing about judicial process.
I may not be a legal expert, so I asked my professor about it in my Public Law class. You can argue with him if you want. The fact is that the judge did not have the legal power to grant that injunction.
Go and ask any Lawyer who knows anything about aboriginal rights.
Type your comment here.
Absolutely right, throbbin, and here is the decision of the Court of Appeal:
http://www.ontariocourts.on.ca.....C45933.htm
Judge Marshall “erred” in his application of the rule of law: He forgot a few laws, like the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the right to procedural fairness.
People already ’sentenced’ to Judge Marshall’s court are now experiencing another go-round of his unfair and illegal ‘procedures’.
And Peter fucking Rempel … how fucking old are you? You sound like someone who enjoys causing and watching people’s pain. Why don’t you just stick to pulling wings off flies until yoou grow up, eh? But no worries … there’s a somewhat warm cell waiting for you … somewhat above freezing … somewhat below human comnfort level. Hang in there, there’s free room and board courtesy of the taxpayer in your future!
Any Land Claim is a federal case. And the Federals have simply ran away from any and all obligations of indian rights protected under the constitution.. And to the Calidonia Matter.. Chief Joe Brant signed and sold land without the consent of the other 5 Chiefs whom settled and signed the land agreements with Canada.
So the problem is that the Land like the rest of the Land Claims has been Laundered and resold with the consent of the government. I think the Natives have a very valid right at there land…
All Canadians are affected by what is happening in Caledonia, not just the locals. And everyone should be concerned by the actions of the OPP; which have consisted of ignoring the crimes of Native protestors and arresting any white protestor who so much as blinks twice. That’s the kind of system Canada went to war for twice in the last century?? I don’t blame the Natives. If I were one I’d be right there with them. The problem is the totally fucked-up political system in Canada, and the cops possessing far too much power. The cops have been told to arrest whites and ignore the Natives. They don’t want to admit it, and they don’t want to piss off their employers by saying so. The cops could do the right thing and ignore these orders, but that would take guts and we can’t expect that from the enforcers of political correctness.
I’m offering a solution to the “INDIAN” problem.
I think every non aboriginal in Canada should pay a tax just to remain living here.
Since the majority are all decendents of people who migrated here……from somewhere else…….we should all go back to where our ancestors came from.