Six Nations land defender Skyler Williams ordered to pay legal fees for Haldimand County, developer
An Ontario Superior Court judge has ordered Haudenosaunee land defender Skyler Williams to pay more than $168,000 in legal fees to Haldimand County and Foxgate Developments, the McKenzie Meadows developer.
In a written ruling released Thursday, Ontario Justice J.R. Harper detailed his reasoning for making permanent a pair of injunctions connected to the occupied McKenzie Meadows construction site, also known as Land Back Lane.
Harper found Williams, a member of the Six Nations group occupying the Caledonia development site, to be the leader of the protesters," ordering him to pay $49,479 - plus $870.67 in HST - to Haldimand County and $117,814.18 to Foxgate Developments.
Substantial sums of money have been invested and many lives have been put on hold due to the conduct of Skyler Williams and the other unknown defendants," the ruling reads.
Harper wrote that he found neither Foxgate nor Haldimand County acted unreasonably." Williams, however, openly admitted he was in contempt of my orders and if a permanent injunction was granted he would not comply," the ruling reads.
William Liske, vice-president and chief legal officer for Losani Homes, one of the Foxgate partners, said the cost award was normal" for court proceedings requiring multiple" appearances and significant" evidence.
The issue of damages is still to be determined," he said in an email to The Spectator. The damages can't be assessed until we have a better understanding of the outcome."
Liske said they are glad" the court definitively settled the issue of ownership" of the disputed property.
The dispute is not a claim to ownership of land as between Foxgate and the Six Nations of the Grand River," he said. We have the greatest of respect for, and no dispute with, the people of the Six Nations. The dispute is between the Six Nations and the Crown in Right of Canada."
Harper ruled on Oct. 22 that by continuing to defy the court order by remaining on the occupied site, Williams disqualified himself from actively participating in court and making constitutional arguments.
In a news conference the same day, Williams called court inherently prejudicial" since it sits on the Haldimand Tract, which is the land on either side of the Grand River that is the subject of ongoing land claims.
I think there's an inherent bias in a court making a ruling such as this, which sees the extinguishment of land rights of Haudenosaunee people permanently," he said.
Williams said they believe the court does not have the authority to make the injunction permanent.
Issues cannot be solved through injunctions, and this is what Foxgate is arguing for. They want this injunction to completely nullify any of those land claims that might be pushed forward," he said. The court itself is sitting on contested land."
In August, Williams was named as a defendant to the injunctions based on his social media presence as a spokesperson for the Land Back group, which could make him liable for the plaintiff's legal bills.
But Williams didn't seem worried about that possibility.
It's hard to get water from a stone, I hear."
- with files from J.P. AntonacciKate McCullough is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: kmccullough@thespec.com