Caledonia development occupation continues despite court order

A pair of court injunctions aimed at Indigenous land activists remain in force as the occupation of a Caledonia construction site continues.

With supporters of 1492 Land Back Lane rallying outside a Brantford courthouse Tuesday morning, Superior Court Justice R. John Harper extended two injunctions he had previously granted on behalf of Foxgate Developments and Haldimand County.

The first injunction orders the Six Nations group occupying the planned McKenzie Meadows housing development to leave the site and remove any structures they have put up since moving in on July 19.

The second forbids the group from protesting on public roadways. The county sought that blanket injunction in response to the barricades that went up on Argyle Street and Highway 6 after the OPP arrested nine self-described land defenders" at the site on Aug. 5.

The Land Back group took down the road barricades last week, saying they wanted to return attention to their assertion that the McKenzie Road site is unceded Haudenosaunee territory. But Harper agreed with Woody McKaig, the lawyer representing Haldimand County, who argued that the group could put the barricades back up at any time.

Nothing has changed," Harper said, adding that the occupiers have chosen not to respond in court and have instead taken a lawless approach" to the injunctions.

That can only hurt the community - Indigenous and beyond," he said.

Six Nations member Skyler Williams said taking the land defenders to court undercuts hopes for nation-to-nation dialogue" over the land claim.

Extending the injunction indefinitely is ridiculous, and it's further criminalization of land defenders," said Williams, who was named as a defendant to the injunctions based on his social media presence as a spokesperson for the Land Back group.

That 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," he said.

Foxgate lawyer Paul DeMelo said the occupiers are causing irreparable harm" to the planned subdivision, noting that Williams also took part in the Indigenous occupation of the former Douglas Creek Estates in Caledonia 14 years ago.

His actions now, as in 2006, have caused significant damage to the community," DeMelo said.

Williams countered that Foxgate's plan to build on disputed territory is the real problem.

Covering our community in concrete and asphalt is significant damage," he said. Our connection to the land, our connection to who we are as Haudenosaunee people, that's what needs to be respected."

DeMelo described Foxgate's land title research to ensure the McKenzie Meadows site was legally available for purchase, a claim the occupiers reject. He also referred to an accommodation" of Six Nations elected council with cash and land elsewhere.

My clients have no dispute with the Six Nations community ... They have gone over and above their legal obligations," DeMelo said, noting that the builders are not involved in the long-running land claim between Six Nations and Ottawa.

But they are unfortunately the ones who are caught in the middle of this dispute," he said.

Two Haudenosaunee women who attempted to read a statement aloud during the hearing were admonished by the judge for disrupting the proceedings and not submitting their remarks in advance for all sides to review.

One of the unidentified women persisted in voicing her objection to development on the Haldimand Tract. The judge was about to order her to leave, but she evidently did so of her own accord.

In a statement released through the Yellowhead Institute - an Indigenous-led think tank based at Ryerson University in Toronto - a group of Haudenosaunee women voiced their displeasure with the court proceedings.

We oppose the broad use of injunctions that are meant to stifle our people from seeking justice," the statement read in part. These matters are complex and we do not believe this court is the appropriate forum to deliberate our concerns or resolve our issues."

Williams has called court injunctions colonial tools" to push Indigenous people off their land, a view bolstered by Indigenous rights lawyer Kate Gunn of First Peoples Law Corporation.

In a blog post, Gunn noted that Indigenous groups have used injunctions to stop development on their territory. But in recent years, developers and other corporations have been much more successful in obtaining injunctions to keep Indigenous activists from interfering with their projects.

It is worth considering why, in measuring the balance of convenience, economic interests are so frequently found to outweigh the protection of Indigenous peoples' title and rights," Gunn said.

J.P. Antonacci's reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows him to report on stories about the regions of Haldimand and Norfolk.