Haldimand police board walks back ‘terrorist’ talk in Caledonia standoff
More than two months after calling the occupiers of a Caledonia construction site terrorists," Haldimand County's police services board has changed its tune - somewhat.
In September, board members complained that the OPP was not addressing acts of aggression, violence and intimidation" carried out by the Six Nations-led group that has claimed the McKenzie Road site as unceded Haudenosaunee land.
The land defenders set up street barricades and dug up roads and rail lines to entrench their position - tactics the board called acts of terrorism."
The board acknowledges that these words should not have been used," reads an apology issued Dec. 2. The board also acknowledges that terrorism and terrorists can only be legally determined by the courts."
Board chair Brian Haggith told The Spectator that by issuing the clarification, the board wanted to refocus attention on the OPP's handling of the ongoing dispute.
We thought that we would retract that statement and offer an apology to anyone who was upset by that terminology," Haggith said.
Board members remain frustrated by the OPP's inaction as land defenders ignore court orders to clear the streets and leave the disputed territory, which they have named 1492 Land Back Lane.
The board believes that there should only be one rule of law in Canada, and the board also believes that anyone who commits a criminal act - whether Aboriginal or not - they must be held accountable, and they must be dealt with in an unbiased, consistent manner by the police," Haggith said.
Board members want the OPP's playbook for handling Indigenous land disputes - known as the Framework for Police Preparedness for Indigenous Critical Incidents - to be reviewed and revised."
It just doesn't seem to be working," said Haggith.
The Land Back group was unmoved by the apology, saying that the board fundamentally fails to understand" that Indigenous nations have our own laws, customs and cultures."
By labelling Haudenosaunee land defence as lawlessness and terrorism,' the board is perpetuating the systemic discrimination that keeps Indigenous peoples from fair representation within the Canadian legal system," read a statement sent to The Spectator.
The land defenders repeated their call for the entire police services board to resign and for political leaders to engage in a resolution to our dispute that is not led by police."
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.