Developer of McKenzie Meadows subdivision in Caledonia cancels build amid ongoing land dispute
For nearly a year, buyers in a planned subdivision in Caledonia have been in limbo, wondering what would become of their McKenzie Road homes - until now.
Foxgate Developments says the build, now a 25-acre front line in the assertion of Indigenous land rights, has been cancelled amid an ongoing occupation by Six Nations land defenders.
Having exhausted our short-term legal options ... we regrettably are writing to declare your agreement of purchase and sale frustrated," David Hill, president of Ballantry Homes, wrote in a June 28 letter obtained by The Spectator. This means that your home will no longer be constructed and the agreement of purchase and sale is hereby terminated."
The McKenzie Meadows housing development - which was rebranded as the McKenzie after it was purchased by Foxgate, a joint venture between Losani Homes and Ballantry Homes, in 2015 - was expected to have more than 200 homes priced in the $300,000 to $600,000 range.
More than three-quarters of the homes - a mix of townhouses and detached homes - representing about 180 buyers were sold pre-construction.
In an email to The Spectator, William Liske, vice-president and chief legal officer for Losani Homes, the Stoney-Creek based real estate developer managing the site, said all deposits paid by homebuyers are being returned."
Deposits range from $20,000 to $50,000 - investments that are protected by Tarion.
It has been nearly 350 days since land defenders stopped work at the construction site, claiming the land was unceded Haudenosaunee territory and renaming it 1492 Land Back Lane.
Despite injunctions - first temporary, now permanent - banning land defenders from the site, the Six Nations-led group has stayed put, erecting a number of buildings, including tiny homes for overnight stays.
After a full year, it has become evident that the court orders will neither be honoured or enforced," Liske said.
For the Haudenosaunee that have occupied the site since July 2020, the decision is a victory" for Indigenous land defence.
It takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of sacrifice. It means putting yourself in harm's way," said Skyler Williams, Land Back Lane spokesperson. But people need to understand that these things are attainable."
Williams said the land could be used to grow the boundaries of the Six Nations reserve, the largest in Canada by population, in order to build communities that people will have pride in coming back to."
But, ultimately, he said, the community will decide the fate of the land.
Foxgate's decision to walk away from the build comes weeks after Ontario Provincial Police commissioner Thomas Carrique wrote in a letter to Haldimand County Mayor Ken Hewitt that the primary role of the OPP is to keep the peace and ensure public safety."
While we have no role to play in the underlying issues of the land dispute, and are not in a position to resolve them, we recognize that such issues are complex and sensitive in nature," the May 25 letter reads.
At the time of the letter, police had laid 256 charges against 50 individuals relating to activity at Land Back Lane. As of January, the estimated cost of policing the site were in excess of $16 million," the letter reads.
Despite Foxgate's decision to walk away from the build, on paper the company maintains ownership despite the land defenders' claims.
In the land title system, we're the owners ... we don't intend on signing over a deed," Liske said. I think it's a situation of people are possessing it and they don't recognize the land title system."
In November, Foxgate told The Spectator its own costs - both financial and reputational - were accumulating," and they postponed new home closings indefinitely."
Our efforts to visit the land to check on services and damage were turned away last fall," Liske said. For safety reasons we remain unable to repair or retrieve any services or equipment."
Prior to the occupation, more than $3 million was spent on sewers, water mains and roadway construction, the developer said.
In April, Foxgate launched a $200-million lawsuit, which has yet to be served, against the Attorney General of Canada, the province and the OPP, as well as the Indigenous land defenders.
Liske said, at this point, it's unclear what will happen to the land.
Both the developer and land defenders have repeatedly called on federal and provincial governments to intervene.
It is absolutely disgusting that this is what it takes in order to get heard," Williams said.
In a similar dispute in Caledonia in 2006, the province bought the Douglas Creek Estates land, now known as Kanonhstaton, from local developers to hold in trust, pending the outcome of land claims negotiations. Six Nations members have remained on the land ever since.
Fifteen years later, the battle over land rights in Caledonia continues.
Williams said without consent you can expect there to be resistance." Douglas Creek and McKenzie Meadows are incremental wins" in a generational struggle."
We do have to take a moment to celebrate those wins, but understand that the work is only just beginning," he said. This is just the very foot of the mountain."
- With files from J.P. Antonacci
Kate McCullough is a Hamilton-based reporter covering education at The Spectator. Reach her via email: kmccullough@thespec.com'