Indigenous group says it will not block Hamilton sewage cleanup
The Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) says it will not try to prevent" the long-delayed cleanup of Chedoke Creek and argues the city should abandon legal efforts to effectively ban the group from the work site.
Hamilton has requested an urgent court hearing in the hopes of forcing Ontario to legally intervene in an increasingly messy dispute with the Indigenous group over the government-ordered sewage cleanup. Dredging is supposed to start next month and finish by Oct. 31.
Ontario ordered the cleanup after The Spectator revealed the extent of a four-year, 24-billion-litre sewage spill.
Dredging was set to start last summer - but work halted after the contractor said repeated visits to the site by HDI members posed a safety hazard."
In a new letter submitted to both the city and province, the Haudenosaunee group criticized the court application and argued its members have a constitutionally protected" right under treaty to visit the creek.
The Indigenous group has argued the project should not go ahead until the city funds a review of the cleanup plan and seeks consent" from hereditary Haudenosaunee chiefs. It's latest letter urges both Ontario and city to meaningfully engage" with the group over the project.
By contrast, the Six Nations elected band council supports the cleanup.
Regardless, HDI lawyer Tim Gilbert called the city's legal manoeuvres unnecessary.
The Haudenosaunee people will exercise their treaty rights but will not block access to the site, prevent any dredging work, nor cause a work stoppage," he wrote. Gilbert also said the group has never obstructed any work" at the site.
But that assertion is at odds with the city's court application, which says HDI members paddled into the dredging site last summer, tied a canoe to the dredging machine and set up a tent and campfire in the construction zone. The city said the group will continue to impede access" without legal intervention.
The city has asked the courts to force the province to issue an access order" against HDI requiring the group to allow dredging to go ahead unimpeded.
The Ministry of Environment opposes the court application, arguing the order is unnecessary. In a new court filing May 8, the province also suggested HDI cannot be subject to an access order because it is not a legal entity."
Regardless, a panel of divisional court judges is tentatively slated to hear the city's application June 13.
If the judges decline to force provincial intervention, the city has asked the court to quash" the latest cleanup deadline.
Last year, Hamilton police advised the city to seek a direct court injunction against any HDI members camping or otherwise interfering with the work site. In a report to councillors, city staff said they viewed that as a remedy of last resort" that would hurt relationships with Indigenous communities.
Meanwhile, the elected council for Six Nations of the Grand River has also written to the province to urge expedited" action on the cleanup.
Chief Mark Hill argued the city conducted appropriate consultation even if obstructions have been created by individuals that may not have the Six Nations community's interest in mind."
Matthew Van Dongen is a transportation and environment reporter at The Spectator. mvandongen@thespec.com