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6 responses to “Native Blockade Shuts Down Caledonia’s Douglas Creek Estates”

1. 

   Bobbi Ann Brady

   March 3, 2023

   UPDATE— Minister Rickford, who is in charge at Six Nations?
    By MPP Bobbi Ann Brady
   Last Tuesday was the 17th anniversary of the Douglas Creek Estates’ land occupation in Caledonia. Seventeen years later, two governments later, nothing has changed except a second occupied site. There needs to be leadership or clarity regarding productive Indigenous relations on development matters.
   On the anniversary, I seized the opportunity to question Ontario’s Minister of Indigenous Affairs, Greg Rickford, on who is in charge at Six Nations. There has yet to be a clear direction from the province on whom would-be developers or investors should consult with — Chief Mark Hill has claimed that he and the Six Nations of the Grand elected council is the authority. At the same time, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC), a collective of hereditary leaders and supporters, takes exception to this and says the elected council does not represent the Haudenosaunee people on any issue. To complicate the situation of authority further, there exists the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI), which is, in essence, a development arm of the HCCC and collects fees from developers.
   While this battle ensues on who represents the Haudenosaunee people who are Six Nations band members, those trying to do business either end up paying fees to HDI or being scared away because they are uncertain what the rules are. Haldimand County Council has attempted to obtain clarification from the minister but has yet to succeed — that’s not the county’s failure! The most recent attempt was at the Rural Ontario Association of Municipalities (ROMA) convention in January.
   At a recent news conference, a reporter also attempted to seek clarification. Again, the minister did not answer the question.
   Thinking the third time may be the charm, I stood in the Ontario Legislature to ask Minister Rickford what the policy was. I assure you, there was no charm. In his initial response, I thought for a moment that he was the Minister of Energy as he took a great deal of time to detail the Oneida Energy Project. By the end of his initial response, I was still waiting for an answer to the critical question.
   I doubled down and reminded him of Chief Hill’s sentiments. Knowing full well he had the final word and that  I would not have the opportunity to respond, he said: “If this member really understood the dynamics and the responsibilities of different levels of government, it would be perfectly clear to her that the most important thing that the province can do is work with the elected council of Six Nations of the Grand and, as the chief has explicitly requested, to have many of these issues and many of these opportunities settled at the community level.”
   His disrespect did not go over well on my social media feeds. Not to worry, I have broad shoulders. At the end of the day, if the minister is working with Chief Hill, that’s fantastic news. Still, perhaps he should also communicate with others who have a stake in the issue – like Haldimand County, which has good relationships with Six Nations. I also wonder why it’s taking the minister so long to reveal the framework….time is ticking, and money is being lost.
   I understand the Crown has a duty to consult, and the province has gladly handed that duty down to the municipalities without a framework. Municipalities are instructed by the province to engage Indigenous communities but are attempting and taking best guesses on meeting a non-defined standard. It’s inappropriate.
   This deflection and poor behavior frustrates those wanting to work toward common goals and foster good relationships. I don’t deny this is a complex issue, but ministers are, at times, required to make tough decisions.
   Bobbi Ann Brady is the MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk

2. 

   The Silo

   March 1, 2023

   Brady demands answers from Indigenous Affairs Minister

   QUEEN’S PARK—Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Bobbi Ann Brady, on the 17th anniversary of the Douglas Creek Estates land occupation, asked the Minister of Indigenous Affairs Greg Rickford, with whom Haldimand County should be consulting at Six Nations.

   “Would-be investors and developers are scared away from Haldimand County because they aren’t sure what the rules are…Haldimand County asked the minister for clarification at ROMA, and no answer was given,” stated Brady.

   The local MPP then pointed to the fact that the Ford government was at Six Nations on February 10th to announce the Oneida energy project.

   “Speaker, the minister was part of the entourage, and he was asked by a reporter with whom the government consulted on this project,” said Brady. “Was it the elected council, the Haudenosaunee Development Institute, or both? The minister didn’t answer the question.”

   MPP Brady doubled down and reminded Minister Rickford that Six Nations Chief Mark Hill has made it clear he believes his elected government is the one with which consultations must occur. Knowing this and having a good working relationship with Six Nations, Haldimand County sought clarification at ROMA in January. Still, it was denied an answer or any clear and concise policy framework.

   Brady explained that the Crown has a duty to consult, and the province has handed that duty down to the county in the absence of a framework. Municipalities are told by the province to engage Indigenous communities but attempt to meet a non-defined standard.

   Of note was that Brady emerged from the House incensed by the minister’s disrespectful inference that she does not understand the situation’s complexities.

   “The person I think didn’t understand the issue was the minister who spoke about the Oneida energy project and not the question at hand, and twice he did not answer the question I asked. This type of deflection and disingenuous behavior is frustrating for all those wanting to work toward common goals and fostering good relationships,” Brady concluded.

3. 

   Toby Barrett

   January 8, 2021

   Fifteen years of lawlessness in Caledonia must end

   Next month marks the 15th anniversary of the illegal occupation of Caledonia’s
   Douglas Creek Estates subdivision, and the consequent 15 years of road blockades,
   detours, intimidation, and confrontation.

   Next month also marks the blockade of the Caledonia Bypass, one year ago on February
   24, in support of the Wet’suwet’en Coastal Gaslink pipeline project — part of the
   ‘Shut Down Canada’ movement.

   As with railroads across Canada, last February also saw the shutdown of the CN Line
   from Caledonia to the Nanticoke Industrial Park. This followed police action to
   clear the railway blockade at Deseronto, Ontario, enforcing a court injunction on
   behalf of CN Rail, and following a statement by Prime Minister Trudeau that
   blockades “must come down and the [court] injunctions must be obeyed and the law
   must be upheld.”

   On July 19, 2020, yet another subdivision, McKenzie Meadows on McKenzie Road was
   occupied by force and, as with Douglas Creek Estates, remains occupied to this day.

   In response to the reading of a court order to vacate the property and the arrest of
   some of the occupiers, a round of destruction ensued on August 5. Militants set fire
   to roads on the south side of town, as well as to the Caledonia Bypass. Construction
   equipment was stolen and torched. Local firefighters were attacked. And, again the
   CN Railroad was vandalized and shut down.

   On October 22, Justice John Harper made two permanent injunctions to clear the roads
   and vacate McKenzie Meadows. Activists set fire to roads once again, and to a
   transformer pole cutting hydro to neighboring homes. A stolen excavator was used to
   destroy tracks and the control box at the CN Line.

   As well, a trench was excavated across the Caledonia Bypass, across Argyle Street,
   and two trenches across McKenzie Road. Yet again, area residents are subjected to
   the nuisance and danger of heavily traveled detours to bypass Caledonia.

   Since October, the Caledonia stalemate has been symbolized by a school bus blocking
   Argyle Street, the main thoroughfare of town — a bus stolen from an adjacent church
   parking lot and crushed into a trench dug by a stolen excavator.

   As you can imagine, I have received hundreds of emails and phone calls about this
   destruction and defiance of our society’s laws. I have received hundreds of
   thousands of communications since the first act of lawlessness on February 28, 2006.

   A recent email from a Caledonia resident summarizes much of the position of the
   people I represent: “This is about the terrorization of an entire community, lawless
   acts of intimidation, assault and willful destruction of infrastructure. The issue
   now should be about the government regaining control and restoring some semblance of
   civilized order back into the town of Caledonia.”

   With respect to this ongoing crisis, I advocate and remain in communication with
   hundreds of people — not only constituents but also all provincial government MPPs,
   Cabinet Members, and the Premier.

   For 15 years my position remains steadfast — we have our institutions of government
   and law for a reason. Living in a free and democratic society, we in Ontario have
   one law for all – nobody is above the law. The credibility of government is lost and
   policy is doomed to failure when the law and democratic processes are allowed to be
   sabotaged.

   Toby Barrett MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk

4. 

   The Silo

   December 7, 2020

   UPDATE—

   Bring Caledonia to a peaceful resolution for all sides

   In 2006, a pyramid of tires was set alight on the main thoroughfare of Caledonia,
   signaling what was to come. The Stirling Street Bridge was torched, permanently
   ending access to that side of town. A stolen van thrown off the 6th Line overpass,
   blocking the Highway 6 bypass around Caledonia. The rail line between Caledonia and
   Nanticoke shut down. This destruction supported the February 28, 2006, illegal
   occupation of the Douglas Creek Estates subdivision.

   The ensuing 14-and-a-half years has seen continued chaos and confrontation, stand
   off and stalemate, propaganda war and failed negotiation.

   And then, this past February 24, we again saw the blockade of the Caledonia bypass
   and the CN Line as part of an Indigenous national insurgence of rail blockades in
   support of West Coast Wet’suwet’en Coastal Gaslink pipeline protestors. July 19th
   brought us yet another Caledonia subdivision occupation – in this case the McKenzie
   Meadows land development just east of Douglas Creek Estates.

   Ensuing months have seen theft of heavy equipment – bulldozers, excavators — and
   the digging of trenches across Highway 6, McKenzie Road and Caledonia’s main
   thoroughfare, Argyle Street. Militants crushed a school bus into the trench
   barricading Argyle Street, after they stole it from the parking lot of a nearby
   church. In what is probably the most blockaded railroad in Canada, the CN tracks and
   equipment have again been destroyed at 6th Line.

   I have been involved since day one – February 28, 2006, – and have witnessed much of
   the destruction, the fistfights, and the intimidation. Many have now given up the
   fight or, like most Canadians, are uninformed or indifferent to this debacle.

   Our hope lies within our centuries-old institutions of governance and justice.
   Canada is unique in much of the world – I have been in 60 countries – where we abide
   by the agreed-upon rule of law. No one is above the law of the land, with the
   exception of Canada’s longest-running Indigenous insurrection – Caledonia.

   If this sorry saga tells us anything, it is that there is a significant difference
   in the McGuinty government response to an illegal occupation compared to that of the
   Ford government – the Ford government honours court orders.

   After the 2006 Cayuga court order by Justice David Marshall, then Premier McGuinty
   sent taxpayer-funded lawyers to argue that since he welcomed the occupiers on the
   government’s recently purchased Douglas Creek Estates, there should be no injunction
   against their presence. During the Liberal government’s appeal of Justice Marshall’s
   order, lawyers pointed out that the province did not wish to remove the occupiers
   and, therefore in essence, did not believe the protestors were breaking the law.

   Fourteen years later, with the occupation of McKenzie Meadows, and the blockading of
   roads, both the homebuilder and the county have secured temporary and now permanent
   injunctions. The Ford government supports these court orders. Following the reading
   and posting of these injunctions, as of November 25th, 39 arrests have been made and
   221 charges laid by the Ontario Provincial Police.

   In the context of the on-going criminal and dangerous activity in the subdivisions
   and on the roads of Caledonia, clearly police, provincial and local officials have
   been unable to manage circumstances in the absence of federal leadership.

   The underlying issue is, and always has been, federal. We need the federal
   government to intervene and bring this conflict to a peaceful resolution for all
   parties.

   Toby Barrett MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk

5. 

   Bobbi Ann Brady-Dwornikiewicz

   September 18, 2017

   Barrett reiterates demand for Caledonia compensation

   QUEEN’S PARK – Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett has reiterated his call for compensation to businesses and homeowners in the wake of the Argyle Street blockade.
   During Question Period this week, Barrett explained to the Ontario Legislature that the month-long blockade put “businesses and homeowners through psychological and economic hell.”

   “Many customers faced a six-mile detour, businesses lost 25 to 60 per cent, staff were let go or had hours cut,” he said. “Homeowners expressed concern about property values, and compromised service from firefighters, police and ambulance.”

   In a previous media report, Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation David Zimmer was quoted: “The province’s role in the standoff is one, essentially, of standing back and letting the Six Nations community resolve this issue.”

   Barrett concluded his first question by asking, “What steps have you taken to arrange compensation – as has been done in the past – for Caledonia and area homeowners and businesses.” He directed his questions to the acting premier on Wednesday because Premier Kathleen Wynne was absent to testify in the Sudbury by-election trial.

   Not satisfied with the answer from the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation that basically just recounted what had occurred, Barrett continued his line of questioning back to the acting premier.

   “On Sept. 2, a local newspaper reported that when a fire was set on the Southern Ontario Railway in Caledonia, a Caledonia fire truck was not allowed to pass through the barricade, not allowed to put it out,” Barrett said.

   “On Sept. 4, Labour Day, police attempted to secure Haldimand County Sixth Line at the bridge. Again, to quote another local paper, they ‘were sent away by protesters and ordered to take up a position further back, which they did.’

   “We’ve seen this film before – no firefighters, no police, and no customers in the stores,” Barrett continued. “Caledonia now worries, when will this happen again? Acting premier, have you and the federal government . . . my question is are you working with the federal government – as in the past – to compensate residents of Caledonia?”

   Again, the government dodged the question and did not address the issue of compensation, saying what occurred 10 years ago was different since there was peaceful resolution this time. Barrett attempted to interject that it’s now been 11-1/2 years.

   “The point here is that 10 years ago there was a situation in Caledonia that went on and on and on, and there were real issues of public safety,” Zimmer argued. “This time, there was a blockade that went up and issues developed. But the point, again, is that all persons involved in the resolution of that blockade, be they police, fire responders, first responders, the ministry of indigenous affairs or the Ontario Provincial Police—it was resolved peacefully. That’s progress. That’s in the spirit of reconciliation.”

   Barrett has indicated he will continue to push for compensation for Caledonia businesses and homeowners.

   For more information, contact MPP Toby Barrett at 519-428-0446 or toby.barrett@pc.ola.org Please mention The Silo, when contacting.

   YOUTUBE link

   https://youtu.be/K9agcpty3WU

   ONTARIO LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

   OFFICIAL HANSARD

   Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017

   Indigenous land dispute

   Mr. Toby Barrett: To the Acting Premier: From August 10 to September 4, Labour Day, the main thoroughfare of Caledonia was blockaded, putting businesses and homeowners through psychological and economic hell. More specifically, many customers faced a six-mile detour, businesses lost 25% to 60%, and staff were let go or had their hours cut. Homeowners expressed concern about property values and compromised service from firefighters, police and ambulance. However, on September 1, your government announced it was standing down from dealing with the Caledonia blockade.

   Acting Premier, what steps have you taken to arrange compensation, as has been done in the past, for Caledonia and area homeowners and area businesses?

   Hon. Deborah Matthews: To the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation.

   Hon. David Zimmer: The member opposite is quite correct: There was a blockade that was put up a couple of weeks ago. Our ministry, the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, took that situation very seriously, as did the Six Nations elected council and the Haudenosaunee Traditional Confederacy.

   I can assure the members opposite and everyone in this House that after a series of negotiations with First Nations, with the Ontario Provincial Police and with the various ministries that blockade was peacefully ended. I want to congratulate and recognize the hard work of the Ontario Provincial Police in working in a way that was respectful of the Six Nations, the Haudenosaunee and the government of Ontario.

   The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I’m going to allow the supplementary.

   Mr. Toby Barrett: This past month was a nightmare yet again for people in the Caledonia area, and I’ve dealt with many ministries.

   On September 2 a local newspaper reported that when a fire was set on the Southern Ontario Railway in Caledonia, a Caledonia fire truck was not allowed to pass through the barricade, not allowed to put it out.
   On September 4, Labour Day, police attempted to secure Haldimand county Sixth Line at the bridge. Again, to quote another local paper, they “were sent away by protesters and ordered to take up a position further back, which they did.”

   We’ve seen this film before—no firefighters, no police, no customers in the stores. Caledonia now worries: “When will this happen again?”

   Acting Premier, my question is: Are you working with the federal government, as has been done in the past, to compensate residents of Caledonia?

   Hon. David Zimmer: Thank you again for that question. The point here is that 10 years ago there was a situation in Caledonia that went on and on and on, and there were real issues of public safety. This time, there was a blockade that went up and issues developed. But the point, again, is that all persons involved in the resolution of that blockade, be they police, fire responders, first responders, the ministry of indigenous affairs or the Ontario Provincial Police—it was resolved peacefully. That’s progress. That’s in the spirit of reconciliation.

   We will continue to deal with issues involving matters that First Nations raise, wherever in the province. We will deal with them in a respectful way and in a peaceful way to a constructive resolution.

6. 

   Staff of MPP Barrett

   November 17, 2015

   ‘Power line to nowhere’ costing taxpayers millions

   QUEEN’S PARK – In Caledonia, an unfinished power line stands as a symbol of unresolved conflict as it continues to cost taxpayers millions of dollars in wasted money.

   Originally intended to bring power from the Allanburg Transformer Station in Niagara to the heart of southwestern Ontario, the power line terminates at Caledonia. More specifically, the electrical wires are anchored to the ground and not used. Parts of the towers were removed and have been used to block roads during the Caledonia conflict. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of dollars damage to the towers, millions paid to Hydro One in interest, there was $1million in fire damage at the Caledonia transformer station at the time.

   Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett raised the issue while speaking to Bill 135, the Energy Statute Law Amendment Act in the Legislature on Monday.

   “In addition to the $100 million in capital cost to build this power line, taxpayers have paid nearly $50 million to date in interest alone for a power line that has never transmitted any electricity, certainly in the last nine-and-a-half years,” Barrett explained in the Legislature.

   He called on the Minister of Energy to complete the power line, even if it means getting an injunction to allow construction to go ahead.

   “Like the 2010 film ‘Road to Nowhere’, the ‘Power Line to Nowhere’ is a flop,” Barrett said. “The tragedy remains, it’s the people of Ontario losing the money and continuing to pay for this flop.”

   Barrett also again raised the issue of protesters holding up completion of the Highway 3 bridge in Cayuga and the potential for conflict with the Caledonia bridge slated for rebuild.

   For more information, contact MPP Toby Barrett at 519-428-0446 or toby.barrett@pc.ola.org Please mention The Silo when contacting.

   OFFICIAL HANSARD

   LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

   NOV. 16, 2015

   Mr. Toby Barrett: I appreciate the opportunity to join this discussion on Bill 135, which has a rather unimaginative title: the Energy Statute Law Amendment Act, 2015. It’s not a particularly gripping title. It really doesn’t tell us what’s in this legislation. In fact, the Minister of the Environment made a very brief speech about this and really didn’t tell us about anything that’s in it. I don’t know whether the parliamentary assistant explained what’s in this legislation either. So here we have a title that’s kind of repetitive: It’s a statute; it’s an act; it’s a bill; it’s a law. I’m not sure, if you pull out a dictionary, if a lot of people understand the difference in meaning between a statute and a law and a bill and an act. It is unfortunate that it has been written this way. This probably isn’t the reason, but I haven’t had any phone calls about this bill; I haven’t had any emails.

   I knew I was going to be speaking to this today, so I googled the legislation on the weekend—there’s nothing there. The bill is there. Hansard is there. There’s a list of the various acts that it amends, but there are no comments from the public; there has been nothing in the media. I’m not sure if this government sent out any news releases about this legislation. Again, I just really ask the question: Where is the citizen participation? Where’s the involvement of people in this province with respect to what we’re told could be enshrining in law some very significant changes, changes that maybe have been going on for years under the table—and finally decided to make them legal?

   So, Speaker, we have a bill before us: It’s an act to amend several statutes, to change some regulations and to deal with long-term energy planning. In a very brief statement in the House—I mean the minister had an hour to talk about this—he talked about increasing competition, it’s still a little unclear how that’s going to occur, and to enhance ratepayer value; that’s very important, given the tremendous increases in the price of electricity to ratepayers.

   Now, he talked about empowering the Independent Electricity System Operator, the IESO. Just a bit of a fact check on that, my research—the research of my party—indicates that this will not further empower the Independent Electricity System Operator. In contrast, it will do exactly the opposite. It will remove much of the independence of the IESO—far from empowering this particular body. I guess we take the minister at his word—empower IESO to competitively procure transmission projects.

   Speaker, I have a transmission project in my riding down in Haldimand–Norfolk. Electric power towers march across Haldimand county, coming out of Niagara. They run from the Allanburg transformer station, continue west across the county; then they stop. The lines go down into the ground; they’re anchored in the ground at the south end of Caledonia.

   This project was sabotaged nine years ago. I vividly recall seeing the Mohawk warrior’s flag flying on top of the tower. This would be 300 feet up in the air, right where that tower meets the main street of Caledonia, Argyle Street, just a few hundred yards from the intersection with the main provincial highway, Highway 6, coming down south from Hamilton. Very clearly, Hydro One workers were not on those towers. Very clearly, Mohawk warriors were on the towers. That was nine and a half years ago. There are no wires. The towers march across. Regrettably, a number of them have been destroyed. They have been used as lookout towers by militants over the years of chaos and mayhem in the Caledonia area.

   So what you see when you enter the main entrance of Caledonia, when you drive into town, there’s a nice green sign, I think it has a picture of the bridge, saying: “Welcome to Caledonia.” You see these gigantic pulleys up on the towers that were meant to pull the wires up to continue the link, essentially, not only to Allanburg transformer station in Niagara, that link with Niagara Falls in New York state through Allanburg, to the Caledonia transfer station which, regrettably, was torched—that was a $1-million damage done by militants—and to continue on to the gigantic Middleport transfer station, just north of Six Nations, just north of the Grand River.

   It’s a 76-kilometre line, again, to ensure the transfer of electrons back and forth between the United States and Canada. Hydro One has been unable or unwilling for well over nine years now to complete the last five kilometres or so of this power line. You can see it when you’re on Highway 6. I think I count about 14 or 20 different power towers partly disassembled with no wires. They were famously used to blockade the main street of Caledonia. They were famously used to be thrown off an overpass onto the provincial highway down below, obviously not the original intent of this transmission corridor. No electricity goes through here to the Middleport transformer station.

   1630

   There has been some media on this. Very recently, Paul Bliss, with CTV, reported something we’ve known locally, and I have certainly raised this a number of times in the Ontario Legislature. Again, the recent news from CTV: “Since 2007, Hydro One has had permission from the provincial government to bill taxpayers for its interest payments” on this $100-million project.

   I think the original cost was projected at $116 million; I know that Hydro One did their due diligence. Years ago, I attended meetings where they mapped out where the new towers would be going on an existing corridor. That corridor has been there for many, many years. It was simply replacing antiquated towers. For $100 million in capital cost to build this power line, taxpayers have payed nearly $50 million to date in interest alone for a power line that has never transmitted any electricity, certainly in the last nine and a half years.

   Much of this legislation is directed toward issues of transmission: “The powerline was designed to bring 800 megawatts worth of electricity into southern Ontario. This is equivalent to the amount of power that Ontario gets from one of the nuclear reactors at the Darlington Nuclear Station.” Again, this is according to Paul Bliss with CTV.

   The provincial government indicated that it’s okay because Ontario doesn’t need the electricity right now. We do know that 300,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost in recent years. The province made reference to the recession slowing down manufacturing, obviously reducing the demand for power.

   I have a quotation from Hydro One. They were obviously asked, “How come you built this gigantic transmission corridor out of New York state and there has been no electricity?” I quote: We “respected the request by the community to stop work”—I represent that community, Speaker. “However, they remain hopeful that when outstanding issues are resolved”—they’ve been outstanding for nine and a half years—“we can proceed and complete construction of the line.”

   Construction of that line was shut down in Caledonia, in Haldimand county, and in spite of what Hydro One says, the community did not request that Hydro One stop work; far from it. The community has had to put up for nine years now with a wireless, incomplete power transmission corridor scarring the south entrance of town. It’s adjacent to the still-occupied subdivision of Douglas Creek Estates.

   Certainly, there are so many Liberal scandals locally that we talk about over the last 13 years. I consider this the mother of all scandals. One measure: There have now been four books written about the Six Nations/Caledonia scandal. I would suggest, if members here haven’t read any of those four books, that they please do so to get a better picture in your minds with respect to the chaos that has continued down there, south of Hamilton. . .

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