OPP lied to Kinrade at Caledonia flag raising

UPDATE 1627 EST June 02/09: see CaledoniaWakeUpCall May 24/09 protest feature page for links, photos, video and text of speeches.

UPDATED 1000 EST June 01/09: Click on photo below to see video footage of Sgt. Carter lying to  protest organizer Merlyn Kinrade as to why non-natives were not allowed to put up Canadian flags. Also includes a short clip from an illegal Hagersville occupation in which Carter threatens to sue CANACE videographer Jeff Parkinson. Carter was present while two OPP officers - later charged with Mischief thanks to Parkinson and Gary McHale - helped natives build a barricade to keep out the legal owner. See, ‘Thank you, Jeff Parkinson!’
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“If I feel that way and I think that way, it makes it so.”

Instead of telling Merlyn Kinrade the truth – that native racists threatened to breach the peace if OPP allowed Cdn flags to be raised, Sgt. Carter tells Merlyn Kinrade non-natives can’t put up flags across from DCE in Caledonia because of the arrest of a non-native man who dared to walk onto DCE holding a Canadian flag. (Video link to follow)

In ‘OPP line up to stop Canadian flag raising,’ regarding the May 24/09 protest in Caledonia, I related how Sgt. Carter blamed the lack of a deal allowing us to put up a flag on the arrest of Randy Fleming, a resident who was brutally taken down by the OPP for daring to calmly walk onto the Douglas Creek Estates (provincially-owned land) holding a Canadian flag. Carter blamed Fleming’s actions on Kinrade, and told him the deal he originally offered (that Kinrade would be allowed to put up a flag on another day) was off because of the arrest.

• VoiceofCanada, May 26/09: OPP line up to stop Canadian flag raising
• VoiceofCanada, May 26/09: VoC speech: Lessons from Dr. King and the Little Rock Nine

Not true! The REAL reason for not respecting the rights of non-natives, as it turns out, is that the OPP went, cap in hand, to the natives occupying DCE who outright refused to grant us ‘permission’ to exercise our right to put up flags.

Racists make threats against non-natives to OPP!

The DCE occupiers not only refused to ‘allow’ non-natives to raise flags, but went even further by threatening to directly interfere with our rights by breaching the peace should the OPP allow us to do so against their wishes. How do we know?

VoC speech: Lessons from Dr. King and the Little Rock Nine

Little Rock Nine, circa 1957-1960 (click on image for Wikipedia.org citation)

UPDATE 1627 EST June 02/09: see CaledoniaWakeUpCall.com May 24/09 protest feature page for links, photos, video and text of speeches.

UPDATE 1757 EST June 01/09: Native occupiers threatened trouble if non-natives raised flags on May 24/09. See ‘OPP lied to Kinrade at Caledonia flag raising.’
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Gary McHale asked Regional News publisher Chris Pickup to publish my speech from last Sunday’s flag raising event  in place of his column in this week’s paper. (Don’t miss reporter Bill Jackson’s coverage of the protest as well): 

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PROVOKING VIOLENCE? LESSONS FROM DR. KING AND THE LITTLE ROCK NINE

Mark Vandermaas
Caledonia Lions Park, May 24/09  PDF  Video  Dial-up

Why is it so important for us to insist that we be allowed to place a Canadian flag in a place where the OPP do not want it? Are we provoking violence? Are we wrong to oppose the OPP position that we take our protests elsewhere?

In 1954 the US Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional. Despite this decision, in 1957 Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus called in the state’s National Guard to stop 9 black students from attending Little Rock Central High. His excuse for ignoring the Supreme Court? He was preventing potential violence threatened by white segregationists. His real reason was to make himself politically popular by appeasing racist voters who supported segregation.

OPP line up to stop Canadian flag raising

VoC (right) w/CANACE co-founder Merlyn Kinrade, formerly of the RCN (HMCS Haida), former UN peacekeeper, longtime Caledonia resident and community contributor.

UPDATE 0933 EST June 03/09: Tekawennake reporter Erin Tully took issue with my characterization of her story as mentioned in this post. I offered to publish any rebuttal she wished to make in full, unedited, in a new, separate post and I even offered to allow her to choose the title. She refused.

UPDATE 1627 EST June 02/09: see CaledoniaWakeUpCall May 24/09 protest feature page for links, photos, video and text of speeches.

UPDATE 1757 EST June 01/09: Native occupiers threatened trouble if non-natives raised flags on May 24/09. See ‘OPP lied to Kinrade at Caledonia flag raising.’
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On May 24/09 the OPP once again called out 150 officers and a helicopter to stop Canadian citizens from peacefully walking down Argyle Street and putting up Canadian flags on hydro poles across the street from the occupied Douglas Creek Estates in Caledonia.

This was the fourth time OPP have stood against non-natives to prevent them from exercising their right to put up Canadian flags in Caledonia: Dec 16/06; Jan 20/07; Oct 08/07 and now, May 24/09.  

OPP make last minute offer

During meetings with the OPP in the weeks leading up to the protest, organizer Merlyn Kinrade and Gary McHale were told the OPP was not going to allow non-natives to exercise their right to put up flags across from DCE. 

White people can apply Dr. King’s lessons, too

CANACE is holding a protest march in Caledonia next Sunday at 1:30 pm to once again try to raise a Canadian flag across the street from the occupied Douglas Creek Estates where 3 Canadians (including VoC) have been arrested while attempting to do so.

If you would like to know why flag-raising events are so important, please see the links at the end of the article.

MPP Toby Barrett: Double standard for highway blockades?

I received a copy of the following article from Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett. It dovetails perfectly with CANACE’s planned flag-raising event at 1:30 pm this next Sunday, May 24/09:

May 19, 2009

Hi, Toby here,

Please find attached a newspaper column titled, “Is there a double standard for highway blockades?”, that I have forwarded to our area newspapers.

Toby

Is there a double standard for highway blockades?

“You can’t block highways – You endanger others and you endanger yourselves.”

Who said that? – Why it was Premier Dalton McGuinty identifying last week’s Tamil highway blockade as, “unlawful activity.”

McHale hearing: OPP officer confirms existence of racial policing!

UPDATE 1527 EST May 18/09: See Jeff Parkinson’s comparison of Fantino and his hero, former LA police chief Gates.

UPDATED 2322 EST May 03/09

Here are some notes of testimony at the McHale preliminary hearing heard on Monday, April 27 and Tuesday, April 28/09.

The purpose of the hearing is to determine whether McHale should stand trial for the charge of ‘Counselling Mischief Not Committed’ for telling Doug Fleming he should get other residents to help him block the road already blocked by Fleming’s own truck. 

Notables:

• Key testimony from OPP officer Jeff Bird about the existence of racial policing. It does exist!
• Bizarre accusations by Fantino vs. McHale after McHale shows him evidence that a charge against Clyde Powless for assaulting an OPP officer disappeared within one hour of Fantino being notified. (The Hamilton Spectator article recounting Fantino’s testimony somehow neglected to mention this critical bit  of evidence!)
• Fantino says McHale was investigated for possible hate crime charges but never charged. Confirms the OPP had no evidence to charge McHale with any crime prior to Dec 01/07.
• Testimony from Sgt. Sloan, the officer who refused to arrest the natives who pushed me down, but later made the the only arrest of the day - a non-native man quietly drinking coffee on the road.  Sloan also confirms the OPP were under-manned on Dec 01/07.