www.VoiceofCanada.ca

Mary-Lou LaPratte has spent the last 15 years of her life trying to tell the true story of what happened in Ipperwash to innocent residents. She was a guest speaker at the inaugural March for Freedom last Oct 15/06, and everyone who is fortunate enough to know her knows just how much her heart aches for the people of Caledonia, and their needless suffering.

(more…)

In Democracy takes a huge hit in Haldimand, I outlined the sleazy attack on Haldimand Mayor Trainer’s privacy by her council, and how, on Aug 13/07, they approved a resolution calling for all mail - electronic and hard copy - to the Mayor to be shared with the Chief Administrative Officer. This resolution has now removed any privacy between the Mayor and her constituents. 

(more…)

UPDATE 1544 Aug 21/07: See Resolution 863-07: Haldimand’s attack on your privacy for wording of the resolution passed by council.
========================================= 

After witnessing the shameful events of the past week culiminating in the vote last night at the Haldimand County council meeting (see ‘Democracy takes a huge hit in Haldimand’, and BULLETIN: Mayor Trainer needs your help NOW!), I sent the message below to Mayor Trainer.

I welcome your comments in support of the mayor. I’ll wait a few days and then mail her - and the snoops now reading her mail - a hard copy of this post with your comments.

(more…)

UPDATE 1109 EST June 25/07: In the original draft of this story I singled out veteran broadcast journalist Doug Aldridge of The Right Side as being a notable exception to the media’s deafening silence regarding The Ipperwash Papers. Unfortunately, the paragraph was deleted when this article was posted. My profuse apologies to Doug, especially considering he was the first journalist to interview me regarding about The Ipperwash Papers, and has done 3 interviews about the story!
=========================================

“In a time of universal deceipt, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.“

George Orwell 

On March 14, 2007 I went to Queen’s Park with Gary McHale and Mary-Lou LaPratte to release The Ipperwash Papers; 400+ pages of documents ‘overlooked’ by the official Ipperwash Inquiry that show how residents themselves and the evidence of their suffering at the hands of native crime during an invalid land claim were deliberately excluded from the Inquiry. 

(more…)

UPDATE June 22/07: Mary-Lou LaPratte and Ipperwash finally had their stories told by a main-stream media outlet, the Western Standard magazine. See, Truth emerges as Ipperwash Papers go ‘main stream.’

This is the third in VoiceofCanada’s “The Strength of a Woman’ series of articles designed to honour the women who have both inspired and shamed us with their courage during the struggle against Two Tier Justice in Ontario. The title was inspired by Robin McGraw, wife of TV’s Dr. Phil - see ‘The Strength of a Woman’ - Lisa Parent.

========================================= 

If there is a hero to be found in the Ipperwash story, it is a remarkable woman by the name of Mary-Lou LaPratte. She lived through it all: crime and intimidation from natives over an invalid land claim against her home and those of her fellow residents; an eventual Supreme Court victory; threats; a home invasion; an assault; ongoing OPP refusal to enforce the law; DND failure to enforce the law; abandonment by the OPP when they fled Ipperwash to save themselves after the death of Dudley George, and psychological trauma so acute during the events of September 1995 that her hair fell out in chunks.

(more…)

Many of you were moved by “The Strength of a Woman’ - 14 year old ‘Dancer,’ the story of a brave young lady who created a heart-wrenching pamphlet called ‘Road of Hope’ to explain why she has to take medication and go to counselling due to the OPP’s refusal to police the road on which she lives - Sixth Line in Caledonia. 

Dancer’s family was determined to honour their daughter’s wishes that her story be told, so they met with Gary McHale and I, and gave us permission to videotape Dancer reading ‘Road of Hope.’ Afterwards, we interviewed her in order to clarify some points in her pamphlet. It was a thrill and an honour to meet this amazing young woman and her family, but it was hard listening to her talk about how the OPP have abandoned her and every other kid on the Sixth Line. 

Like many of the women involved in the struggle against Two Tier Justice, Dancer inspired us with her determination to help her community - a town where people who live in ’policed’ areas are afraid to speak out for fear of retaliation. On March 11, 2007 this one brave girl did nothing less than face the fears of an entire neighbourhood and town and - in so doing - invalidate every conceivable excuse her fellow citizens might have for not getting involved in defending their town against evil.

(more…)

On Wednesday, March 14, 2007 we (Gary McHale, Mary-Lou LaPratte, and I) held a news conference in the Media Studio at Queen’s Park to release ‘The Ipperwash Papers,’ a collection of over 400 pages of documents that reveal the suffering of innocent Ipperwash residents at the hands of native criminals, and by Department of National Defence and OPP Two Tier Justice policies during 3 separate land claims, how the Ipperwash Inquiry completely excluded their testimony, and why the Ipperwash Inquiry can NEVER provide any credible recommendations designed to prevent future Landclaim Terror.

(more…)

UPDATE 1442 EST March 16/07: Video of ‘Dancer’ reading ‘Road of Hope‘ w/short interview following.  DIAL-UP 

UPDATE 0821 EST March 07/07: The source of ‘Dancer’s’ pamphlet has confirmed that he wants his name used in order to counter sleazy allegations by DCE Landclaim Terror deniers that we somehow fabricated this story.

UPDATE 1500 EST March 06/07: ‘The Strength of a Woman - 14 year old ‘Dancer’ has reached #51 on the WordPress.com list of ‘Top Posts’ for today. VoiceofCanada has reached #89 on the WordPress.com list of ‘Top Blogs’ (English) out of 742,333 blogs on the WordPress system.

UPDATE 0818 EST March 06/07: Response to ‘Landclaim Terror’ deniers and their latest sleazy allegations: Sorry, but Dancer is real!
=============================================

This is the second in VoiceofCanada’s “The Strength of a Woman’ articles designed to honour the many women who have both inspired and shamed us with their courage during the struggle against Two Tier Justice in Ontario. The title was inspired by Robin McGraw, wife of TV’s Dr. Phil - see ‘The Strength of a Woman’ - Lisa Parent.
===============================================

At the March for Freedom event held March 03/07 to support Dave Hartless, someone gave Gary and me a pamphlet created by a 14 year-old girl who lives on the Sixth Line in Caledonia Ontario where the OPP refuse to provide policing services because of a native land claim. She asked us to put it on our websites. It is called, “Road of Hope: Help the 6th Line!” and it is heartbreaking.

(more…)

This post had its origins in a comment that Lisa Parent (The Strength of a Woman - Lisa Parent) posted in reply to “Fantino muzzles victim of Caledonia violence.” I knew it deserved a post of its own when I got chills down my spine while reading it!

VoC has inserted links to provide context/reference for new readers. 

(more…)

When I get the chance, I enjoy watching the Dr. Phil show on television.  During a recent episode his wife, Robin McGraw, talked about a childhood incident during which her mother stood at the door of the family’s home and refused to let men in their house who had come to collect all the furniture – including the children’s beds – as payment for one of her father’s gambling debts. She said her mother’s determination to protect them that night taught her a valuable lesson about the strength of a woman.   

Robin’s observation struck a strong chord with me as I have thought for some time now about writing a post or series of posts to honour the courageous women I have met or observed or corresponded with during the struggle to restore the Rule of Law and Equal Justice in Ontario. I do not believe that it is a coincidence that the two most powerful and moving speakers at the original March for Freedom back on October 15, 2006 were women.

(more…)