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The Ipperwash Papers

UPDATED 1535 EST March 01/09

2inch_voc_logo-url.jpgcwuc_crest.gifOn Wednesday, March 14, 2007 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.

The Ipperwash Papers also exposes the shameful secret of how the Ipperwash Inquiry prevented residents from testifying and suppressed all evidence of their suffering. Out of 139 witnesses called, not one was a full-time resident. During an inquiry that cost $20M and lasted 3 years residents were given a total of just 90 minutes to address the Commissioner on June 21/06 – at the height of the Caledonia crisis. Even that miniscule pretence at fairness was apparently too much - the minutes of the meeting were sanitized to give the false impression there were no real problems between residents and natives.

Our prediction comes true

During the news conference we predicted – two and a half months before its report was released - that the Ipperwash Inquiry would never be able to provide any credible recommendations designed to prevent future victims of landclaim lawlessness by native protesters. Unfortunately, for the people of Caledonia, we were absolutely right: out of 100 recommendations made by the Inquiry not a single one specifically addressed the issue of violence against innocent third parties during land claims. 

One must wonder, therefore, how any body – government or police – can use the Inquiry’s recommendations as justification for abandoning the innocent victims of native extremism. Unfortunately, neither the media at large or our province’s politicians have chosen to ask this vital question of the McGuinty government.

Silence in the Ontario Legislature as innocent people are victimized

After concluding our press conference we left copies of our extensive press kit for the Premier and leaders of the Opposition parties. I personally dropped off a copy to MPP Toby Barrett’s office since it was he who made the Queen’s Park Media Studio available for our news conference. Unfortunately, despite the McGuinty government’s consistent use of the Ipperwash Inquiry to defend its shameful treatment of the people in Caledonia, not a single MPP has yet stood in the Legislature to confront the government with the truth – that innocent people are being victimized because the Ipperwash Inquiry suppressed evidence.

Even in October 2008 when the new Aboriginal Affairs Minister, Brad Duguid, used the Ipperwash Inquiry to justify the government’s refusal to hold hearings into the Caledonia crisis, not one MPP confronted the Liberals with the truth - including the man who petitioned the government on behalf of his constituents: MPP Toby Barrett.

More people destined to be sacrificed on alter of political-correctness

mark_vandermaas_62×88px_b-w.gifOn a personal note, I can’t tell you that ‘The Ipperwash Papers’ is an easy read. As we were going through the thousands of pages of documents, I broke down in tears of rage when I realized that the failures of the Ipperwash Inquiry meant that more innocent people – in Caledonia and other towns in the future – were destined to be sacrificed on the alter of political-correctness.

Mary-Lou LaPratte put her arms around me as I wept, asking over and over again through my tears, “How could my country allow this to happen?

Click image to see full size version: Ipperwash Papers document N-1.

The Ipperwash Papers should be required reading for every Canadian citizen who wants to know the truth about the shattering effects of politically-correct policing and crime on innocent people during land claim disputes.

NOTE: Every media kit included a CD with a video of ‘Dancer‘ reading her ‘Road of Hope’ pamphlet.

REFERENCES

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2 responses so far ↓

  • Ty Ritchie // March 22, 2007 at 8:35 am

    Being a firefighter, we have a lot of police sayings, like “Police are guys who failed the firefighter test” so I will deliver a message to the OPP head brass in the form of one of our sayings FANTINO: If you can’t take the heat, become a cop….If you can’t take being a cop, become a Commissioner.

    VoC REPLY: A little inter-disciplinary rivalry, huh? :-) I’d like to add something to the list. If you’re an OPP ‘officer’ in Caledonia and you’re getting tired of following orders you know go against every value this country stands for, you can always become an honest streetsweeper and be able to look at yourself in the mirror. I’d like to see one – just one – OPP officer stand up for the Constitution and his/her fellow citizens and resign rather than allow themselves to be used to destroy the democratic values I served to protect. Regards, Mark

  • Ty Ritchie // March 26, 2007 at 12:38 pm

    I would like to see one OPP officer do so as well.

    We all try to protect the public, it’s a pain to see things happen to innocent people and not be able to do anything about it.

    All the best,

    Ty.

  • Like gas stations in rural Texas after 10 pm, comments are closed.