Join Merlyn Kinrade’s anti-racism rally in Caledonia on March 21/10

'TWO TIER JUSTICE VICTIMIZES NATIVE PEOPLE TOO!' CANACE's Caledonia liaison Merlyn Kinrade - flanked by Jeff Parkinson (L) and Jim Anderson (R w/flag) holds sign during protest against illegal smoke shack built on public property, Caledonia, Dec 01/07 - before smokeshack supporters from Six Nations swarmed and attacked Gary McHale, sending him to hospital along w/Parkinson who suffered a brain injury. Click to enlarge.

LAST UPDATE: March 25/10: ***Anti-racism rally rescheduled for 2pm, Sunday, March 28/10 at Caledonia Lions Hall. See, ‘Why Merlyn’s Anti-Racism rally is rescheduled for this coming Sunday.’

• Hamilton Spectator, March 22/10: McHale calls off Caledonia rally – Activist cites potential for violence after arrival of a rival group. Great coverage of Sunday’s Anti-Racism Rally, which has been now scheduled for March 28/10 at 2pm.
• Jeff Parkinson, March 22/10: OPP fail to protect residents (note: after some research and communications with Tom Keefer, leader of Sunday’s CUPE 3903 confrontation at Merlyn’s Anti-Racism Rally,  Jeff has clarified the fact that, contrary to an assertion in an article about the extreme anti-Semitic/anti-Israel climate at Concordia University that we discovered at a site belonging to a Jewish watchdog organization, Keefer was NOT expelled for spray-painting anti-Semitic slogans on school property. He was, however, expelled for allegedly uttering death threats against the guards who were trying to arrest the son of a Syrian diplomat Laith Marouf for the vandalism. Keefer denied his statements were meant as a threat, but was eventually allowed to return after apologizing for them. Keefer was the Vice President Communications of the Concordia Student Union between 1999-2001. 

This is a reprint of Gary McHale’s column in the Regional News for Feb 24/10. Used with permission. My comment follows.

———————————————

Merlyn Kinrade calls for Rallies in Caledonia

by Gary McHale

Regional News this Week – Feb. 24, 2010

This past Friday Mr. Chris Bentley, the new Aboriginal Affairs Minister who is also the Attorney General of Ontario, met with Haldimand Council at a Tim Hortons in Brantford. After the meeting Mayor Trainer told people that she directly asked Mr. Bentley if the province had already decided to give DCE to Six Nations. She reported his reply was yes.

Merlyn Kinrade contacted the Mayor the same day to verify that this did occur and the Mayor confirmed to Mr. Kinrade that it was true. Mr. Kinrade saw this as the final straw of rewarding people for criminal behaviour and as such he calls upon people to rally in Caledonia on March 21 to help bring an end to the racist policies of the Ontario Government.

For four years the people of Haldimand county have been forced to endure what almost every media outlet in Ontario has called Two Tier Justice or Race Based Policing. There appears to be no limit to the level of appeasement that is done to ensure that certain radical elements from Six Nations stop committing criminal acts.

In June of 2006 David Peterson arranged a deal to pay the criminals who dug up the road and barricaded the highway for 5 weeks to be rewarded with the Burtch Tract in return for bringing down the barricades.

Even after the swarming of the senior couple, the attack upon the CHCH camera crew and the attempted murder of an OPP officer, the Ontario Government rewarded those who were responsible or encouraged these violent acts with the Burtch Tract.

During the height of the violence in Caledonia Six Nations Band Council provided money to the occupiers on DCE up until Oct. 2006 to a total of $65,000. Can you imagine what the Government would say if Haldimand Council financially backed a group of white people who repeatedly went onto Six Nations’ land and attacked people or barricaded roads?

Within our generation we have witnessed police and governments in Southern US states stand and watch violent acts committed by white people against black people. In many cases the prosecution of these criminals was covered up by the state or by the police.

We, as Canadians, believed that such policies and racism was not possible in Canada. We were wrong.

It has now been proven in Court, even by the testimony of OPP officers, that OPP officers stood by and witnessed criminal acts committed against non-Natives by Native protesters without the OPP taking any steps to prevent the crimes and in many cases even to investigate the crimes.

Superior Court Judges have repeatedly ruled against the actions of the OPP and against the Native Protesters. Judges have openly rebuked the OPP for how they police in Caledonia and how they refused to protect the lawful owners of property.

While senior OPP officers have been well aware that dozens of officers have been injured by these so-called peaceful native protesters, they publicly and repeatedly blamed non-Natives for daring to speak out against injustice. The OPP targeted non-Natives who walked down the road with Canadian Flags and also arrested Dave Brown one night after coming home from a Blue Jays game instead of arresting the Native protesters who carried bats etc. and who committed violence or threatened violence.

It was simply easier for the OPP to arrest non-Natives instead of those committing the violence.

Appeasement and rewarding criminal behaviour can only lead to more violence. Are we never to learn from history and from human mistakes? Are we continuously prone to repeat the sinful behaviour of previous generations?

Faced with the absolute willingness to use violence against blacks by KKK members in the South the government and police found it easier to arrest blacks, defame blacks and to jail Martin Luther King Jr. instead of arresting those who hospitalized people.

Faced with such institutional racism blacks had three options. First, they could hide under their beds and allow the next generation to face the same problems. Second, they could take up arms like the Black Panthers did and demand a revolution. Third, they could march peacefully down a road proclaiming that they would never submit to racism and never surrender their rights.

Today the USA has a Black President because there were those who stood up to the racist policies of the police and government by simply marching down a road.

The people of Caledonia, of Haldimand County and of Ontario have a choice to make. They can stand up against the racial policies of the OPP and Ontario Government or they can sit back and allow it to continue.

In 1770 Edmund Burke , an Irish statesman who was a member of the British Parliament, stated, ” the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing”, and this has been quoted by many since then.

Our political leaders ignore us because they know that most people will never speak up, will never step forward, will never pay a price for a greater good.

Merlyn Kinrade is 74 years old. He has served his country and over the past 50 years has served his community.

He is asking that you join him on March 21 at 2:00 pm at the Lion’s Hall in Caledonia to lend your voice to his to bring an end to the racist polices of the OPP and Ontario Government.

He has invited Mayor Trainer to be a speaker and for each council member to stand by her side and proclaim that Haldimand County denounces the injustice and demands the restoration of the rule of law.

Will the people of Haldimand decide they are too busy or too self absorbed to be concerned about others to join Mr. Kinrade? The Province and the OPP are betting you are.

I believe most people agree that this injustice cannot be allowed to continue and no other town should ever be forced to accept such racist polices.

Join Merlyn Kinrade on March 21 at 2:00 pm at the Lion’s Hall for his Anti-Racism Rally in Caledonia.

———————————

NOTE re additional rallies/protests

I have been advised that there will be additional protests/rallies by Caledonia residents in the coming months:

• March 21: Merlyn Kinrade – Anti-Racism Rally – 2 p.m. at the Lion’s Hall in Caledonia
• April 11: Doug Fleming – Illegal Smoke Shop Rally – at the smoke shop at Argyle & Hwy #6.
• April 25: Merlyn Kinrade – Anti-Racism Rally – 2 p.m. at the Lion’s Hall in Caledonia

VoC Comment

Faced with such institutional racism blacks had three options. First, they could hide under their beds and allow the next generation to face the same problems. Second, they could take up arms like the Black Panthers did and demand a revolution. Third, they could march peacefully down a road proclaiming that they would never submit to racism and never surrender their rights.

The Ontario government has sent a powerful and dangerous message to all citizens of Canada that violence and intimidation by racist thugs will be rewarded, but those who advocate peacefully against racism will be attacked because of their race. It is one thing to tolerate a government as it imperfectly strives towards achieving a society where all human beings are treated equally; it is quite another to stand by and allow one’s government to ignore the Charter, ignore the courts and make ever more repugnant decisions designed to appease a racial minority. That can never be allowed. 

The key difference between the U.S. and Canada is that the U.S. federal government had the right to intervene when a state refused to uphold civil rights laws; Canada’s fed has no such power. It will be up to the people of Ontario to tear down McGuinty’s racial policies without help from Canada – the very government who should be protecting us. I urge you therefore, to walk in the path of Martin Luther King by supporting Doug Fleming and Merlyn Kinrade’s calls for justice.

“What they have a right to demand is evenhanded enforcement of the law…”

Let me leave you with a quote from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Alito taken from his concurring opinion in the case of RICCI V. DESTEFANO, 2009. This groundbreaking decision overturned a decision by the New Haven, CT Fire Department to deny promotions to white and hispanic firefighters because of their race (bolding added by VoC):

“The dissent[ting opinion] grants that petitioners’ situation is “unfortunate” and that they “understandably attract this Court’s sympathy.” Post, at 1, 39. But “sympathy” is not what petitioners have a right to demand. What they have a right to demand is evenhanded enforcement of the law—of Title VII’s prohibition against discrimination based on race. And that is what, until today’s decision, has been denied them.”

• United States Supreme Court, June 29/09: RICCI v. DESTEFANO, 2009  VoC DOWNLOAD
• VoiceofCanada, July 16/09: U.S. Supreme Court: race-based decision-making vs. whites unlawful

Disclosure: Mark Vandermaas was an original founding member of Canadian Advocates for Charter Equality along with Mr. Kinrade. He left CANACE on Feb 22/10 to focus on research and educational activities in connection with the issue of racial policing during land claim disputes. 

Mark Vandermaas, Editor
VoiceofCanada
info@voiceofcanada.ca

References

• VoiceofCanada, Dec 09/07: Queen’s Park speech by Merlyn Kinrade: “Are we a failed state?”
• CaledoniaWakeUpCall.com feature: Doug’s Smokes
• Canadian Advocates for Charter Equality reference feature: Race-Based Policing
• VoiceofCanada, Jan 19/09: “Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”
• VoiceofCanada category: Merlyn Kinrade
• VoiceofCanada, July 12/09: THE END OF THE BEGINNING!
• VoiceofCanada, July 16/09: U.S. Supreme Court: race-based decision-making vs. whites unlawful
• VoiceofCanada, May 26/09: VoC speech: Lessons from Dr. King and the Little Rock Nine
• VoiceofCanada feature: Lessons from Dr. King