Dear Ontario PC Party: blood from future victims on YOUR hands, not ours

Feb 28/12

Toby Barrett, MPP
Haldimand Norfolk

Dear Mr. Barrett,

Today I had the distasteful experience of reading your assistant’s insulting email about our invitation to give Tim Hudak and the party the opportunity to march in Caledonia with us against racial policing so you all can share in the positive media coverage we are generating on this issue. After investing more than five years of my life working alongside other citizen volunteers to honour the oath I swore as a soldier to defend Canada so long ago, I scarcely know what to say to a ‘Conservative’ MPP whose long time assistant denigrates our efforts to hold McGuinty accountable as “Just more of Gary’s same ol’ shit – at least it keeps him busy!!”

I appreciate that Rob called Gary to apologize, but why did he bother? Clearly his attitude reflects the party’s. The only thing I suspect he’s really sorry for is forwarding a copy of the email to Gary McHale in error.

Some Canadians have paid a heavy price to give you opportunity after opportunity to take a stand against McGuinty’s racial policing, but your leader won’t even come to Caledonia, let alone work with us to develop policy and strategy to ensure there will be no future victims. We presented our ‘Caledonia Act’ recommendations to you, based on our years of full time, volunteer work in Caledonia so you could learn from our experience fighting lawlessness and racial policing in and out of the courts. We received no response, no follow-up request to help the party move them forward.

As the leader of the Ipperwash Papers project I am utterly dismayed that during the 5 years since we first released the 400 pages of documents on March 14/07 at Queen’s Park (just months before Sam Gualtieri was nearly murdered in the Stirling subdivision) the Ontario PC Party still refuses – to this day! – to hold McGuinty accountable for his use of the racially-skewed Ipperwash Inquiry recommendations to ‘justify’ why the people of Caledonia have been ignored and allowed to suffer via an illegal ‘peacekeeping’ mission on Canadian soil.

MPP Toby Barrett praises McHale, CANACE for Caledonia ideas, media attention

Just days after our Queen’s Park news conference -‘Ending Race-Based Policing: The Caledonia Act,’ – where we were joined by speakers from the pro-Israel Never Again Group and the International Free Press Society, MPP Toby Barrett has issued a call for strong action re the Caledonia occupation, and praised our efforts and ideas for reaching a resolution…

“Barrett credits Gary Mchale and CANACE for keeping the issue alive in the media and in the limelight, suggesting a lot of McHale’s ideas have been ‘pretty good’.” They include having more oversight from the Ontario Ombudsman with respect to the OPP and more protection for whistleblowers in the Police service.

• CD98.9 Radio FM, Feb 14/12: Toby Barrett says native occupation of former DCE lands must end

It was Toby Barrett who made the Queen’s Park Media Studio available for our news conference, as he has done in the past. He also spoke in Gary McHale’s inaugural March for Freedom on Oct 15/06. (photos, R and top)

 You can read the Caledonia Act recommendations here:

• CANACE/Caledonia Victims Project recommendations: ‘The Caledonia Act’ [PDF, 4p]

Barrett also has a strongly worded article about the Douglas Creek Estates occupation and the violence in Caledonia on his website… 

‘Occupy Caledonia will be six years February 28’

By MPP Toby Barrett

On February 28, 2006, Dawn Smith and Janie Jamieson blocked the entrance to Douglas Creek Estates in Caledonia. Six years later, the scars of the resulting mayhem remain, continuing to seed division in the community and to block home building, commercial and industrial development.

Queen’s Park news conference – NGO’s stand with Caledonia activists for release of Caledonia Act recommendations to end racial policing

‘Ending Race-Based Policing: The Caledonia Act.’

That was the title of an historic news conference took place in the Queen’s Park Media Studio this past Friday, Feb 09/12 where CANACE and the Caledonia Victims Project presented our Caledonia Act recommendations for resolving the Caledonia crisis and preventing future breakdowns in the rule of law due to police/government refusal to protect innocent civilians during future landclaim lawlessness.  

• CANACE/Caledonia Victims Project recommendations: ‘The Caledonia Act’ [PDF, 4p]

The Media Studio was made available to us by Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett.

SPEAKERS (in order of appearance)

Note: there were technical difficulties with the video recording made of the conference. We are hoping to resolve them so we can post video but, for now, we can offer audio for three of the speakers in addition to their notes.

1. Gary McHale of CANACE (Canadian Advocates for Charter Equality) explained that the conference was called in response to the arrests of the Caledonia Eight on Dec 03/11 while walking on a county road through the occupied Douglas Creek Estates, and the subsequent arrest of Gary McHale on Jan 27/12 after he and Caledonia resident Randy Fleming erected a sign at the occupation site which said, ‘NO JEWS ALLOWED BY ORDER OF MCGUINTY’ to draw attention to the reality that the exclusion of non-Natives from the site applies to all races. 

He also condemned the racially-biased Ipperwash Inquiry, nearly five years after we held our first press conference in the same room to release our Ipperwash Papers project [ALSO]:

 McGuinty created the Ipperwash Inquiry, not to look into ending the violence but to ensure no Aboriginal is ever harmed regardless of violent crimes Aboriginals commit during so-called land claim occupations. In McGuinty’s Ipperwash Inquiry not one non-Aboriginal resident of Ipperwash was permitted to testify – in McGuinty’s Ontario the views of non-Aboriginals have no bearing on government policies. This is why the result of the Ipperwash Inquiry has been used to twist OPP policies to ensure laws are not enforced, Charter Rights of non-Aboriginals are not upheld, that public safety is defined only by ensuring no Aboriginal is harmed, and law enforcement has been replaced by an illegal peacekeeping mission.

• Gary McHale, Canadian Advocates for Charter Equality (CANACE)
  [PDF] [AUDIO] [VIDEO – to come] 

2. Stuart Laughton of the Never Again Group, in an inspiring, eloquent and reasoned speech, endorsed the ‘NO JEWS ALLOWED BY ORDER OF MCGUINTY’ sign erected at the occupation site and called on the McGuinty government to end racial policing by arguing for equality and protection of the ultimate minority group – the individual. 

Miroslav Marinov, a Toronto blogger who has made several trips to Caledonia to see racial policing in action with his own eyes, described Stuart’s presentation thus in an email to me: “Stuart Laughton’s short speech is one of the best analyses of legal and social consequences of Ontario government’s policies in Caledonia.”

Landmark Report: Fantino’s Billion Dollar Legacy – Part 2

Authored for the Landmark Report by ‘Kaffir Kanuck,’ a Canadian Forces veteran of Afghanistan
—————– 

(My second part from Landmark Report. See here for Part 1) 

(This is the second of two parts examining the Native occupation of the Douglas Creek Estates in Caledonia, Ontario. It is a result of interviews with activists Mark Vandermaas, Gary McHale and Merlyn Kinrade. It has been framed exploring what it has cost the Ontario taxpayer so far and how the OPP’s actions under their former Commissioner Julian Fantino and those of various stake holders may affect the federal election in two ridings.)  

Behind the barricade remains, a Native patrol drives by in a red pickup in front of the press-board ramshackle “Embassy.” Outside DCE, a sign invites tourists.  

(This is the second of two parts examining the Native occupation of the Douglas Creek Estates in Caledonia, Ontario. It is a result of interviews with activists Mark Vandermaas, Gary McHale and Merlyn Kinrade. It has been framed exploring what it has cost the Ontario taxpayer so far and how the OPP’s actions under their former Commissioner Julian Fantino and those of various stake holders may affect the federal election in two ridings.)  

The Douglas Creek Estates were to be a bedroom community for Toronto and Hamilton. Small economic off shoots to strengthen the community were planned such as Chris Syries’ plans to open up a music school for 400 students. A class action suit is still under way representing the few businesses which have remained and are still fighting for justice.  

Landmark Report: Fantino’s Billion Dollar Legacy – Part 1

Authored for the Landmark Report by ‘Kaffir Kanuck,’ a Canadian Forces veteran of Afghanistan
—————– 

(This is the first of two parts examining the Native occupation of the Douglas Creek Estates in Caledonia, Ontario. It is a result of interviews with activists Mark Vandermaas, Gary McHale and Merlyn Kinrade. It has been framed exploring what it has cost the Ontario taxpayer so far and how the OPP’s actions under their former Commissioner Julian Fantino and those of various stake holders may affect the federal election in two ridings.)

Conservative MP Julian Fantino hopes for re-election in Vaughan on Monday. He won the previously Liberal held seat by less than on thousand votes. However, the legacy he inherited and left behind in Haldimand Track, the events of Native occupation in Caledonia have come back to haunt him.
Conservatives Against Fantino peppered his constituency during his by-election, and their information campaign may very well have contributed to his marginal win, although the 2008 election had Liberal Maurizio Bevilacqua win by over eight thousand votes. This movement has morphed into Conservatives Against Racism, now also targeting the Conservative Party elite who supported getting Fantino elected into Vaughan.

In Haldimand-Norfolk, Liberal Bob Speller running against incumbent CPC Diane Finley, has been the first federal candidate to offer a Caledonia policy statement. Of note to Caledonia residents has been Finley’s conspicuous absence from their township and her silence regarding issues related to the Native occupation during this campaign.

Recently, some of the main stream media played up a few resignations form the Julian Fantino Conservative MP re-election camp.

[…]

Read the rest of this article…

• Landmark Report, April 30/11: Fantino’s Billion Dollar Legacy – Part 1
• Kaffir-Kanuck.ca, April 30/11: Fantino’s Billion Dollar Legacy – Part 1

References

• Landmark Report, May 01/11: Fantino’s Billion Dollar Legacy – Part 2
• Kaffir-Kanuck.ca, May 01/11: Fantino’s Billion Dollar Legacy – Part 2

Mark Vandermaas, Editor
VoiceofCanada
info@voiceofcanada.ca

BULLETIN: MPPs Barrett & Hillier to join CANACE, Caledonia Victims Project at Queen’s Park news conference

Co-founders of Canadian Advocates for Charter Equality (CANACE) Gary McHale and Caledonia resident Merlyn Kinrade, and Caledonia Victims Project founder Mark Vandermaas will be joined by Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett and fellow MPP Randy Hillier (Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox) at a news conference in the Queen’s Park Media Studio tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 pm.

The purpose of the event is to provide journalists with information about our upcoming ‘Truth and Reconciliation Rally’ which will be held this coming Sunday, Feb 27th at 1pm. (link to news release below)

We are very pleased that Mr. Barrett and Mr. Hillier have agreed to participate in this news conference to show their support in furthering the cause of healing for Caledonia and Six Nations residents. 

MPP Toby Barrett – there from the beginning

Mr. Barrett was one of the original speakers at Gary McHale’s inaugural March for Freedom on Oct 15/06, and so it is very fitting that he should take part in announcing this, the next stage towards resolution now that Christie Blatchford has finally recorded the ugly, undeniable history of Caledonia’s victims: the encouragement of those responsible to apologize so both Caledonia and Six Nations can begin a meaningful healing and reconciliation process that is based on truth, justice and respect for all human beings.

His devastatingly concise ‘Haldimand Proclamation for Peace, Order and Good Government‘ of February 11, 2008 surely must rank as one of the most shocking and historically-important documents ever written by a Canadian politician:

• VoiceofCanada feature: The Barrett Proclamation

Barrett has previously made the Media Studio available to us on three other important occasions: 

• Dec 04/07: Illegal Smokeshacks (Doug Fleming’s campaign vs. Illegal smokes and violence by 6N vs. non-natives, Dec 01/07) 
• March 14/07: The Ipperwash Papers (release of 400 pages of docs proving Inquiry did not study violence vs. Ipperwash residents)
• April 17/07: FantinoGate (OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino threatens Haldimand Council via email)

PC Leader Tim Hudak – a voice of reason when it counted

We should also note that, at a time when Ontario government ministers, including the Premier, were urging people not to march with Gary McHale in 2006 because they would be putting their lives “in danger,” current PC Leader Tim Hudak was the only voice of reason: 

“…Conservative Tim Hudak said the government is ignoring the situation and needs to end the ongoing occupation. The rally shows town residents have had enough, he said. “People are not only angry, they’re damn angry,” Hudak said. “It’s an incredible double standard. On the one hand, the premier is against this rally but it’s carte blanche for the occupiers on the occupied site.” The province shouldn’t continue negotiating with Six Nations as long as the protesters remain on the site, Hudak said. “There is no reason for that occupation to continue,” he said.

• VoiceofCanada, Oct 12/06: Ontario MPP Tim Hudak – a leader emerges to tell the truth about Caledonia and the March for Freedom
• VoiceofCanada, Oct 12/06: Mr. Ramsay – why would my life be in danger in Caledonia?

ANNOUNCEMENT: Representative from International Free Press Society to speak in Caledonia

We are pleased to announce that Mary Lou Ambrogio, Vice President of the Canadian chapter of the International Free Press Society – founded by Lars Hedegaard of Denmark to act as advocates for those whose freedom of expression is under attack – will be a guest speaker at our Truth & Reconciliation Rally on Feb 27th.

University of Waterloo apologizes to Christie Blatchford: “freedom to speak and to learn is fundamental”

The University of Waterloo has issued a strongly worded apology to Helpless author Christie Blatchford after a small group of students were able to intimidate the university into cancelling her Nov 12/10 appearance at the Humanities Theatre:

Apology after author is silenced  

University officials issued a statement yesterday in the wake of a Friday night incident in which Globe and Mail columnist Christie Blatchford was prevented from speaking at a scheduled event in the Humanities Theatre.

A group of protesters took exception to what they called the “racist” attitude of her book Helpless, which deals with the four-year standoff over native land claims in the village of Caledonia in Ontario’s Haldimand County. Blatchford had been invited to campus by the university bookstore to speak about her book. After some time, it was announced that her talk would be rescheduled.

The events of the evening were live-blogged by the Wilfrid Laurier University student newspaper The Cord, and got some media attention yesterday.

Peter Worthington uses Ipperwash Papers report to put the lie to McGuinty’s Ipperwash Inquiry ‘defence’ re Caledonia

On Nov 13/10 the legendary Peter Worthington, co-founder of the Toronto Sun, became the first Ontario journalist outside Caledonia to write about our work on the Ipperwash Papers project in Caledonia crisis of facts.

Worthington’s latest article – inspired both by Christie Blatchford’s Helpless and Joe Warmington’s “curious justification” of the OPP’s actions (even though he hadn’t read Helpless) – follows on his first column about the Caledonia crisis – Helpless in Caledonia – written on Oct 27/10 after the release of Blatchford’s book.  It is based on a two-part series published by Caledonia’s Regional News (link below) authored by Mark Vandermaas, Gary McHale and Ipperwash activist/community leader Mary-Lou LaPratte, a copy of which was sent to Worthington after his first column was published.

Here is an excerpt that deals with our work on the Ipperwash Papers project:

CALEDONIA CRISIS OF FACTS
by Peter Worthington
Toronto Sun, Nov 13/10

EXCERPT […] The inquiry by Justice Sidney Linden in 2007 supposedly is the definitive word on the 1992 violence at Ipperwash, where a police bullet killed Dudley George and unleashed anger that still persists. At the time, people from the nearby Ojibway reserve occupied land that had been expropriated from Indians in 1942 for an army base.

The Linden report is more concerned about pacifying Indians than recognizing abuses to non-aboriginals. It’s as if aboriginal status gives immunity from laws that apply to everyone else. Justice Linden’s report, is viewed as sacrosanct by Ontario’s McGuinty government, and made the premier fearful of getting involved in Caledonia lest he be pilloried as Mike Harris was pilloried for Ipperwash and Dudley George’s death.

Mark Vandermaas, Mary-Lou LaPratte and Gary McHale challenge the Ipperwash Report and its recommendations. The three held a press conference at Queen’s Park that was largely ignored. They had a two-part article published by the Caledonia-based Regional News — virtually the only media to give them a hearing.

McGuinty refuses MPP Toby Barrett demand re help & inquiry for Caledonia

MPP Toby Barrett speaks at March for Freedom, Caledonia, Oct 15/06

Dalton McGuinty and the ruling Ontario Liberals have voted down yet another demand for an inquiry into Caledonia led by Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett. Barrett’s release references Christie Blatchfords upcoming book, HELPLESS:

————————-

– News Release, Oct 01/10 –
Barrett asks McGuinty for help in Caledonia
[PDF]

Queens Park –MPP Toby Barrett is asking Dalton McGuinty for help to deal with the ongoing impact and unanswered questions from the four-and-a-half year old land dispute in Caledonia.

Minister knew about OPP obstruction allegations in 2008

UPDATED 1308 March 19/10 — Nearly two years before yesterday’s issuance of Obstructing Justice charges against OPP Deputy Commissioner Chris Lewis and Superintendent Ron Gentle, the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Rick Bartolucci was informed  that serious allegations of possible criminal conduct were being made against the OPP in connection with their investigation of the Dec 01/07 Caledonia protest and the resulting charge against Gary McHale.

On May 30/08, on behalf of Gary McHale, Jeff Parkinson and myself, I sent a 71 page complaint under the Police Services Act to the Minister which summarized evidence alleging that Julian Fantino may have committed three criminal offences  — Obstructing Justice, Influencing Municipal Official and Breach of Trust — and asked that the RCMP be called in to investigate.

Although I/we did not, at that time, have the damning OPP emails that have now resulted in charges against Lewis and Gentle the minister was supplied with an extraordinary amount of detailed information that should have had him ringing alarm bells at RCMP HQ. Clearly, he should have been concerned: a Superior Court judge believed there was evidence to charge Fantino with Influencing Municipal Officials and now, a justice of the peace has issued process for Obstructing Justice charges against Lewis and Gentle for their involvement in the Dec 01/07 investigation.

Not only did Bartolucci refuse to call in the RCMP to investigate he didn’t bother to ask for supporting documents before dismissing the complaint out of hand. Despite a follow-up letter from me, he did not even address part 3 of the complaint which alleged Fantino may have committed a Breach of Trust by lying to the public about McHale and me.

MPP Toby Barrett: “The people of Ontario deserve an explanation”

Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett sent out a news release yesterday that followed up on the strong PC Party statements of Feb 03/10 regarding the dropping of the charge against OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino. (PDF copies are available below):

Caledonia update – is there a conflict of interest in Fantino case

by Toby Barrett, MPP, Haldimand-Norfolk, Feb 05/10

Toby here,

As you may know, we in the Ontario PC Caucus, and people from across Haldimand, have criticized the fact that the Crown has seen fit to drop charges against Julian Fantino.

I continue to join Opposition Leader Tim Hudak in maintaining our stance that this matter should have been referred to an outside Crown Attorney (as we saw in the Michael Bryant case) to prevent a conflict of interest.

In my view, the Attorney General’s failure to assign an independent Crown Attorney has diminished the public’s trust in our justice system. The people of Ontario deserve an explanation.

Ontario PC Party calls for outside prosecutor after Fantino charge dropped

UPDATE – VoC, Feb 06/10: MPP Toby Barrett: “The people of Ontario deserve an explanation.”

UPDATED Feb 04/10 — As expected, the Crown Attorney assigned the task of ‘prosecuting’  Julian Fantino dropped the charge of Influencing Municipal Official today against the OPP Commissioner via a prepared statement he read to the court. Gary McHale will be filing a judicial appeal of that decision. He has just issued a news release to the media:

• CANACE news release, Feb 03/10: Crown Violates the Fundamentals of Justice
• Attorney General of Ontario, Feb 03/10: Statement to Court re dropping of Fantino charge [PDF]

Tim Hudak & PC caucus sound the alarm

CHTV’s 2pm newscast included a strong statement from PC leader Tim Hudak  on behalf of the PC caucus which called on the McGuinty government to call in an outside prosecutor in order to not only see justice done, but to preserve the “appearances of justice being done”:

“What we have called for as a PC caucus is for a prosecutor from outside the province to take a look at the evidence and that way people in Caledonia and across our province know that it was done with objectivity. Here’s the problem…I mean first you have Dalton McGuinty’s Crown Attorneys arguing that the case shouldn’t proceed, then other Crown Attorneys were put in charge of prosecuting the case. Now we hear they’re dropping the charges. We need to see not only that justice is done, but all appearances of justice being done.”

CHTV News (1400), Feb 03/10: PC Leader Tim Hudak

THE END OF THE BEGINNING!

Doug Fleming (top), Peter Kamerman (middle), Merlyn Kinrade (bottom, w/blue beret), July 12/09. Photo by Jim Smith.

“The Germans have received back again that measure of fire and steel which they have so often meted out to others. Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”  

— Winston Churchill at Lord Mayor’s Luncheon, Mansion House following the victory at El Alamein in North Africa, London, 10 November 1942.                    

—————————                   

UPDATED – The two and a half year battle to force the OPP to respect the rights of non-natives to walk down a public road and place a Canadian flag on a public utility pole across the street from the Douglas Creek Estates is over!    

MPP Toby Barrett hammers McGuinty over Caledonia Militia insults

MPP Toby Barrett has absolutely hammered McGuinty and his cabinet ministers over their much-publicized insults regarding the Caledonia Militia in what is his most powerful statement since issuing the extraordinary Haldimand Proclamation for Peace, Order and Good Government on Feb 11/08.

• MPP Toby Barrett to Premier McGuinty, June 19/09: Illegal Occupation of Privately Owned Farmland II

As I said in emails to Toby’s Executive Assistant today:

I thought Toby’s letter to McGuinty was the best thing since the Barrett Proclamation. It was gutsy, honest, hard-hitting, passionate, and oh-so-very right on target! I am so bloody sick of politicians and bureaucrats accusing non-natives of being ‘unhelpful’ while they stay silent regarding native gangsters who have terrorized innocent people.

Read for yourself, and then send Toby a well-deserved thank you.

Toby Barrett supports Tim Hudak’s plan for renewed focus on rule of law

Toby Barrett has also issued a news release announcing that he is backing the call by Tim Hudak (candidate for PC Party Leader) for changes to the Trespass to Property Act and the creation of a separate offence for illegal occupations.

• MPP Toby Barrett news release, June 19/09: Barrett backing Hudak law against illegal occupations

Toby was there in the beginning

Toby Barrett was a key-note speaker (photo above) at the inaugural March for Freedom  on Oct 15/06 when every other politician was hiding under their beds and predicting a nuclear holocaust if non-natives peacefully marched in Caledonia.

Barrett to Premier: “dangerous for government to abdicate responsibility”

Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett letter to Premier Dalton McGuinty [PDF]

<<Premier McGuinty – illegal occupation of privately owned farmland.doc>> 

June 12, 2009

Dalton McGuinty, Premier
Legislative Building
Queen’s Park
Toronto ON M7A 1A1

Re: Illegal Occupation of Privately-owned Farmland

Premier,

Further to my communication to you and various Cabinet Ministers on June 11th, 2009, I continue to be contacted by a number of constituents – some too intimidated to reveal their identity – with respect to the construction of the ‘smoke shack’ / ‘information centre’ on a privately-owned farm. The property is adjacent to provincial Highway # 6 just South of Caledonia (911 number is 5350 Highway #6). A white building has been moved to the site beside the driveway of a privately-owned farm not owned by the occupiers.

This occupation of private farmland is without precedent.