[R-G] Talks at Sharbot Lake Continue

[Macdonald Stainsby]

3 articles:

http://www.chroniclejournal.com/stories_national.php?id=67638

Talks continue over aboriginal protest near planned uranium mine
By THE CANADIAN PRESS
Thursday, October 4, 2007

KINGSTON, Ont. - The two sides at odds over a proposed uranium mine near 
Sharbot Lake, Ont., will meet again in Kingston on Friday.

Representatives from Frontenac Ventures Corp. and the aboriginal 
protesters were in court Thursday to discuss a court order issued in 
August that would have forced the protesters off the land until a trial 
can begin, but talks ran long.

The lawyers representing the mining company were asking that the 
protesters be found in contempt and face charges for not following the 
order.

Frontenac Ventures has already launched a $77-million lawsuit against 
the aboriginal groups, citing losses relating to the three-month blockade.

The talks come days after Justice Douglas Cunningham issued a permanent 
injunction against the protesters.

Lawyers for the aboriginal groups say they are prepared to contest the 
company's case.


http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/10/02/ot-uranium-071002.html

Algonquins offer to end uranium site occupation
Last Updated: Tuesday, October 2, 2007 | 5:35 PM ET
CBC News

Two First Nations communities have offered to end their three-month 
occupation of a potential uranium site in eastern Ontario if the 
province agrees to help resolve its dispute with a mining exploration 
company.

Chief Doreen Davis of the Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation and Paula 
Sherman, co-chief of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, sent a letter to 
Premier Dalton McGuinty on Tuesday asked for mediation involving 
themselves and provincial and federal government representatives.

They proposed that during mediation they will suspend occupation of the 
site near Sharbot Lake, Ont., where Frontenac Ventures Corp. wants to do 
test drilling for uranium, provided that the company does not gain 
access to the site, and no mineral exploration and mining takes place 
during the mediation process.

The Algonquins say the land is theirs, they should have been consulted 
about the mining and they oppose uranium mining for environmental reasons.

They have already met twice with provincial representatives.

Protesters from the two communities have been blocking access to the 
site, about 60 kilometres north of Kingston since late June.

That is despite a temporary court injunction issued in August and a 
permanent injunction issued last week granting the company access to the 
site, and ordering police to arrest and remove the protesters.

The injunctions were requested by Frontenac Ventures, which is also 
suing the Algonquins for $77 million.

In September, the Ardoch and Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nations launched a 
$10-million countersuit against the company and a $1-billion lawsuit 
against the province.


http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/260939

Legal hammers, human nails
Toronto Star
Sep 27, 2007 04:30 AM
PEGGY BLAIR

At Caledonia, Six Nations Mohawks have occupied the site of a planned 
development for more than 18 months, claiming they never surrendered the 
lands in dispute. Parts of Caledonia are now blocked off and development 
in the contested area is frozen.

For the most part, Caledonia townspeople do not support the blockade. 
They are greatly inconvenienced and may not appreciate the Mohawk 
frustration at seeing reserved lands repeatedly developed over their 
objections or understand that the Mohawk claim has been outstanding for 
more than 100 years.

But as time drags on with no resolution, events have taken an ugly turn. 
Last week, a developer who tried to go behind the lines to check on his 
property was beaten viciously by native thugs. Iroquois traditionalists 
at the blockade say they don't condone the violence and had nothing to 
do with it, but have clearly been unable to control extremists on the line.

Just this week, Dave Brown and Dana Chatwell, a couple whose home is 
trapped between the blockade, sued the OPP and Ontario for more than $12 
million in damages, claiming regular harassment by natives who pound on 
their windows and demand they present native-issued "passports" before 
entering their own land.

John Tory is now calling on the police to remove the protesters. He also 
wants changes to the Petty Trespass Act, making it illegal for any 
organization or third party to support or encourage a blockade.

But consider this. At Sharbot Lake, the Algonquins have blocked access 
to an area where Frontenac Ventures Company planned to build a uranium 
mine. Like the Mohawks, the Algonquins have refused to abide by a court 
injunction, instead demanding negotiations.

Another lawsuit for lost income is pending - Frontenac Ventures has sued 
the First Nations for $77 million. But the tone of the blockade at 
Sharbot Lake is very different from that at Caledonia - here, the 
Algonquins have widespread support.

Frontenac Ventures obtained mining permits under an archaic law that 
permits them to enter land without consent and stake claims to 
subsurface rights. The only thing standing between the mining company 
and landowners' diminished property values are the Algonquins, who 
instead of interfering with landowners' rights, are seen as their protector.

For that reason, as well as shared concerns over the environmental 
impacts of a mine, the blockade has attracted the support of local 
residents as well as Greenpeace and the Christian Peacemakers, who are 
monitoring the lines. If police action occurs, it will be directed 
against the landowners as well as the Algonquins.

There is an old saying that when one's only tool is a hammer, 
everything's a nail. John Tory's proposals may well cause the Mohawks at 
Caledonia to be arrested and hauled away, but will do little to resolve 
the underlying dispute.

Meanwhile, the changes could lead to charges against Greenpeace, the 
Christian Peacemakers and the grannies at Sharbot Lake. Instead of 
creating yet another legal hammer, Tory might be better served by asking 
why there are still long-standing land claims disputes in Ontario, why 
developers don't know about them ahead of time, what mechanisms can be 
introduced to expedite their resolution, and how the province might help 
avoid these disputes.

As Dave Brown said in an interview this weekend, he doesn't care who's 
at fault, he just wants the problems fixed. The same can be said for 
most Ontarians, including the natives on the lines.


Peggy Blair is an Ottawa lawyer specializing in aboriginal issues. She 
is a former member of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.

-- 
Macdonald Stainsby
Coordinator, http://oilsandstruth.org
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