Developer "outraged" after building banned on site of native occupation

Canadian Press
The New 940 Montreal
Published: Friday, May 19, 2006

[SISIS note: The following mainstream news article is provided for reference only, as an example of how mainstream media treats indigenous resistance to genocide. Mainstream media often presents biased and distorted information, lacking pertinent facts and/or context. Inclusion of this article on our site should not be considered an endorsement by SISIS.]

CALEDONIA, Ont. (CP) - A developer embroiled in an aboriginal land dispute in southwestern Ontario is expressing dismay at the provincial government's decision to declare a moratorium on construction at the site.

The province has sent a letter to the Haudenosaunee Six Nations Confederacy Council confirming that all construction at the site in Caledonia, Ont., will be halted indefinitely.

Aboriginal protesters have been camped out at the site since Feb. 28, claiming the land was wrongly taken from them in the 1840s.

A lawyer for Henco Industries, the developer of the proposed subdivision, said Friday the company was never consulted about the moratorium and is furious about the arrangement.

"We're outraged," Henco lawyer Michael Bruder said.

He said Henco only learned about the latest development through an aboriginal website called Six Nations Solidarity, which posted the letter from David Ramsay, Ontario's minister responsible for aboriginal affairs.

Bruder said the province proposed the moratorium and further archeological assessment of the site during discussions to end the dispute, but Henco did not back either move.

"I sent a letter to the government last Friday saying we would not agree to either of those two conditions," he said.

Bruder said the government has put Henco in an untenable position, and the only way out is for the province to purchase the property from the company.

"We've said all the way along that we didn't want to sell, but they've backed us into a corner," he said.

"What other option do we have? We've got financial commitments. They've told us that we can't develop it."

Six Nations spokeswoman Janie Jamieson said Friday the moratorium was proposed in an effort to end a blockade that has been set up on the main road through the town.

She said the protesters are still considering their options, and in the meantime, the blockade and occupation will continue.