Caledonia Needs Your Help

[Caledonia]

To: People of Ontario

Petition for Caledonia Public Inquiry

TO THE LEGISTLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO:

The background for this petition is as follows:

1. Commissioner Julian Fantino has proven through his own court testimony and published documentation that he is no longer unbiased or neutral. Along with native leaders having his personal cell number exclusively; he also uses his position to support them in court against charges by his own police force.

2. Following the flawed results and recommendations of the Ipperwash Inquiry, the OPP and the command decisions made by the OPP have violated and ignored the rules and guidelines as set out by a number of statutes. These include the Criminal Code and the Ontario Police Services Act. In addition the OPP have violated or ignored their training and standard operating procedures. There is documented and electronic evidence that the OPP did so knowingly.

3. The costs surrounding OPP is grossly underestimated. As taxpayers, we have the right to know the true costs of Caledonia. As the province of Ontario enters into years of deficits, how much more money will be wasted on flawed policing and the inability of leadership to change to tactics.

We petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

1. To request the Premier of Ontario to immediately launch a public inquiry into the actions and decisions made by the Commissioner of the OPP Julian Fantino and impose his immediate suspension without pay and upon confirmation of the facts, his immediate resignation.

2. To request the Premier Of Ontario to immediately launch a public inquiry into the actions and decisions made by the OPP with respect to Caledonia over the past 3 years.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

http://www.petitiononline.com/4625FA46/petition.html

If you have been following Caledonia We need your help.

Thank you

Caledonia Resident.

[Caledonia]

Caledonia residents launch petition for Fantino's resignation

Posted By KAREN BEST, CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER

Posted 2 hours ago

Ken Hewitt and another Caledonia resident want an inquiry into Ontario Provincial Police commissioner Julian Fantino's handling of issues in Haldimand County.

On Dec. 22, they launched a petition which will be distributed across Haldimand County including Dunnville. It demands an inquiry into Fantino's actions and into overall policing based on the "tainted" report from Ipperwash, said Hewitt, who was a key Caledonia Citizens Alliance spokesperson in 2006.

The petition also demands that Fantino be suspended until the inquiry is concluded and be removed from his job if cause if found.

The petition will be circulated across Ontario and will soon be available on the internet.

The petition sprung out of frustration and anger over a recent letter Fantino wrote in support of Clyde Powless of Six Nations, Hewitt indicated. OPP officers charged him with assault and mischief related to events at the Dec. 1, 2007 smoke shop protest on Argyle Street South in Caledonia.

"He defies the charges made by his own officers by submitting a letter of support (for Powless)," said Hewitt. "I question why the commissioner of the OPP would submit a letter on a misdemeanour."

In the letter filed for a Dec. 5 court hearing on Powless's charges, Fantino wrote that Powless was "instrumental in diffusing serious conflict and confrontation" and has acted as a peacemaker.

In Fantino's letter, which was released last week by Gary McHale, the commissioner said he was making no excuses for Powless's behaviour. Fantino also said the volatile situation and provocation could simply be avoided if McHale and his followers were not in attendance. Three of five paragraphs in the letter mention McHale.

In an email, McHale said a preliminary hearing on his "counselling mischief that did not occur" charge spanned 10 days. His bail conditions which banned him from Caledonia were lifted and altered for the Christmas holidays. He can visit his lawyer and accountant in town and can visit people upon receiving an invitation but he can only visit one home in the vicinity of Douglas Creek Estates.

Article ID# 136158

http://www.dunnvillechronicle.com/ArticleD....aspx?e=1361581

[Caledonia]

Open Letter to the Commissioner Julian Fantino,

Mr. Fantino, unlike you, I have been involved with the ongoing land claim in Caledonia from the time the OPP botched up the removal of protestors from privately owned land known as DCE. I saw with my own two eyes, protestors pushing back the OPP and breaking many laws as we know them. I saw the actions of men such as Clyde Powless exhibit very little concern for the people of Caledonia and much less concern for the misguided OPP officers on the street. Who were mostly un-prepared for the situations that they were put into.

I witnessed many occasions when the OPP, confused by the lack of leadership by both yourself and your predecessor Gwen Boniface, both of you allowing the Ipperwash Inquiry to influence your decision making, knowingly violated or ignored your own training and standard operating procedures.

I was thoroughly offended when you came to meet with business leaders through the local Rotary, to listen to you lay blame on the citizens of Caledonia for injuries sustained by your police force in several confrontations. To hear you justify the lack of arrests made with respect to the many crimes committed by protestors around Caledonia. To hear you continue to use the phrase that you’re only the “meat between the sandwich” yet laws continue to be broken under your watch. These are laws that have nothing to do with land claims but your fear and your mismanagement has created a fear amongst your officers in knowing when to apply the law and when not to.

On several occasions, to hear you comment on the ongoing costs of policing in Caledonia, and that it is not related to your inability as Commissioner to contain the criminal elements that still continue to exist, but to lay blame on those that choose to challenge you and the government of Ontario, how you have let the community of Caledonia down in what I would call an abysmal failure of leadership.

Most of all, however it is this most recent letter of support that you submitted in defense of Clyde Powless, that has finally brought me to this point in writing you, along with petitioning for your resignation as Commissioner of what was once known as an exceptional police force the OPP.

You were not there that day that Clyde Powless lead the protestors to block Argyle road for a month, you were not there when on his direction, the same road was dug up, you were not there when Clyde Powless and his associates specifically told me three days prior to the hydro station being destroyed, that should there be any resistance from the people of Caledonia, that the services such hydro or water could be targeted.

Instead, you allow your personal conflict with Gary McHale to cloud your judgement, and as such use your position of power to sway the courts in seeing Mr. Powless as a good man, a man who cares about his neighbors, and a man that would do everything to diffuse tense situations rather than the truth as already mentioned.

In football, they call this play the “Flim-Flam”; you have been played sir, and the confidence in your ability to lead and make the right decision without reservation is diminished. This lack of confidence exists within and without your own police force; it does not only exist in Caledonia, but reaches beyond its borders.

The reality that Ontario will be heading into deficits for the next several years supports the idea of a public inquiry on your actions and those of the OPP and its decisions in the past three years in Caledonia. Up to now there has been a blank cheque and there is no clarity to the costs up to now let alone to the future. As a taxpayer who must shoulder the burden of these deficits, have the right to call for accountability and the right to call for your resignation.

Ken Hewitt

[Mr.Canada]

Seriously the OPP or the CF need to just come in there and take charge of the situation. If the Province wants to buy the land and give it to the Natives that's cool but lets get this thing resolved, enough is enough already.

[Caledonia]

Seriously the OPP or the CF need to just come in there and take charge of the situation. If the Province wants to buy the land and give it to the Natives that's cool but lets get this thing resolved, enough is enough already.

Your talking alot of land there, 6 miles either side of the Grand River from sorce to mouth, including not only Caledonia, but Dunnville, Brantford, Kitchener, Waterloo etc. Over 1 million + people & their homes. I don't think that is an option.

But I agree enough is enough.

Edited December 29, 2008 by Caledonia

[NanaimoConservative]

I agree that the Caledonia residents need support. The natives there are just domestic terrorists. The OPP are too scared to uphold the law. We should have declared martial law a long time ago and sent the army in to uphold the court orders and the laws there.

Caledonia Wakeup Call Blog

Caledonia Wakeup Call Site

[Topaz]

Question, doesn`t the Feds have some part to the solution of this too?

[AngusThermopyle]

We should have declared martial law a long time ago and sent the army in to uphold the court orders and the laws there.

I disagree with you, we should never just declare martial law, never. We should never just send the military in to enforce court orders. Those are functions of the police force, not the military.

I do agree that action must be taken now, not later, but I do not think that an aggressive militaristic aproach is the appropriate one to take within ones own country and amongst ones own countrymen.

A far more preferable approach would be that the law were applied equally, free of bias or influence. Unfortunatelly I think we are all aware of the fact that this is just not the reality or the truth, however armed intervention and martial law are not an answer or truism of any lasting kind or value either.

Personally I would prefer to see a public review of the conduct of the senior members of the OPP and the decisions that they have made regarding this and other situations that have arisen under their watch. Obviously such a review would inevitabily encompass the Premiere and his most senior staff so equally as obvious is the fact that none of us is ever likely to see any such thing happen in the view of the public. Ever.

I hate to be pessimistic but I believe that Caledonia is a lost cause as far as understanding and compromise tempered by the rule of law are concerned. As long as the principle players in this Fiasco are allowed to continue playing the current game no resolution will be acheived.

That is why I do agree with the above petition, I just don't think it encompasses enough.

[charter.rights]

Ah, the lies and propaganda starts up again....

Ken Hewitt the author of the request for an inquiry is Gary McHale's pal. McHale has been trying all fall to bilk charity out of residents of Caledonia and the surrounding area for his perpetual upkeep. McHale doesn't work, and I hear his welfare was cut off so now he is trying with this new ruse to get people to support him while he sits at home and bangs away at his keyboard.

There is no reason that Caledonia needs anyone's help. Nor is there any reason for an inquiry (nor will there ever be one). Fantino is the OPP boss and as a cop boss he can pretty much run the place the way he wants. McHale is just pissed that Fantino gave Clyde Powless, a Six Nation's protester a character reference in another trial, while Fantino continues to insist that McHale is a rabble rouser and a threat to community safety.

Instead the law is being followed. Recently the Supreme Court of Canada in Robert Lovelace v. Ontario, that protesters have a democratic right to occupy and prevent development where the Crown has failed in its duty to consult and accommodate First Nations. On the other hand McHale was banned from Caledonia (which was relaxed by the Court for the holidays) for causing mischief and is presently before the courts fighting the charges. In essence, McHale no longer has the right to organize or participate in protests in Caledonia or Brantford, while Six Nations can stop development at will on any land claim or land interest in the entire Haldimand. While McHale will deny it, there is no doubt that this and his request for Fantino's inquiry is nothing more than an attempt to exert his racist tendencies on the people of Caledonia and others.

The law is on the side of Six Nations and other First Nations. The need for consultation and accommodation can legally affect third party interests (such as mining prospectors and developers) where the Crown has failed its duty. People better get used to this kind of thing since every case that goes to higher level courts, increases the definition of aboriginal property and treaty rights under the Charter. We have to be prepared to negotiate and settle long standing issues in a fair and reasonable way.

[AngusThermopyle]

Ah, the lies and propaganda starts up again....

How appropriate that your first appearance in some time is prefaced in this way. So utterly predictable.

So?

Do you actually have any comment to make that has any relevance at all to what I previously stated?

Or is this to be yet another of your repetitious and baseless rants based on nothing more than your own blind predjudices and personal agendas?

[August1991]

Your talking alot of land there, 6 miles either side of the Grand River from sorce to mouth, including not only Caledonia, but Dunnville, Brantford, Kitchener, Waterloo etc. Over 1 million + people & their homes. I don't think that is an option.

But I agree enough is enough.

I thought that the primary objective of Canada's military was the defense of Canadians and Canada's territory. How many billions are we spending to "protect" the Arctic?

The situation of "native North Americans" in Canada is a mess and someone will have to deal with it. I say that in politically correct terms.

----

I happen to think that people alive today are not entitled to special rights simply because their ancestors came to this continent early. Should someone named Tremblay or Brewster deserve special treatment? Similarly, should other people ("native" North Americans) deserve special treatment?

Life is not fair. IMV, the secret of North America's success is that people largely look to the future, not the past.

Edited December 31, 2008 by August1991

[AngusThermopyle]

Ah, the lies and propaganda starts up again....

Would you care to show or demonstrate how anything I stated prior to your post is "lies" or "propaganda".

Could it be that in the face of honesty and a sense of justice for all that you lose your percieved position and sense of place?

Could it be that you are not actually imterested in justice and honesty but merely desire power and lordship over others?

Could it be that you are no more than a Grima Wormtounge?

To paraphrase the Bard...Methinks so.

[charter.rights]

How appropriate that your first appearance in some time is prefaced in this way. So utterly predictable.

So?

Do you actually have any comment to make that has any relevance at all to what I previously stated?

Or is this to be yet another of your repetitious and baseless rants based on nothing more than your own blind predjudices and personal agendas?

I guess you don't read all the posts. I've been here all along posting and reading.

But all this is beside the point. Just because a post follows yours does not mean it is all about you!

I made a post on the relevancy of the petition for an inquiry, the fact that this has nothing to do with Caledonia and the fact that the rule of law IS (finally) being applied at Six Nations. All of it culminates in the idea that McHale is behind yet another attempt to get into the picture and to turn an otherwise calm and peaceful existence in Caledonia into another explosive controversy. He can't do it himself since he is banned from making or attending protests so he has enlisted his minions to do it for him.

How you figured that was all about YOU is beyond me......

[charter.rights]

Would you care to show or demonstrate how anything I stated prior to your post is "lies" or "propaganda".

Could it be that in the face of honesty and a sense of justice for all that you lose your percieved position and sense of place?

Could it be that you are not actually imterested in justice and honesty but merely desire power and lordship over others?

Could it be that you are no more than a Grima Wormtounge?

To paraphrase the Bard...Methinks so.

Justice my friend, is that protests and occupations by native people over land claims IS legal....Robert Lovelace v. Ontario....

Nice attempt ad Hominem

[Jerry J. Fortin]

Or course they are legal! The right to free speech and all that stuff applies, even to the folks that claim they are not Canadian. For my two cents, I would suggest that since they do not want to be Canadian then we simply treat them as such.

[AngusThermopyle]

McHale has been trying all fall to bilk charity out of residents of Caledonia and the surrounding area for his perpetual upkeep.

So what you're saying is that he's using tactics very similar to those used by Six Nations.

[eyeball]

Or course they are legal! The right to free speech and all that stuff applies, even to the folks that claim they are not Canadian. For my two cents, I would suggest that since they do not want to be Canadian then we simply treat them as such.

Careful, you might have to treat them as humans in that case. That could be even harder.

Interestingly enough I'm almost at the point where I'm considering going up against the BC provincal government and 1st nation governments to respect my human right to sustain myself.

I want to harvest 10 cords of alder from crown land and there doesn't seem to be any end to the grief and problems that such a simple request has caused. Alder grows like a weed around here and logging companies routinely cut the stuff down and leave it to rot. I figure I can make about $5000 from 10 cords by making firewood bundles in my spare time - this would help me stay self-employed and in shape and a contributor to society and so on. Because my use of the wood has been determined to be a commercial venture however things have gotten get extremely complicated. As a Canadian I am bound by the laws and agreements the senior governments have made with 1st nation governments and these stipulate that I must employ at least one native person to do what I propose. I simply can't afford this and honestly don't see why I should have to.

I feel quite simply like rejecting my citizenship as a Canadian and decalring myself an Earthling, with the same fundamental right that any human being has to exist. On the one hand I feel like Howard Roarke daring the world to deny my right to work and on the other I feel like a rubber-tapper daring it to respect it. Trust me, if leaving this miserable little planet was an option I would without so much as a single regret or a backward glance.

Given how something so simple as selling a few sticks of firewood has become so political and complex I expect Caledonia will be a monument to societal paralysis for generations in this country.

Are $5000 or jail time worth my human rights or should I just be a humble little law abiding Canadian and acquiesce to the wisdom and authority the almighty power of the state? I could just go poach the wood I guess, that's what most people do hereabouts but that makes my skin crawl. I might as well grow pot if people are that determined I become a criminal to survive.

Edited December 31, 2008 by eyeball

[madmax]

Caledonia residents launch petition for Fantino's resignation

Posted By KAREN BEST, CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER

Posted 2 hours ago

Ken Hewitt and .....

Ken Hewitt eh

[charter.rights]

Or course they are legal! The right to free speech and all that stuff applies, even to the folks that claim they are not Canadian. For my two cents, I would suggest that since they do not want to be Canadian then we simply treat them as such.

Regardless, there are treaties and agreements that must be upheld Canadian or not....including huge monetary ones....

[Oleg Bach]

Indian gangsters learn the game of the anglo italian gangsters .....maybe they are blackmailing each other? What else could it be that brings power to a stand still.

[charter.rights]

Indian gangsters learn the game of the anglo italian gangsters .....maybe they are blackmailing each other? What else could it be that brings power to a stand still.

Of course your reference is "welfare" - a ward of the state - and can't understand what community activism is all about?

The problem is there are two competing powers looking at the same land base. In the past the Crown made agreements and promises on behalf of Canada and Canadians historically have ignored them. Now when the Crown insists that Canada abide by the rule of law, people like you issue epithets.

I take it as it is.....you have no reference for your accusations....

[Ontario Loyalist]

Ken Hewitt the author of the request for an inquiry is Gary McHale's pal. McHale has been trying all fall to bilk charity out of residents of Caledonia and the surrounding area for his perpetual upkeep. McHale doesn't work, and I hear his welfare was cut off so now he is trying with this new ruse to get people to support him while he sits at home and bangs away at his keyboard.

Yeah, and I've heard that the largest employer on SN is a huge auto-theft ring that employs kids to steal cars at about $1000 a pop.

[charter.rights]

Yeah, and I've heard that the largest employer on SN is a huge auto-theft ring that employs kids to steal cars at about $1000 a pop.

Sarcasm aside the largest employer on Six Nations is government followed I believe, by Grand River Enterprises. Although your rhetoric doesn't surprise me....you must be another friend of Gary McHale's since he uses the same propaganda to support his racist point of view.

By the way, I wonder what happened to Kengs333? I suppose he just gave up that moniker once he was banned from here....?

[Ontario Loyalist]

Hardly accurate. The last polls that were taken on the subject indicated that over 80% of Canadians agreed with the settlement of claims with all First Nations. Seems your assertions are based on a lie.

What polls?

[Ontario Loyalist]

Sarcasm aside the largest employer on Six Nations is government followed I believe, by Grand River Enterprises. Although your rhetoric doesn't surprise me....you must be another friend of Gary McHale's since he uses the same propaganda to support his racist point of view.

By the way, I wonder what happened to Kengs333? I suppose he just gave up that moniker once he was banned from here....?

I'm not sure how it's racist to point out the fact that SN is the center of an auto-theft ring. The police have been dealing with this problem for quite some time, and recently an officer was almost killed by a fleeing auto-thief known to be from SN. If members of SN were all peaceful, hardworking people who committed no crimes then there would be no reason for complaint. But these people wilfully engage in these activities and bring upon themselves a bad reputation.