Stores near Caledonia protest advised to close early
Last Updated Fri, 28 Apr 2006 13:28:41 EDT
CBC News
An uneasy calm hung over the site of a native land standoff in
Caledonia, Ont. on Friday, with store owners in the area being advised
by police to close early.
INDEPTH: Aboriginal Canadians
Caledonia residents recently held a rally at the public fairgrounds.
(Nathan Denette/ Canadian Press)
In issuing the advisory, police stressed they had no official
confirmation that any kind of trouble was brewing.
However, Ontario Provincial Police Const. Paula Wright told the
Canadian Press that there had been "hearsay and rumours of rallies."
Native protesters have occupied the property, about an hour southwest
of Toronto, since Feb. 28. They argue that the land belongs to them.
The developer, Henco Industries, intends to build 250 homes on the
40-hectare site.
Police take action
On April 20, OPP officers attempted to break up the protest, but failed
when hundreds of additional demonstrators arrived to bolster the
blockade.
Sixteen people were arrested and later released on bail. The blockade
was not removed.
On Monday, there was a noisy confrontation at the barricades that led
to the arrest of one person.
About 500 residents headed to the site after a rally, at which they
called on authorities to end the demonstration.
FROM APRIL 26, 2006: Talks resuming to end Caledonia standoff
The province says native people gave up the land in 1841 to make way
for a new highway, an agreement a Six Nations spokesperson said was
only meant to be a lease.
The Six Nations group filed a land-claim suit over the area in 1999.
Meanwhile, provincial government officials told CBC News on Friday that
negotiations to end the standoff were expected to run into the weekend.
The office of Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Ramsay said negotiators
had broken off into working groups and would continue meeting on
Saturday.
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