A Caledonian man is suing the Ontario government for supposedly spying on First Nation's protestors as they unloaded several boxes of what appeared to be full of loaded assault rifles. David Brown, 42, and his wife, Dana Chatwell and their children have filled a $7 million lawsuit against the province and OPP for abuse of power and neglect of duty over a standoff at Douglas Creek Estates, a parcel of land native’s claim was stolen from them 200 years ago. This area is located 20 kilometers southwest of Hamilton and has been a large area of conflict between the town, the police and the native protestors. Since this time the land has been sold back to the town from the original developer because of this dispute, giving the province more control over the occurrences that commence on that land. Brown admitted that he crawled onto the native’s occupied land and saw them unloading crates of what he claimed to be filled with assault rifles. He recognized the type of box and the inscriptions on the side as the type he used to see at the shipyard he used to work for. These boxes were from Russia. "I could see it pretty clearly," said Brown, who was about 20 meters from the men unloading the crates. "I was looking through the grass and my heart was pounding." He first approached the police about this and they said they hadn't seen anything if the sort. Brown knew this to be a lie because he saw an OPP van stationed just off the property observing these activities. Brown feels strongly about this because his family has been put in harms way many times by these natives and the police did nothing to prevent this. Brown is testifying to try and protect his family and assist all other families in his position.
In my opinion this occurrence could prove to be very harmful to the reputation of the OPP if they are found guilty as charged and lose this case. This man, Mr. Brown, did this for the sake of the welfare of his family. He shouldn't be punished, the ones responsible for the events leading him to do this should be held responsible. If what Mr. Brown is saying is the truth than this situation is one of dire importance for the future of the OPP. These disputes with native Canadians have been prevalent problems for the past couple of years, but the police have always told us they have it under control and the people don't need to take action. If Mr. Brown is telling the truth this proves that the police don't have this issue under control, and the people are being forced to change these problems themselves as a result. Irresponsible is the only word to describe the party that losses this law suit. The OPP have their reputation as a force to help the people at stake, and if Mr. Brown is lying he is irresponsible for putting himself in such danger with no way to protect himself. I believe both parties in this issue have made bad choices that could spite them in the end.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
We need to introduce a piece of legislation that will automatically kick in when protest takes place such as the protest in Caledonia. Might I once again suggest that you take such legislation to parliament asking that the provincial government in conjunction with the Federal government introduce an addendum to the Ipperwash report, (bringing it up to date ,so to speak). Such legislation should layout a automatic community compensation package, both for residents and businesses. I say automatic in that certain protest qualifying standards are necessary for such legislation to kick in. My sense is that Caledonia would more than meet any protest qualifications determined. Clearly, based on how the provinical and Federal governments are acting out this current stalemate, aboriginal protest will continue to take place for decades to come. Having said that we need to pursue community compensation, otherwise there will be more bloodshed. My sense is that both levels of government have taken a "let them bring it to court attitude" before they will pay out. Well let me tell you, should these court cases be decided in favour of the plaintiffs then my sense is the province is going to be inundated with lawsuits. We all know that the OPP "laissez faire" attitude regarding the protest is politically rooted. Having said that, I believe both the class action lawsuit and the Brown-Chartwell suit wil uncover the facts and ofcourse invariably will result in (hopefully) substantial compensation. If that is the case then the voting base will understand that to get any real meaningful government assistance, one must sue. Should this prove to be the case I predict much more litiigation will ensue as many have painfully suffered.
Caledonai, business owner
Post a Comment