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Native protester feels stood up

By Luke Hendry The Belleville Intelligencer
Local News - Thursday, April 05, 2007 Updated @ 2:14:22 PM

DESERONTO — One of the lead protesters at a native encampment here has delivered a warning to the provincial government that its ministerial representatives should keep their appointments.

Shawn Brant told reporters Thursday afternoon a district manager of the Ministry of Natural Resources was expected to visit a quarry here at noon Thursday, on the invitation of protesters, but did not attend.

Brant said the official instead went to the band office for Mohawks Of the Bay of Quinte and told officials there she had concerns about visiting the site.

An official with the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte Thursday confirmed the band council had convened “a meeting between the ministry and officials from the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte,” but declined to confirm whether the manager in question was among the ministry delegation.

Brant said district manager Jane Ireland had been invited to tour several sites on the disputed land where the Mohawks allege garbage and industrial waste had been dumped and burned illegally. Brant said the protesters camped at the quarry in what is known as the Culbertson Land Tract had assured Ireland there would be no safety issues during her visit.

Brant said the evidence of contamination — sites, he said, where asphalt was dumped and some waste had been burned — was obvious and required no testing by the ministry to ascertain that it was hazardous.

But, because the manager did not honour the invitation of the protesters, Brant declared no other government official will be allowed to enter the area, henceforth.

“We wanted them to see this,” Brant said. “It was today or it was nothing. I think it (the alleged contamination) is clear enough and they should just revoke the licence and f*** off.”