Grand River land dispute

Dispute over Indigenous land rights in Canada

The Grand River land dispute, also known as the Caledonia land dispute, is an ongoing dispute between the Six Nations of the Grand River and the Government of Canada. It is focused on land along the length of the Grand River in Ontario known as the Haldimand Tract, a tract that was granted to Indigenous allies of the British Crown in 1784 to make up for territorial losses suffered as a result of the American Revolutionary War and the Treaty of Paris (1783). The Six Nations were granted the land in perpetuity and allege that lands were improperly sold, leased or given away by various Canadian governments, leaving only 5 per cent of the original lands under Six Nations control. The Six Nations also allege that monies owed to the Six Nations from leases and loans on much of the tract have not been paid or were redirected into government coffers. The dispute has been the subject of many formal negotiations under the land claims process since the 1970s and several instances of direct action in the form of protests, blockades, and occupations. Formal negotiations have broken down, and the dispute is before the courts. The Government of Canada's policy to extinguish aboriginal title as a condition of settlement is considered unacceptable by the Six Nations. The Six Nations are seeking monies owing and ongoing payments for leased lands and the return of lands improperly transferred. The dispute came to wide attention in Canada in 2006 when the Six Nations formally reactivated litigation initially brought in 1995 against Canada and Ontario. October 25, 1784 – In return for military support provided by member states of the Six Nations during the American Revolution, the British Crown provides these nations with territory to replace lands ceded south of the Great Lakes via the Haldimand Proclamation. A contingent of Haudenosaunee people led by Brant decides to settle at the Grand River. The nations' new, shared territory extends 6 mile (10 km) from either side of the Grand River, from its source to its termination at Lake Erie. 1791 – Sir John Johnson, who had been placed in charge of managing the resettlement of the Haudenosaunee, notices an error regarding the northern boundary of the Haldimand Tract. He found that the headwaters of the Grand River did not fall within the land purchased from the Mississaugas in 1784. The Crown's surveyor Augustus Jones redefines the boundary of the Six Nations' parcel, establishing straight lined boundaries, including Jones Baseline, which provided the northern boundary of the newly defined parcel, around the later location of Guelph. December 1792 – The Crown purchases the remainder of the land included in the Haldimand Grant (i. e., up to the actual headwaters of the Grand River) from the Mississaugas, but does not transfer it to Six Nations. The Simcoe Patent limits the Haldimand Tract to for the exclusive use of the Six Nations, leaving the rest of the land available to be leased, surrendered, or sold by the Haudenosaunee to the Crown. It does not address the issue of the territory around the headwaters. Brant and the other Six Nations chiefs reject the patent and claim that they are not bound by it. December 18, 1844 – A surrender is signed by 47 Six Nations chiefs that authorizes the sale of land to build Plank Road.

In 1980, the Six Nations Council, along with SNLCRO, submitted a claim to Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada against Canadian National Railway's unauthorized use of reserve land for a stretch of rail that runs along the eastern end of the reserve (near the site of the later Douglas Creek Estates dispute). The First Nation eventually accepted a settlement in 1987 that consisted of $610,000 in the form of three parcels of land added to the reserve, which added approximately The council also retained the right to purchase said railway lands if they were not used for railway purposes and were re acquired by Canada. That land was part of an existing land claim submitted by the Six Nations Elected Council; the claim had been closed by 1995. In March of that year, the Six Nations sued the federal and provincial governments in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice over the developers' purchase of the land. The lawsuit is an accounting claim for "all assets which were not received but ought to have been received, managed or held by the Crown for the benefit of the Six Nations." Direct action on the part of protesters over the years included blockade of roads and rail lines, damage to a power station resulting in an area blackout and more than $1 million in repairs, and low levels of violence from both sides, as well as isolated, more serious attacks. The federal government halted negotiations at times because of the protesters' actions. As protests continued, on June 12, 2006, more than 400 area residents and businesses filed a class action suit against the Government of Ontario for its "failure to protect them adequately". This was settled in July 2011, with the government paying to class members. By the end of 2011, several criminal cases related to assaults had been prosecuted. During the continuing dispute, on June 16, 2006, the Government of Ontario announced it had bought the disputed tract from the developer and would hold it in trust until negotiations settled the claim. Talks began, including the Confederacy chiefs, but were put on hold in 2009 when litigation of the 1995 lawsuit was resumed. The trial is anticipated to start sometime in early 2024.

October 15 – A rally organized by resident Gary McHale attracts an estimated 400 participants. Dubbed the "March for Freedom", the rally is blocked from the main entrance to the Douglas Creek Estates by the OPP. Instead, the rally goes to the grounds of the school that borders the site. McHale encourages the rally members to control their tempers. Meanwhile, some Six Nations people and their Native and non Native supporters gather together for a "Potluck for Peace" on the contested site.

December 16 – OPP arrest Gary McHale for breach of the peace for organizing a rally in Caledonia.

On January 27, 2007, a report from the Department of Justice to the Six Nations Confederacy stated that their land claims would not hold up in court. On April 12, 2007, Haldimand County Mayor Marie Trainer said she received an e mail from OPP commissioner Julian Fantino implying that the town was encouraging "divisive rallies" at the occupation site. He added that if any officers are harmed, he would not support a renewal of the town's policing contract in 2008 and would back any lawsuit brought against the town by individual officers. An OPP spokesperson told The Hamilton Spectator that the OPP would neither confirm nor deny the authenticity of the e mail because it was meant to be private correspondence. On February 22, 2010, Marie Trainer said that the province was leaning towards giving the Douglas Creek Estates to the Six Nations Band Council, but that she expected it to be some time before a formal decision would be reached. In June 2014, the Haldimand County council ordered the removal of a native made blockade in Caledonia. In November 2014, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council completed construction of a fence and gate surrounding the Douglas Creek Estates site in order to prevent trespassing on the disputed land.

Throughout the occupation and protests, many Caledonia residents complained that they had been subject to threats and violence from Native protesters and that the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) failed to take any action to protect them. David Brown, who lived with his wife near the disputed area at the time, testified in court in November 2009 that he was required to carry a native issued passport and needed approval from the protesters to enter his own house. He also claimed that after arriving "after curfew" one day, he was denied entry and jailed by the OPP when he caused trouble by ignoring the natives. Brown alleged that Native protesters threatened and harassed him repeatedly, and that rocks and mud were thrown at his family and their home. Brown and his wife sought $7 million in a civil lawsuit against the OPP on the basis that the police did nothing to protect him and his family during the occupation. Six Nations Councillor Claudine VanEvery Albert, along with OPP spokesperson Constable Paula Wright both spoke out against the formation of a militia, and three days later, Ontario Community Safety Minister Rick Bartolucci called it a "dumb idea." On July 8, 2011, Ontario Attorney General Chris Bentley announced a settlement of $20 million ending a class action lawsuit which had been filed by 440 residents, 400 businesses and a handful of sub contractors, which claimed negligence and malfeasance on the part of the provincial government and the OPP for failing to properly protect citizens who lived near Douglas Creek Estates. Some residents continued independent lawsuits. In 2018, a lawyer who oversaw the class action lawsuit by Caledonia residents was charged with fraud.

On September 13, 2007, builder Sam Gualtieri was attacked and seriously injured in a confrontation with native protesters at the 90 home Stirling South subdivision development in Caledonia. Following a brief occupation two weeks prior, a small group of natives had occupied the property that morning, and the confrontation was going to end peacefully in the afternoon before Gualtieri arrived and clashed with the young protesters. On December 2, 2011, Richard Smoke (Mohawk) was convicted of assault for the attack on Gualtieri, who had asked Smoke and several others to leave his daughter's house, which he was helping build as a wedding present. Smoke apologized to Gualtieri in court, in one of several criminal cases arising out of the DCE occupation.

On April 25, 2008, Six Nations protesters blocked off the Highway 6 bypass and the CN Rail line to show support for four Mohawks arrested during a protest at Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory the day before; this protest was centred around a quarry on the disputed Culbertson Tract that had started in March 2007. Shawn Brant, one of the Tyendinaga protesters arrested, was charged with assault with a weapon, breach of bail conditions, possession of weapons and possession of marijuana. At around 4:30 PM, protesters in Caledonia dug a trench across the Highway 6 bypass and dragged a large part of a hydro tower over the road. The OPP erected two blockades on either side of the bypass to ensure public safety.

In response to the OPP moving in to arrest protesters at the level crossing located near Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory on the morning of February 24, 2020, and in solidarity with the Wetʼsuwetʼen opposing the construction of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline, members of the Mohawk Nation (Bear Clan) from Six Nations began a peaceful demonstration on the Ontario Highway 6 bypass near Caledonia, blocking traffic and commuter trains along the Lakeshore West GO line later in the day on February 24. Eventually, a blockade consisting of pallets and parked vehicles was set up on the highway, forcing traffic to be rerouted to a nearby bridge, and leading the OPP to place concrete barriers around the blockade for safety. The blockade remained up until March 19, when the protesters agreed to leave the road and withdraw to Douglas Creek Estates "as a sign of good faith".

McKenzie Meadows was a planned residential development project located south of Caledonia, on the west side of McKenzie Road and the south side of Fuller Drive. The project was owned by Foxgate Development (previously by 2036356 Ontario Inc.), a consortium created by Losani Homes and Ballantry Homes (a Toronto based residential development company), with Michael Corrado specifically listed as one of the owners. On September 9, 2015, Foxgate Development acquired the land for the project from Haldimand County. In 2016 and 2019, the Elected Council of Six Nations of the Grand River received various "accommodations" for the development, as per an agreement signed with Ballantry Homes. This agreement was signed by SNEC Chief Ava Hill on June 18, 2019, but was not signed by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC), the organization representing the traditional governance structure of the Haudenosaunee, which predates the SNEC (established in 1924) and governs alongside the elected council. Lonny Bomberry, Director of Six Nations Land and Resources, has said that there is no traditional land claim associated with the occupied development, since it has been under third party ownership for at least 150 years, and while the entirety of the Haldimand Tract is subject to a land claim, that claim is not against third party developers. The occupation continued, and on August 5, 2020, the OPP moved in to enforce the injunction, arresting nine people in the process, including Skyler Williams. In response to this, Six Nations community members established a blockade on Argyle Street, the Highway 6 bypass, and the rail line. The vice president of Losani Homes indicated that the enforcement of the injunction would allow construction to continue. In a letter dated August 19, Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller and Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations Carolyn Bennett offered to resume negotiation of "longstanding and unresolved land issues" with elected chief Mark Hill and the Confederacy chiefs, referring to the negotiations that had been suspended pending litigation first in 1995 and then again in 2009.

By early September, a support camp referred to by an organizer as a "safety zone" had been established on Kanonhstaton, to provide a meeting place for community members to have shelter, learn about their culture, and support the Land Back Lane camp. Being located off the road and not on the McKenzie Meadows site, the safety zone did not fall under either injunction against the protesters. Co host of the podcast One Dish, One Mic Karl Dockstader (a member of Oneida Nation of the Thames, Bear Clan) and Mohawk Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University) research fellow Courtney Skye (a member of Six Nations of the Grand River, Turtle Clan) were arrested on September 2 and 3, respectively, along with three other arrests on September 2. Dockstader and Skye were both charged with disobeying a court order and mischief. No further information on the reason for his arrest was given to Dockstader at the time. On Tuesday, September 15, Starla Myers, a member of Six Nations and reporter for Real Peoples Media, was arrested and charged with two counts of mischief and one count of disobeying a court order. The OPP continued to face criticism for arresting another reporter, but Constable LeClair re iterated that the OPP are "committed to the freedom of the press and respects the important role the media has in the community. We value and strive to have collaborative relationships with our media partners." The following day, Lela George (a member of the Oneida First Nation) became the 23rd person to be charged in relation to the occupation. In a letter dated September 17, Foxgate's legal counsel urged ministers to not enter into negotiations with the "occupiers" while they continued to defy the court injunction Foxgate held against them. On September 29, the land defenders' spokesperson Skyler Williams received a phone call from the OPP informing him that there was a warrant for his arrest, for disobeying the existing injunction, continuing to occupy the site, mischief, and breaching conditions from his arrest on August 5.

According to the affidavit filed on October 5 by OPP West Region Regional Commander John Cain, police intelligence believed that a second raid on the occupation site would result in a very violent confrontation that wouldn't resolve the "underlying land dispute." According to the affidavit, the OPP was concerned with the violent enforcement of the injunction, and had been actively trying to seek peaceful resolutions instead. The affidavit was filed in advance of a hearing on the injunctions in the Ontario Superior Court scheduled for October 9.

text=As a society, we cannot be held hostage to violence and threats of violence. There are very legitimate grievances and claims of Indigenous people in Canada. As a society and as a court, we must take into account the many years of systemic abuse inflicted upon Indigenous people, and we try to do so. However, it is never proper or acceptable to achieve your goals, regardless of how heartfelt they are, in open defiance of the law and open and flagrant disregard for the rights and property of others.|title=|source=

A subsequent injunction hearing was scheduled for October 22, 2020. Kahsenniyo (Tahnee Skinner Wilson), wife of spokesperson Skyler Williams, and Juno winner Tom Wilson were also arrested on October 9. In the written ruling delivered a week after the hearing, Williams was also ordered to cover Haldimand County and Foxgate's legal fees, amounting to $50,349.67 and $117,814.18, respectively ($168,163.85 in total). After the hearing was concluded, a clash broke out between police and protesters, which included a flaming barricade being set up on a road near the camp and the shutdown of critical infrastructure (including Highway 6, the rail line, and Argyle Street) by the people from Six Nations. According to the protesters, this clash resulted from the OPP using a taser and firing rubber bullets using a "riot control gun" at people near the "safety zone" by Argyle Street and Sixth Line. The OPP allege that the confrontation was initiated by the land defenders, who had damaged a police cruiser. In a statement, the Six Nations Elected Council called Justice Harper's decision to make the injunctions permanent "disturbing," claiming that it was indicative of the ongoing presence of systemic racism in Canada. Additionally, they acknowledged the frustration members of the community had expressed regarding the accommodation agreement council had signed with Foxgate, committing to doing better in the future, but admitting that they remained bound by the agreement. Chief Mark Hill and the council called for unity and calm going forward.

Documents obtained by APTN National News in 2021 found that the OPP spent on their policing of the camp in November 2020 alone. Meetings hosted by the camp and people of Six Nations throughout November and December led to a "community report" that was delivered to every home, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council, and the Six Nations Elected Council.

On January 19, six months after the demonstration at McKenzie Meadows began, the land defenders moved their barricade on Argyle Street (which includes a damaged and graffitied school bus) back to Caledonia Baptist Church, to allow access to the church as well as to allow emergency services quicker access to hospitals in Hamilton. Spokesperson Skyler Williams said that this was done as a show of good faith, in an attempt to "[lead] de escalation and [find] a peaceful resolution, which cannot occur if Canada continues to leave Nation to Nation relationships in the hands of the police." Documents obtained by APTN National News revealed that, by January 19, 2021, the OPP had spent on policing operations in the first six months since the camp's establishment.

On July 2, 2021, the vice president of Losani Homes told the CBC that deposits to homeowners were being returned in full, and that the planned development of the McKenzie Meadows project would be officially cancelled. He cited several reasons that the "sales agreements had been frustrated," including the development of more permanent buildings by the land defenders, the passage of a year, "the lack of any conformity with or enforcement of the court's orders, and the failure of either government [provincial or federal] to even respond to our requests for help or intervention." Mayor Ken Hewitt was "disappointed" by the cancellation, saying the development had been planned with the elected council and was going to be able to provide an "attractive price point" (starting at ) for many of the families hoping to move into the housing development. Skyler Williams, spokesperson for the land defenders, welcomed the cancellation as a victory in a multi generational battle for indigenous land. Documents obtained by APTN National News revealed that, from July 2020 to July 2021, the OPP had spent on their operations enforcing the two injunctions. The police force attempted to obscure this figure over the course of the news company's freedom of information request, but the full tabulation of police spending was finally released in May 2022.

On December 12, 2021, the Ontario Court of Appeal handed down a ruling that cancelled the injunction against Skyler Williams that had previously been made permanent by Superior Court Justice Harper in October 2020, as well as setting aside the judge's decision to strike Williams's pleadings from the record and to give him a $168,163.85 cost award. The Court of Appeal found that Harper hadn't sufficiently explain why Williams' alleged misconduct, didn't lay out potential consequences, and didn't give him a fair chance to retain an attorney or respond to the allegations against him. The ruling said, "The requirements of fairness in the context of this proceeding constituted an independent right of Mr. Williams. It is no answer to the denial of these rights to say a fair opportunity to be heard would have made no difference in the outcome." The three appellate judges writing the ruling granted Williams $20,000 in damages and said a different judge should re hear the initial matter reviewed by Harper.

In early August, it was reported that some Wetʼsuwetʼen had set up a rail blockade on their territory in northern British Columbia in solidarity with the demonstrators at the encampment, mirroring the blockades in solidarity with the Wetʼsuwetʼen earlier in 2020. As of Monday, September 7, a GoFundMe legal fund in support of people facing criminal charges in connection to the camp had raised nearly $84,000 from over 1,100 donors. Another protest in Muskoka saw the third banner drop in solidarity with Indigenous protesters this year, with banners reading "Muskoka Supports Six Nations Land Defenders," "No More Land Theft!" and "We Are All Treaty People." On October 25, 2020, the 236th anniversary of the Haldimand proclamation, a solidarity demonstration took place near Caledonia, stopping for a while to demonstrate in front of the OPP barricade on Highway 6. Representatives of several unions were present at the protest, including CUPE Ontario and the Ontario Federation of Labour.

Skyler Williams (also spelled Skylar in some reporting on the land dispute) is a spokesperson for the land defenders at 1492 Land Back Lane. He was previously involved in the reclamation of Kanonhstaton as well as the Ipperwash Crisis. During the trial, Williams was found to be in contempt of the court for refusing to accept its jurisdiction over him and Haudenosaunee affairs in general. His evidence was stricken from the record in the October 22 hearing, during which Justice Harper made the two injunctions against 1492 Land Back Lane permanent. Williams was held without bail for seven months at Hamilton Wentworth Detention Centre on charges related to the 2006 Kanonhstaton reclamation, including four months in solitary confinement. The charges were ultimately withdrawn.

On April 20, 2021, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council, represented by Cayuga Snipe clan chief Deyohowe:to Roger Silversmith, announced a moratorium on development within the entire Haldimand Tract. The HCCC sought a ban on development, unless authorised by the Haudenosaunee Development Institute. In the announcement, Deyohowe:to said, "We are not interested in selling land. There's portions of land that we have leased out that can still be negotiated. The developers need to stop digging in our lands and to come forward now and do the process." Deyohowe:to clarified that the elected council was aware of the announcement, but that its members are "limited" in their authority to assert land sovereignty. He asserted that the federal government needed to step up their response to the issue of land rights, expressing a lack of confidence in the judicial system's ability to bring them justice. The announcement came on the 275th day of the 1492 Land Back Lane camp, and on the 15th anniversary of the April 20, 2006, raid of the Kanonhstaton site by the OPP. In a press conference on April 26, Chief Mark Hill, chief of the Six Nations Elected Council "reiterated and acknowledged" the Confederacy's call for a moratorium on development in the Haldimand Tract. In the spirit of presenting a united front, Hill stated, "We also need to keep in mind that we have a major land claims case coming before the courts in 2022, and it would not be responsible to allow continued development in an uncertain legal environment." He couldn't say whether or not he supports the Haudenosaunee Development Institute overseeing the process, acknowledging that such finer points still needed to be figured out.