Friday 26 September 2014:
A very irate reader reported that he was harassed when he took pictures of the sign and "donation bucket" at the entrance to parking at Edinburgh Square in Caledonia. This access was controlled by some unidentified Haudenosaunee group, who were hostile to his presence, and the fact that he took pictures of the site. They tried to deny him access to the site even though only walking, and demanded to know why he was taking pictures. I understand that the response was, "It is for me to know, and for you to discover". That did not seem to sit well with the female who appeared to be "in charge" of the operation. Her greatest concern was that pictures not be taken of her and anyone else present. Apparently she was assured that [despite no requirement to do so] that no one will be seen in any frame, only "objects".
My informant called the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) to make a formal complaint when this woman who appeared to be "in charge" followed him and took a picture of himself and his vehicle license plate. Considering this very intrusive and bordering on stalking he expressed to the author concern that this group of militants were affiliated with the less savoury elements at Six Nations - some of whom have been at times observed "shadowing" him since his vehicle is recognized by those most active in illegal - invalid land claims and violence. Apparently the specific complaint to the OPP was simply that a group was trying to obtain money, which was required via a "donation", to park in what is a public area and if regulated, should be via Haldimand County who owns the property.
This property is the site of the Haldimand Heritage and Cultural Centre (see here).
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| Historic building at Edinburgh Square |
The Edinburgh Square matter is one of many unsubstantiated, unsupported, invalid land claims made by some Haudenosaunee group or groups based on the old (outdated) Six Nations Lands and Resources claim that the land on which the present Museum stands is unsurrendered / unceded as seen here via the Six Nations Lands and Resources website.
Side view of old municipal building at Edinburgh Square - now a Museum
It appears likely that the rationale for having a presence at Edinburgh Square at the time of the Caledonia Fair is to bring attention to the unsupported claim, once again without any legal basis for doing so. It might not be entirely outlandish to think that perhaps this move is connected with an upcoming possible protest at the site of the proposed McClung housing development by Empire Builders. Here 3,500 homes are to be constructed on 532 acres of land on the east and west sides of McClung Road at the far eastern end of Caledonia, at the corner of Caithness Street and McClung Road.
As my recent postings about the matter (see here) have stated, it is unlikely that the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) will "permit" this massive development on what they will try to justify as unceded land without "consultation" and "accommodation" and conforming to their "protocol". In other words, if past behavior is any indication of future behavior (it is), the HDI will be demanding their "cut" of the profits in the form of cash and land as compensation - otherwise there may well be work stoppages and other efforts to inhibit development until the developer caves and conforms to the demands of whatever Six Nations faction is "in charge" at the moment.
Returning to the immediate situation of controlling access to parking in a public place, hopefully the OPP will be able to determine whether there are any permits that would justify these actions, since in the past this land has been used as public parking by visitors to the Fair.
Haudenosaunee Land Donation Parking
Entrance to Haudenosaunee Parking Lot
Porta Potty at the ready - back of building at Edinburgh Square
There were over 20 vehicles parked here (behind the camera position in the above picture), but people by in large seemed to be avoiding this option for parking. It would be interesting to canvass the reasons why they were looking elsewhere.
The author will send someone tomorrow (Saturday) to see whether the enterprise is still a going concern, or whether they were shut down. Perhaps it was only a Friday venture since the main parking needs will be on the weekend, and likely managed by County officials. The OPP will, however, be investigating on Saturday to determine what laws may be being violated should this or any other group without permits attempt to control parking in this location. Any further developments will be added here.
Saturday 27 September 2014:
Enroute to the Fair on Saturday afternoon my reader noticed that the parking donation sign was still up.
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| "Donation" Sign on Saturday
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The parking, though not full at 3 pm, was at least 2/3 full meaning that that many cars had made a "donation". A "new woman" was present, and she was asked whether the police had come to ask about permits and such. She confirmed that the OPP indeed had been there, and that she does have a permit to operate the site (which I doubt very much). She knew about a person who yesterday had taken pictures, and claimed that the police were told about this (as if it is a crime!). Clearly the OPP chose not to shut down the operation, for whatever reason.
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| Relatively full parking behind Edinburgh Square on Saturday |
While at the Fair, my reader approached two OPP officers to inquire as to whether the officer who promised to investigate the matter was on duty. These officers seemed completely disinterested when it was explained that the Haudenosaunee had set up an illegal operation to extract money from unsuspecting visitors - it was unclear if they knew what the word "Haudenosaunee" meant. One did promise to contact the officer who had called the day before and request that he provide an update. As of the time of writing, Sunday 28 September 2014, apparently that has not happened. If the officer does make contact, I will add an addendum here.
As an aside, the "demolition derby" at the Caledonia Fair (the 8 cylinder car event on Saturday night) seemed to reflect some animosity (or was it friendly rivalry) between the participants from Ohsweken (Six Nations) and those from Caledonia. One of the drivers from Ohsweken became so enraged at being knocked out the competition that he got out of his car (a no no) and went over the a Caledonia driver's car and tore some material out of it, then walked out of the stone ring. This was the only example of bad sportsmanship I saw throughout the entire event. All other Six Nations participants entirely played by the rules.
My take on this is that the OPP still have a "hands off" policy re Six Nations, and disrespect Caledonia residents. We shall see.
Sunday 28 September and Monday 29 September 2014:
The much anticipated phone call from the officer who promised to personally investigate the situation has not materialized to this point.
As I recall, in years gone by, legitimate groups such as the Rotary or Lions Clubs have obtained permission to orchestrate the parking of cars on the grass behind the building at Edinburgh Square. This year a militant Haudenosaunee group expecting that Caledonians will be content to contribute more to their own misery has somehow been able to turn the parking into a money making proposition to likely fund the legal costs of the HDI or general funds used to push forward invalid land claims. It was not been stopped by the OPP. Did the group have permits to engage in this behavior from Haldimand County? If so that is truly bizarre. If there were no permits, then once again the OPP has shown its true colours - yellow. Thus we can predict what is likely to transpire this coming weekend when another Hereditary Council affiliated group will shut down Highway 6 all day on Saturday and Sunday. At present, my prediction is that the OPP will do nothing in the way of policing, but simply guide motorists toward alternate routes. Time will tell. I always attempt to give our Provincial police force the benefit of the doubt, but time and time again have been bitterly disappointed.
DeYo.
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