The battle of Douglas Creek in Caledonia is quickly becoming a province-wide issue. Towns across Ontario who contract their police services to the OPP are complaining a big chunk of the dues they're charged have been diverted for extra security in Haldimand County. For a city like Owen Sound, for instance (a community with a relatively low crime rate), their bill last year was somewhere in the range of $850,000. Only $600,000 or so of that was actually spent in the area and the mayor there is demanding -- with justification -- the difference back.
It certainly doesn't help that there was nearly bloodshed in Caledonia the other day, at another housing development in the area. The leader of the traditional natives at Six Nations rightly called the attack on Sam Gualtieri an "atrocity," and my understanding is even the elected chief is well beyond the point of having had enough.
It seems to me that the land was transferred to the whites at some point; yet it is also clear the natives were ripped off, just like in Manhattan. The feds have offered to take the claims to arbitration. It's time that was accelerated.
And for cooler heads to prevail.
As for the province saying it's a federal issue, actually it's a provincial one as well. When the OPP is involved, it's a provincial issue.
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