Caledonia occupation drags on and on....

This is a prime example why, sometimes, having a "dialog" in some situations does not work. This has been going on for years and the citizens of Caledonia has been living in a war zone for years. McGuinty and Smitherman have done nothing but try to pass the buck. They haven't even gone out there to see what's going on. It's time to get rid of them, perhaps something will finally get done. Enforcing the law will be nice.

TheRecord.com - CanadaWorld - Leaders square off on native unrest

Anyone directing, participating in or financially supporting an illegal land occupation in Ontario would face harsher penalties under a Progressive Conservative government, leader John Tory said yesterday as he paid a visit to one of the province's current cauldrons of aboriginal unrest.

"The Caledonia occupation -- as we've heard this morning -- is about more than a disputed property or about more than how a single community has been torn apart, and it's about far more than the many legitimate long-standing grievances of our First Nations peoples,'' Tory said after the discussion, which didn't include any aboriginal representatives.

"Instead, the Caledonia occupation is about what happens when a group of people conclude that the process doesn't work for them, and go on to conclude that the laws don't apply to them.''

Local resident Anna Marie Vansickle, who hosted an earlier visit by Tory, said she feels abandoned by the Liberal government and isolated by measures the provincial police have taken to ensure the safety of residents.

"I believe that Premier McGuinty would like the people of Ontario to believe that this has been a peaceful protest and continues to be peaceful,'' she said. "And everybody's aware of all the incidents that's going on -- the hijackings, attempted murders, break-and-enters, tire fires, verbal and physical assaults . . . this is the environment that we send our children to every day at school.''

Tory has maintained that his party would not negotiate with those who occupy lands illegally and that they would sue those who create a public disturbance to recoup the "huge public expense'' of having police keep order.

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