KINGSTON, ON REFLECTION: Holy Week injustice
April 9th, 2008
CPTnet
9 April 2008
KINGSTON, ON REFLECTION: Holy Week injustice
Tuesday afternoon of Holy Week, I was sitting in the front row of a Kingston, ON courtroom. The Thunder Bay Superior court had just sentenced six Kitchenuhmaykoosib community leaders to six months imprisonment for resisting mining in their area. Five weeks earlier, in the room where I was sitting, a judge had imposed a six-month sentence on Robert Lovelace, Past Chief of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nations, and staggering fines on Lovelace and Lovelace’s Co-Chief, Paula Sherman. I wondered if the court would impose similar sentences on my husband, John, also charged with contempt of court.
Shabot Obaajawan Chief, Doreen Davis, and her War Chief, Earl Badour were also in court. They had earlier faced contempt of court charges, and were here for sentencing.
I sat between John and another CPTer, David Milne. Further along the row was Frank Morrison, our neighbour. Across the room were five other non-native “settlers” also facing contempt of court charges. For several hours prior to the doors opening, a crowd of 200 people had protested in front of the court building, waving placards calling for justice, planting “Free Bob Lovelace,” signs, using street theatre to show the dangers of uranium yellow cake, and offering prayers.
Eleven lawyers gathered. The Ontario Provincial Police Major Event Liaison Team (MELT), Aboriginal Relations Team (ART), and other OPP officers filed in and sat in the jury box—the only remaining seats. The Judge entered and the proceedings began.
Two and one-half hours later, Shabot Obaajawan leaders agreed not to block an exploratory drill from entering the mining claim, if the court removed the contempt charges, but were still ordered to pay court costs. Ardoch Algonquin leaders still faced contempt charges. The court remanded them and the six non-Natives to 2 June 2008. David Milne had his charge dropped if he agreed not to interfere with Frontenac Ventures Corporation's work, and John had his charge withdrawn. The judge assigned no court costs to Frank, David, or John.
I was relieved my husband did not have to go to jail, and we did not have to mortgage our home to pay fines or court costs. But we did not feel like celebrating. The voices of our aboriginal brothers and sisters had been dismissed, and they received exceedingly high fines (See 28 March 2008 CPTnet release, " KINGSTON, ON: Ontario declines to prosecute non-Aboriginals but convicts Algonquins for same acts of protest against mining on First Nation lands.")
Frontenac Ventures Corporation (FVC) withdrew charges against the three non-native men. John had hoped to speak about the injustices of the Ontario Mining Act, the Free Entry System, the environmental havoc and devastation of uranium exploration and mining, and the Ontario government's failure to consult with native and non-native peoples. Mostly, he wanted to emphasize FVC's and Ontario's failure to dialogue in good faith with First Nation peoples at the mediation table, but with the charges dropped, he had no venue in which to speak.
FVC is free to carry on with their exploration and drilling for uranium.
We went home. Holy Week continued. Easter morning came, and I continued to ponder, how, when and where will the Christ light appear in Robertsville?
9 April 2008
KINGSTON, ON REFLECTION: Holy Week injustice
Tuesday afternoon of Holy Week, I was sitting in the front row of a Kingston, ON courtroom. The Thunder Bay Superior court had just sentenced six Kitchenuhmaykoosib community leaders to six months imprisonment for resisting mining in their area. Five weeks earlier, in the room where I was sitting, a judge had imposed a six-month sentence on Robert Lovelace, Past Chief of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nations, and staggering fines on Lovelace and Lovelace’s Co-Chief, Paula Sherman. I wondered if the court would impose similar sentences on my husband, John, also charged with contempt of court.
Shabot Obaajawan Chief, Doreen Davis, and her War Chief, Earl Badour were also in court. They had earlier faced contempt of court charges, and were here for sentencing.
I sat between John and another CPTer, David Milne. Further along the row was Frank Morrison, our neighbour. Across the room were five other non-native “settlers” also facing contempt of court charges. For several hours prior to the doors opening, a crowd of 200 people had protested in front of the court building, waving placards calling for justice, planting “Free Bob Lovelace,” signs, using street theatre to show the dangers of uranium yellow cake, and offering prayers.
Eleven lawyers gathered. The Ontario Provincial Police Major Event Liaison Team (MELT), Aboriginal Relations Team (ART), and other OPP officers filed in and sat in the jury box—the only remaining seats. The Judge entered and the proceedings began.
Two and one-half hours later, Shabot Obaajawan leaders agreed not to block an exploratory drill from entering the mining claim, if the court removed the contempt charges, but were still ordered to pay court costs. Ardoch Algonquin leaders still faced contempt charges. The court remanded them and the six non-Natives to 2 June 2008. David Milne had his charge dropped if he agreed not to interfere with Frontenac Ventures Corporation's work, and John had his charge withdrawn. The judge assigned no court costs to Frank, David, or John.
I was relieved my husband did not have to go to jail, and we did not have to mortgage our home to pay fines or court costs. But we did not feel like celebrating. The voices of our aboriginal brothers and sisters had been dismissed, and they received exceedingly high fines (See 28 March 2008 CPTnet release, " KINGSTON, ON: Ontario declines to prosecute non-Aboriginals but convicts Algonquins for same acts of protest against mining on First Nation lands.")
Frontenac Ventures Corporation (FVC) withdrew charges against the three non-native men. John had hoped to speak about the injustices of the Ontario Mining Act, the Free Entry System, the environmental havoc and devastation of uranium exploration and mining, and the Ontario government's failure to consult with native and non-native peoples. Mostly, he wanted to emphasize FVC's and Ontario's failure to dialogue in good faith with First Nation peoples at the mediation table, but with the charges dropped, he had no venue in which to speak.
FVC is free to carry on with their exploration and drilling for uranium.
We went home. Holy Week continued. Easter morning came, and I continued to ponder, how, when and where will the Christ light appear in Robertsville?