Click to Enlarge
(Top) Photo courtesy Anna Baggio/Wildlands League/(Bottom) Photo
courtesy Andree Cazabon -- (Top) Pictured is Councilor Cecelia Begg
being led out of a courthouse to jail. Jailed Kitchenuhmaykoosib
Inninuwug First Nation leaders addressed a rally by telephone April 9
at Ryerson University, affirming aboriginal peoples' right to say no to
mineral exploration in their territory. (Bottom) Five of the six
members of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation who have been
jailed are Bruce Sakakeep, band member employee; Darryl Sainnawap,
councilor; Donnie Morris, chief; Samuel McKay, spokesman; and Jack
McKay, deputy chief.
400 gather for jailed KI leaders
TORONTO - Jailed leaders of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First
Nation addressed a rally by telephone, affirming the right of
aboriginal people to say no to mineral exploration in their territory.
''We're here for what we believe in,'' said Chief Donny Morris,
speaking from a pay phone in the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre to
thunderous applause from a crowd of about 400 people at the April 9
Ryerson University rally.
''We miss our families and our kids; we wish we could be home; but
unfortunately, the way the government is operating, it's not possible
for us right now.''
The packed crowd included indigenous people from across the province
and beyond, labor activists, environmentalists and proponents of social
justice who called on Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty to free seven
political prisoners who have been jailed because of their refusal to
accept mining exploration in their territory without prior
consultation.
The six from KI and Bob Lovelace of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation
in eastern Ontario deserve widespread support ''because in defending
their land, they are defending our environment,'' said organizer Judy
Rebick.
Many speakers focused on the need to reform Ontario's Mining Act,
dating back to 1873 and predicated on the free entry principle that
allows anyone who pays a fee to stake a claim on public land (as well
as on private property in some areas) and start clearing trees, making
access roads and drilling.
Public land is often the traditional territory of an aboriginal
community but, speed and secrecy being of the essence in the race to a
claim, the law makes no provision for aboriginal rights to
consultation, neither does it allow for land-use planning or assessment
of environmental impacts.
McGuinty promised in a 2003 election campaign to undertake land use
planning in the north and, when running for re-election in 2007,
promised a full re-evaluation of the Mining Act.
Anna Baggio of CPAWS-Wildlands League told the rally that government
officials say those promises have been put on the back burner because
''they don't want to put a chill into mining projects in Ontario.''
Meanwhile, the antiquated law represents a Catch-22 situation that has
resulted in six-month jail sentences for the six men and one woman who
have refused to promise to obey court orders prohibiting peaceful
protest.
Fundamental freedoms - of expression, of association and of peaceful
protest - are at stake, National Chief Phil Fontaine told the rally.
The message is clear, he said, ''that the economic interests will trump
the rights of indigenous people every time.''
The abject poverty of First Nations communities is a national disgrace,
Fontaine added, noting that he finds it suspicious that politicians
have started to question why aboriginal people are living in isolated
northern communities and suggesting that they be relocated further
south.
''The north in Ontario is some of the most valuable real estate
anywhere in the world, rich in so many things - you wonder why they
want us off the land. To rape and pillage once more? Well, we must say
no to that as well.''
Every northern community must have the right to determine its own
future, Fontaine said.
''If they want development, we should support them; but always keeping
in mind that the integrity of the communities is paramount.''
New Democratic Party leader Howard Hampton and Christian Peacemaker
Team member Jim Loney were among those who addressed the rally but the
loudest applause and a standing ovation were reserved for Morris's
wife, Anne Marie.
Brushing tears from her eyes, she said her husband found jail to be
''deeply humiliating and degrading.'' Being imprisoned as life returns
to the land after a long winter is a special hardship, she said.
''Donny likes to hunt and fish and spend time on the land ... At this
time of year, it's the hardest thing.''
Ardoch Algonquin Chief Paula Sherman, who has to pay a $15,000 fine for
her part in the protest against uranium exploration, said there are two
choices for communities faced with mineral exploration: ''Get out of
the way or go to jail.''
Sherman said uranium mining is a quick way of poisoning water and land.
''We've said to Ontario, 'show us a safe uranium mine,' and they
can't.''
Former Assembly of First Nations National Chief Ovide Mercredi, from
Misipiwistik, Manitoba, noted that the aboriginal belief system, rooted
in the land and assuming responsibility for future generations, is not
understood by the mainly urban Canadian population.
The Canadian government sees treaty rights as limited to hunting,
fishing and trapping, but they must logically include the
sustainability of the land.
''If the habitat is destroyed by mining, that is a violation,''
Mercredi said. ''The treaty represents the right to a clean environment
for our people.''
He called on McGuinty to follow through on assurances made by
Aboriginal Affairs Minister Michael Bryant that he never wanted the
leaders to be jailed. Ensure that the government lawyer stands with the
aboriginal people's lawyer when the sentencing appeal is heard, and
''not beside the lawyer for the exploration company,'' Mercredi urged.
Bryant told the legislature April 7 that the Crown will be supporting
the appeal.
''We think it's important that these matters are resolved at the
negotiating table and not through litigation.''
A less conciliatory position was expressed Jan. 8 by government lawyer
Owen Young, who asked Judge Patrick Smith to impose ''a financial
penalty that hurts. Morris said they couldn't afford that, but that
they could reconcile with themselves going to jail. Well, the very fact
that it will hurt means that it's the appropriate penalty because the
objective here is to be persuasive.''
