Media Release: Ottawa Protest Calls on Premier McGuinty to Respect Aboriginal Human Rights

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> Ottawa Protest Calls on Premier McGuinty to Respect Aboriginal Human
> Rights
> ACT for the Earth says Ipperwash Inquiry Report Collecting Dust While
> Natives Face Persecution
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> For Immediate Release
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> May 7, 2008 / Ottawa / ACT for the Earth is holding a peaceful protest
> during Premier McGuinty's speech to the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce on
> May 8
> at 12pm. The protest outside of the Westin Ottawa Hotel will call on
> the
> Premier to put a stop to the persecution of Indigenous peoples for the
> sake
> of corporate greed, in solidarity with imprisoned Aboriginal leaders
> Robert
> Lovelace, the KI-6, as well as the Tyendinaga Mohawks of the Bay of
> Quinte.
> Robert Lovelace and the KI-6 (6 council members of Kitchenuhmaykoosib
> Inninuwug) have received harsh fines and 6 months in jail for
> peacefully
> protesting against mineral exploration on the lands of KI and Ardoch
> Algonquins.
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> "ACT for the Earth is calling on the Premier to intervene immediately
> to
> stop mineral exploration on KI and Algonquin land," says Dylan Penner
> of ACT
> for the Earth. "While the Premier has argued he tried to prevent the
> incarceration of Bob Lovelace and the KI-6, he continues to ignore the
> basis
> for the peaceful protest they were arrested for; namely the ongoing
> unjustifiable mining exploration on their land. This is a violation of
> their
> rights, and needs to be stopped today."
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> As stated in a letter to the Premier on this matter from Margaret
> Atwood and
> others, "It is vital that Ontario replaces the antiquated 'free entry'
> system of mining and exploration with a modern, regulated process of
> granting exploration permits only after conservation planning and good
> faith
> consultation and genuine accommodation with affected Aboriginal
> Peoples as
> per Supreme Court decisions. The province of Ontario has a number of
> options
> to secure the release of the detained leaders, including by halting the
> exploration activities and entering into good faith negotiations
> thereby
> removing any basis for the contempt charges."
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> WHAT: Aboriginal Solidarity Protest of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty
> WHEN: 12pm. Thursday, May 8, 2008
> WHERE: Westin Ottawa Hotel (11 Colonel By, Just South of Rideau St, in
> Ottawa)
> WHY: To call for an end to the repression in Tyendinaga, and freedom
> for
> Robert Lovelace and the KI-6
> WHO: Organized by ACT for the Earth
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> "Premier McGuinty has a responsibility to make sure history does not
> repeat
> itself with another Ipperwash in Tyendinaga," continues Penner. On
> April 25,
> media reported OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) officers aiming their
> guns at
> and arresting several unarmed people near Desoronto, Ontario by the
> Quinte
> quarry. The OPP threatened to clear the Mohawks out of the quarry in a
> standoff bearing a striking resemblance to the one that led to Dudley
> George's death in Ipperwash. While the situation has calmed somewhat in
> recent days, this type of ongoing intimidation and threatening of
> Aboriginal
> people is exactly the type of situation the Ipperwash Inquiry report
> called
> on the government to work against.
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> ACT for the Earth is calling for a halt to the repression against
> Tyendinaga
> Mohawks and asserts that it is the Province of Ontario and the
> Government of
> Canada that break the law when they attempt to remove Indigenous
> peoples
> from their land. Instead says ACT for the Earth, federal and provincial
> governments should implement the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights.
> While
> Canada opposed the Declaration at the UN, it has since been passed in
> the
> House of Commons.
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> -30-
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> For More Information: Dylan Penner, ACT for the Earth. 613-859-6996.
> www.actfortheearth.org
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