Caledonia issue

*Editor's Note: This is a letter I sent to our local news station, CityTV, concerning the recent foolishness that is happening between some local resident and a First Nations group, Six Nations.*

Hi, I listened to the City Online discussion today and I have to say that a lot of people are not dealing in reality. While I sympathize and empathize with the First Nations group, they have no right to disrupt innocent people's lives for their cause in the manner that they did. They have problems with the Provincial government and should be doing things to disrupt them, not the local people they allegedly have no problems with. Further, many people have made the case that if it is the First Nations' land, then they are entitled to it and should be given it. This has got to be the most asinine thing I had heard in all of this. A caller shortly after that made my point abundantly clear when she stated that her people owned all the land from "Argentina to Alaska". Effectively, they own all of the Americas if one wants to go by the basis of what they used own. If the world went back to what was owned by someone else before, then most of the population of the world would be in Africa and parts of Eurasia. There is a reason that the words "conquered" and "invasion" exists. That is the way the world worked, and still works in some cases. Conquered people may gain their independence, but you do not hear them simply being given anything.

If we as a democratic and peaceful people want to work with the First Nations people to resolve the land claims and try to come to amicable solution, then it is a very good thing to happen. And yes, I totally disagree with reservations (a model used to create concentration camps) and shoving these people into barren lands (can you say Nunavut?) that few people want to be located in. Now, I don't want to disparage the area these people live in but it is not on either coast or the lucrative St. Lawrence seaway; it is not a major city center or destination for local or foreign investment. The thing is, where is the line drawn? When do we stop giving back?

All these people that are crying out "give them back their lands" are the stupidest people of all. Do they realize that in doing so, the cozy little place they think is theirs now becomes the property of someone else? Do they really mean that they would like to give back the land under their house too or just the land of those that live far removed from them? A clearer head in this is needed and it is about time we had a government that made a final stand on all these claims and gets it all settled within their mandate. It is time we moved on to other issues that plague this fair country.

Oh, and one more comment. Nunavut is governed like any province or territory in Canada. Do these other land claims intend to govern themselves and provide for themselves in these reacquired lands? Or do they intend to take the land and sit back while tax payers shoulder the expense for their utilities, health, security and everything else? We say we do not want a two-tiered health system in Canada. I would suggest that we do not want a tow-tiered society as well. If we are to be all equal, then it has to be applied all across the board equally. No more "native status" and special treatment; work like the rest of us and pay taxes like the rest of us and suffer the government like the rest of us. Unless they are all willing to do that, I really am tired of hearing this all over again.

All these latest actions are doing is making in nearly impossible for any First Nation person to be treated without malice in the areas they live. This means that no one will hire them or deal with them. This means, like anyone else in dire straits, that they will have to seek assistance. This means that the tax payer is again going to be on the hook for something they had no hand in creating. And how fair is that?

The Premier and the Prime Minister need to find a new set and get on board to personally ensure this issue is fixed once and for all. If they cannot do that, they will never again get my vote as we do not need more leaders who cannot act. GW may say the stupidest things and he may make decisions that are not popular in a lot of places of the world, but he at least makes those decisions and he says something. Where are Harper and McGuinty?

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Note: There are a lot of complexities in this. I will try to show the foolishness that is happening on both sides of this. As a final comment on this post, do I believe that the Natives have a legal claim? Probably, if they have the proof. Do I agree with their tactics? Hell no, the same way I do not believe strike pickets should be allowed to impeded a person's path. Do I think it is going to get much worse? Most definitely because the kind of lines being drawn are racial and they are the hardest to hide and the longest to get erased. This is a huge step back in a civilized society and innocent people are being caught in the middle.