 |
| Ontario Provincial Police (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
A De Beers lawyer faces Canadian law enforcement, circa 2013:
TIMMINS, Ont. - The ongoing blockade outside the Victor diamond mine is not an First Nations protest but an act of extortion, a Timmins Superior Court judge declared Wednesday....
The De Beers lawyer questioned "what is the message being sent to the world" when "five or six disgruntled ex-employees ... can shut down a business of 500 people at a cost of millions? That there is no law in Northern Ontario?"
Smitheman said it is troubling if the police don't know how to remove six protesters blocking a road.... "This is Attawapiskat. It's not Kandahar," he said.The OPP wants to come across as neutral. Problem is, laws are being broken. OK, so the OPP wants to come across as neutral with regard to Canada's laws. Got a problem with that? Maybe we should ship them to Kandahar.
Since there's no peace when someone is blockading a public road, we can't call them peace-keepers. And since they have no intention of, you know, enforcing the law, we can't call them law-enforcement officers. What are they, then? They're probably there to ensure that no one interferes with the law-breakers. The OPP's finest moment was when one of their patches appeared on the Sgt. Pepper cover. It's been pretty much downhill since then.
10 comments:
The OPP refusing to move protesters blockade away and charging the protesters is nothing new. This flagrant disobeying court orders has been going on since the Native blockade of Caledonia. Bring in the RCMP to arrest the offending OPP Commissioner who refuses to follow the Court's instructions.
The Natives know nothing is going to happen to them, so Blockades will continue until the Police actually do their job.
Rick -- yes, but isn't it interesting to see the incredulous response of an outsider, the De Beers guy?
He's thinking the way official Canada would have 50 years ago, and the way many if not most ordinary Canadians still think.
Exactly. The silent Majority has had enough. I really believe the protests coming this summer will be the straw that breaks the camels back.
As long as there is credence given to the concept of Aboriginal ownership we will wait in vain for the ultimate straw. The incredibly shortsighted Delgamuukw decision made such extortion, among other acts of selfish ingratitude, the law of Canada.
Well, it would seem that by the response of the OPP, that they are saying to the mine, look after your issues your self. Drive over them and if they get too off-side, bring in "Security" people to deal with them. Enough is enough.
RK Ball: please clarify something for me. was my attempt to comment blocked by a filter (why?) or did you choose to block it? It's your blog - I have no quarrel with what you choose to permit or reject - but clarification would be taken as a courtesy.
Dollops -- I was catching a few zzz and my, ahem, support staff obviously didn't spot your incoming comment.
Thanks. Kudos for raising this too long ignored issue.
I noticed that CBC Newswatch did not anything to say about this blockade.
Not surprising.
Post a Comment