TO THE EDITOR:
In a democratic society there are tens of thousands of groups seeking to get media attention for their cause. I hate to be the one to tell the Chronicle, but modern marketing is all about doing things to get media attention -it is far better than wearing masks and beating the crap out of people.
The media, on the most part, are scum. They are not truly interested in the concerns of people and are only interested in selling ad space. The bloodier the story the more coverage you get. After three years I have seen few media outlets reporting the content of any speeches, airing the footage of any peaceful protests or capturing the meaning of what people are concerned about.
Announce you are marching onto DCE and suddenly media are there to capture whether, in the course of an hour, someone swore or gave the finger -that is what will be aired.
If the Chronicle is upset by the use of the word 'militia' because it was used to get media attention then you need to look into a mirror and ask the following questions:
How many of the court rulings have you reported on? Did you send a reporter to Queen's Park last year when we protested there? Did you interview a single Caledonia resident before you gave the great send-off story about Insp. McLean?
In other words, you don't cover the story unless we use the word 'militia' then whine that the media was fooled.
As far as credibility, without the use of lawyers we have created three case law rulings in seven months. Most lawyers never create even one in their entire career. The latest ruling occurred last week on Thursday when Judge Marshall ruled that the Crown had exceeded its authority and ordered a new hearing into charges against government officials. Even Judge Marshall stated in his ruling that this had never been done before in Canada. But of course, you will be reporting on this ruling because such a landmark ruling in Haldimand county deserves coverage. Sorry I forgot you don't cover the news unless someone uses the word 'militia'.
You asked what we have done that has benefited the negotiations. Well, first your question demonstrates a typical Canadian response which is that everyone should hide under their beds and wait for big brother McGuinty to save the day. The fact that Oka is still ongoing after 19 years and Ipperwash remains an occupation after 17 years doesn't lead the editorial staff at the Chronicle to understand that Caledonia may not be resolved for many more years. Maybe the Chronicle is still believing the statements of Peterson and McGuinty back in June 2006 when they told the public the negotiations would be over in weeks, not months.
To list what we have done would require the whole newspaper. Other than the three case law rulings we have won I can say the following. There is not one single illegal occupation anywhere in Haldimand county and there has not been one single native protest for the past year.
The third year anniversary protest was done in Brantford not Caledonia. The recent march down the road was done on the 403 to Brantford and again not in Caledonia. The Floyd and Ruby show of blocking construction sites has also moved to Brantford after I got a judge to sign extortion, intimidation and mischief charges against both Floyd and Ruby.
The Rallies allow us to videotape the illegal actions of the OPP - regarding Race Based Policing. These videos are now making it into court which is why we are winning. No court is going to uphold the right of the OPP to discriminate against a group of people.
So while the Chronicle rarely covers what is happening week by week in Caledonia the public is learning there are those who are fighting to restore Law and Order.
By the way, if the Chronicle ever did start to cover what is happening in court you would know that no one is talking about taking the law into their own hands. The courts have ruled that every citizen has the right to use reasonable force to remove native protesters -yes the RIGHT. That RIGHT includes asking others to help you.
But hey, why should the Chronicle start listening to the court? Gary McHale
Binbrook