Monday, June 12, 2006

Bitter Irony - Soldier comes home to Caledonia for some R&R

Nealenews is running a story about Sgt. Daryl Shuch coming home to Caledonia for a two-week leave from Afghanistan. Some guys can't catch a break!

Meanwhile, Dalton McGuinty is losing patience with the natives. He is calling off talks until they take down the barricades and help with the investigations:

Asked what he’ll do if the barricade doesn’t come down soon, McGuinty simply answered: “We’ll see.”

Now THAT sounds like a man with a plan! Good grief. He reminds me more of a frustrated mother threatening to take away dessert from her picky eaters.

Better look out now - Momma's losing patience!! Yup. That'll have them quaking in their boots.



* * * * *

BREAKING NEWS: One barrier taken down. Well, maybe the kiddies realize that Momma really does mean it this time.

MORE UPDATES: Lots of conflicting stories: Are all the barricades down, or just some? Are talks on now, or still off? Obviously the Caledonia residents are still being terrorized. I heard through the grapevine that house prices are way down in Caledonia. Not surprising, I guess.

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

I thought that this gutless little worm could't get anymore pathetic but again he manages to sink a little lower. If the OPP are not taking orders from the gov't then why are they doing nothing. Either they ARE being ordered to sit with their heads up their asses or they are acting like a bunch of prissy, perfumed, pampered poofda's.

Anonymous said...

And apparently, the police cannot go onto the reserve to arrest the people named on the warrants. And the leaders on the reserve say they will not turn them over. Now what? This is beyond ridiculous.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Ontario is the new Wild West. Every man for himself in Caledonia.

Well, that's not exactly true. If you're a non-native, the OPP will come down hard on you.

It's such a blatant two-tier system of justice. Who is running this province anyway?

Anonymous said...

I am wondering if the terrorists in our midst are eyeing the Caledonia reserve as a place where they can hide as it seems that Ontario law is stymied at the barricades.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

LOL!!! Mary, that's a good one!

Anonymous said...

Why didn't he say this 100 days ago when the blockade first went up? Two systems of justice in one country is wrong. Are they a separate country? If so, do they have their own health coverage and school system, their own legal tender? You can't have it both ways.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Kelly, somebody made a comment earlier that with rights goes responsibility; unless you're a native.

It's like being a child - forever.

Anonymous said...

CTV _ “Ontario Provincial Police are trying to recover classified documents containing the identities of undercover officers that were stolen in a recent altercation between natives and police in Caledonia, Ont.”
===================
Well, what the hell is McGuinty waiting for now? People are beaten in front of OPP officers and NOTHING is done. An OPP officer is almost murdered and documents revealing undercover officers identities are stolen and nothing happens? Ask the Federal Government for the Army for Christ sakes! What kind of country is this? This kind of crap goes on in Indonesia or Africa. This is getting really stupid. If Islamic terrorists in Canada want a safe place to hide, all they have to do is hide behind a Native barricade, knowing for a fact that the police will do NOTHING because the terrorists manning the barricade are getting away with bullshit like this.

McGuinty, I hate your guts, you are a pathetic joke. It angers me so much to know that we have such a weakling pussy like you for a Premier.

Anonymous said...

The sooner the Fed's bring in the Army the better...this is beyond ridiculous...

Anonymous said...

Yeah, but if Harper brings in the army, every leftie in the nation will be hollering: "Racist, bigot!"

This is a tough one. And the natives know that, and that's why they're pushing it this far. Our politically-correct society has made the government practically impotent on this.

The natives must be snickering over this one.

Anonymous said...

Anyone who calls Harper a bigot and racist for doing a job that a weakling provincial Premier should have done a long time ago is, to put it bluntly, an unmitigated idiot.

Citizens are being assaulted and threatened with death. A police officer was almost murdered, and officers that are currently undercover are close to having their covers blown.

There is no sane person in Canada that can condone this clearly and blatantly criminal behavior by these "protesters. So why should we give a good goddamn if lefties think a leader stepping up to solve this ridiculous problem is, in their warped eyes, a "racist?"

It is patently clear that weasal McGuinty and the police aren't going to do their jobs. Please Mr. Harper, send in the Army. Put a stop to this farce.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

I heard Gary Goodyear on the radio this morning (CPC MP - Cambridge) say that the feds have been working closely with all parties in this dispute.

Apparently however, it is up to McGuinty to formally ask the feds for help, since this is under provincial juristiction. Kinda reminds me of the situation in New Orleans where it took so long for the various levels of bureaucracy to ask for help along the chain.

Of course, McClueless has waited way to long to make that call!

The inmates truly are running the prison now. Trouble is, we're in the prison, and they're on the outside looking in and laughing at us!!!!

Forward Looking Canadian said...

In my opinion, McGuinty showed some balls in his press conference over Caledonia. He said "we'll see" with enough bite in his voice that these protestors knew to get their act together.

McGuinty is running low on credit throughout Canada though and it seems the other Premiers have grown tired of his equalization whining. I also was doing some polling research and saw that Ipsos has a poll from last week saying the PC's are at 40% while the Libs in Ont are at 37%... I did not know that the provincial parties are so neck in neck.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Well, I didn't hear him say "We'll see..". Only read it, so I'll have to take your word for the drama and theatrics.

I think the provincial conservatives would be further ahead if John Tory had a bit more pizzazz.

Anonymous said...

Joanne, when McGuilty says "Just watch me", that's when I'll finally take notice of him. Otherwise, he's just huffing and puffing...

You Ontarians seem so tired of him...how long has he been in office?

Anonymous said...

"You Ontarians seem so tired of him...how long has he been in office?"

==============

Too long.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Soccermom - Sorry for all the rants about Ontario's sad Premier. It's kind of you to extend sympathy.

Brent Colbert has a clock ticking down the time til the next election on his blog: http://www.brentcolbert.com/blog/

"478 Days, 4 Hours, 20 Minutes, And 13 Seconds Left Until The Next Ontario Provincial Election..."

It cannot come too soon.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

"apparently I do know how to put my feelings into words." Wow, Island Girl, you sure do!

That's quite a first-hand story; the kind I love the most. Real people in real situations.

Yes, indeed. Do they not have any self-esteem? They can't all be agreeing with how things are being handled in Caledonia! Why aren't they speaking up, and showing the more rational side of the native situation?

BTW, I didn't realize that native Canadians were being paid to go to school. That is something that most kids only dream of!

Anonymous said...

Island Girl, bravo! I also grew up next to a reserve and have many of the same feelings you do about this subject.

It's time for the natives to stop playing the victim card, in my opinion. Don't they want something better for their kids? One hopes that one day we as a nation could have a rational debate on this topic, without the usual racism cards being played by the lefties and by the natives. Things will never change if we cannot do this.

One event comes to mind at this time and that is a native family in my former community taking a taxi-ride (PAID BY THE GOVERNMENT) for a three hour ride to Saskatoon for a doctor's appointment, when he had no shortage of cars in his driveway. If my parents need to go to Saskatoon for medical issues, they take the bus at their own expense. This kind of thing goes on every day in this country! When is enough ENOUGH? Of course this kind of thing causes animosity between communities. How could it not?

Anonymous said...

Reserves are federal land, held in trust by the feds, therefore policed by tribal police and/or RCMP.

Caledonia isn't part of the reserve... at least not yet...

In some jurisdictions, they're formalized the "two systems of justice" by introducing native only courts where offenders are dealt with in so-called traditional manner, like healing circles etc.

Supposedly were created to address the inequities imposed on native people by the "white man" courts. In Canada's prisons, natives are disproportionately represented. Native courts supposedly address this by embracing alternative sentencing to integrate offenders back into their community. It all sounds too much like social engineering by another name to me.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Mac, sounds dysfunctional to me.

Candace, thanks for that tidbit of real life. A three hour cab ride, eh? Unfreaking real.

Felix Taylor, Jr. said...

Probably Mike Harris' approach wasn't a bad one after all. At least you knew, no matter who you are you NEVER, EVER crossed the man, even when it came to issues of law and order. McGuinty doesn't have the stuff.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Yeah, Felix. Given the choice, I'd take Harris over McGuinty any day. He wasn't perfect, but he delivered, and he was a LEADER.

Anonymous said...

Dysfunctional is an inadequate description. Before European influence, native had no equivalent of a court system. It was a tribal existence; if my neighbour offended me, I must kill him or die trying. To call the native justice system "traditional" is a farce.

Prior to the last series of Liberal majority governments, the RCMP provided police services to all federal lands, most especially the reserves. Within the RCMP, there were "special constables" who were of native descent who were hired specifically to work on reserves. There were also "special constables" who were hired specifically for other roles as well.

In the late 80s & early 90s, the RCMP decided to do away with the "special" classifications. Special constables were offered an opportunity to either "convert" to regular member status (or to civilian member status depending on the duty) or retire.

The concept of tribal police arrived in the 1990s... the Chretien years. In and of itself, it's not a bad concept and the basic idea is noble. For a police agency to be truly effective, they must be part of the community. Unfortunately, it hasn't worked out all that well.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Mac, thanks for that bit of history, and coming from you, I know it is accurate. Maybe it's time to get back to the "special" RCMP in the reserves? Why were they done away with in the first place? Sounds logical to me.

Anonymous said...

Joanne, I heard on Duffy yesterday that there has never been an official claim put on that Caledonia land by Six Nations. The commentators were wondering aloud what happens if/when they settle this thing with $$ and land, what happens to all the other native bands who have claims on the books and have been waiting for God knows how long to have theirs settled.

Yikes!

Anonymous said...

I don't think there'll ever see Special Constables again although, in a way, the program made sense. I'll explain that later.

They did away with the Special Constable positions in an effort to streamline administration. Each classification requires separate administration for recruiting, pay & benefits, etc.

Since that time, they've made further efforts to streamline classifications, including trying to eliminate the "Civilian Member" classification.

Most dispatchers and technical support staff are civilian members. They're not full Peace Officers but they need access to the police files and databases to support the cops. The Federal government tried to roll all of those positions into the Civil Service but, for security reasons, they eventually relented.

Special Constables, as a separate designation, meant recruiting was handled independently from the regular process. In the case of the native Specials, the RCMP was able to assess individuals rather than excluding them.

For instance, an Inuit who never held a driver's licence (ie: no roads) would be disqualified from regular recruiting since that's one of the regular member requirements.

That separate designation also restricted native Specials to working in native policing. Whether that was good or bad is debatable.

Under the current system, RCMP officers who are native often opt to work on reserves because of the financial incentives... ie: no income tax for natives working on reserves.

islandgirl, from what I've read, the Six Nations have a land claim under negotiation but they don't own the land in question. They want it added to their reserve or compensation. In the meantime, the developers were building on it.

To my consideration, the Six Nations are cutting off their collective noses despite their collective faces since the land, once developed, is more valuable so compensation will likewise be more valuable.

Should something be done? Yes. Are the OPP aware McSquinty will make any negative results all their fault? Absolutely. Would this kind of prolonged incident be allowed in any other civilized country? Not freaking likely.

Canadian, eh? Beauty! Go Oilers!!

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Mac - Thanks for that clarification. Island Girl and I both will have benefitted from your expert perspective.

So, as I understand it, the land claim is under negotiation. What exactly are they trying to accomplish then, by occupying the site that is under dispute? Do they think this will advance the process? Just trying to understand the logic.

You are also saying about the Special Police, I think, that now the RCMP simply can designate native officers to this task? Are the RCMP actually alllowed to patrol the reserves? I didn't think they were. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

The RCMP, as the Federal Police, has full jurisdiction on all reserves and throughout the country. RCMP officers can patrol on reserves and do so... except those with tribal police. If there are tribal police agencies in place, the RCMP defer to them but will provide assistance if requested.

Most tribal police agencies are small so they don't have technical support sections like Crime Scene Investigators, Forensics Experts, etc. plus one major investigation can wipe their budget.

My best guess at why the Six Nations are occupying Caledonia is because they're not happy with the negotiations or how long it's taking so they've decided to up the stakes.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Thanks for that, Mac. Complicated business, that's for sure.

Anonymous said...

I don't think there's another organization like the RCMP on the planet. Aside from it's storied history and colourful traditions, the modern day Mounties are something else.

Aside from their role as federal police, Mounties are empowered to act as Customs inspectors, Immigration officers, Explosives inspectors, even Fisheries officers.

Mounties provide national security enforcement (CSIS agents have no powers to arrest or detain). Mounties go on UN Peacekeeping missions, usually to train civil police forces in fledgling democracies, as well as assisting in investigations of war crimes and/or identifying victims in tragedies.

Mounties are part of Interpol and many Canadian embassies around the world also have a Mountie or two along with the Department of Foreign Affairs personnel.

In 8 provinces and three territories, the Mounties are the provincial police force and, in that role, provide small town policing. As well, Mounties provide big city policing, especially here in BC.

In some remote northern villages in Canada, Mounties still act as Marriage Commissionaires and government agents.

Although Mounties are involved at so many different levels of Canadian society and beyond, we are still a paramilitary organization, with the rank structure providing a chain of command and continuity between the different levels to provide effective and efficient service.