Ignoring a "Two-Bit" Judge

I feel sorry for Justice David Marshall this morning. He is the lone voice of sanity and integrity in a boiling sea of vicious sniping, name-calling, rage, disrespect, resentment and blatant abdication of duty. It would appear that hardly anyone is on his side.

From this morning's Record:

Marshall "has no jurisdiction," said Clyde Powless, Six Nations spokesperson, ...earlier yesterday. "This is a federal issue and he is an Ontario court judge. It's a shame a two-bit judge can step in the way of negotiations with the government."

(Yes, it's a shame that Justice Marshall doesn't know his boundaries. After all, he is just a figure-head, right? No real power?)



From the same article:

Hazel Hill, another Six Nations spokesperson, said the judge's ruling is "an act of aggression" and "an attempt to criminalize us and declare war against us."

Judge Marshall vs. the First Nations! I wonder if the OPP would just stand by and watch that one?


Then some mixed messages:

First Dalton McGuinty is quoted as saying, "Obviously, we want to abide by any decision made by the judge.''

However, in today's National Post, David Peterson, the former Ontario premier appointed by McGuinty as the original negotiator in this fiasco called Judge Marshall's ruling "bizarre", and questioned his authority:

"How can he order an end to negotiations?"

"This is very dicey. I don't know if it's enforceable and I don't know what the purpose would be even if it is," Mr. Peterson said.

Meanwhile, tensions have increased, to put it mildly. Both sides are rightly concerned about the escalating chance of dangerous confrontations.

Now I am asking two questions:

1. How much longer can Justice Marshall hold out against all odds?

2. How much longer can Dalton McGuinty hide under his bed and hope this is all a bad dream?

* * * *

This is for anyone out there who still thinks Caledonia is only Ontario's problem - Today's Record editorial ends with this paragraph:

If negotiations continue and the court order is ignored, the Six Nations will have been handed unprecedented levels of authority and sovereignty in Canada. More ominously, the use of unlawful force to settle disagreements will have been rewarded. It is now clear that the dispute in Caledonia is no longer just about who owns a piece of land. It is about nothing less than whose law is in force in this province. What answers will the people of Ontario be given?

Don't say we didn't warn you!

* * * *

David Peterson must really have it in for Justice Marshall. The CBC has quoted him as calling the judge an amateur.

"This is very fragile and very complex and it doesn't need any more amateurs trying to make this worse..."

Wow! So now Judge David Marshall is a two-bit amateur. The man can't get 'no respect!'