The Dominion - 21

From the Lower End of Ottawa's Carrot Patch

Wed, 25 Aug 2004 23:44:55 +0000

The homeless action strike is seeking an end to the criminalization of poverty and dissent.

The Dominion continues to take the Ottawa streets by storm. Distribution is stable at 5000. There are approximately 15 carriers selling regularly.

I spoke with community police liaison officer Ruth Armstrong about Don's ticket and the other two tickets. Ruth advised that two of the tickets were given because the carriers were to close to a bus stop; it was not because the distribution of the paper was illegal. She did not yet have information about the third ticket but she thinks it might have been an officer that was not familiar with the department's supportive decision on the distribution of the paper.

There are still a few officers who, while not ticketing carriers, still harass them. Prosanto Smith was hassled three times last week. Once an officer advised that he was going to ticket him for spitting on the sidewalk and the other two times he was told he was under investigation for some unspecified crime.

It is my hope that all police officers get the message that distribution of the paper is legal, and that those renegade officers who continue to harass carriers face consequences for their unjustified actions.

General Street Policing Practices

While the de facto ban on panhandling is oppressive and unjust, there is also an issue with the way street persons are treated by police. I have witnessed four instances where a proper investigation would have ruled out an arrest.

Ottawa police have a practice of arresting street people without taking witness statements from those present at the time an alleged crime took place. They claim that it is the responsibility of the accused to get the witness statements and these witnesses can testify in court.

A person who is being arrested cannot possibly coordinate such an operation while being removed from the scene. S/he does not always know who the witnesses are or how to locate them. Even if the arrestee does locate the witnesses s/he cannot compel them to cooperate in the way a police officer can.

I discovered this practice when I was arrested this past week while trying to keep an innocent homeless woman from being seized by police. The police arrested her based on accusations from another woman, who claimed that she had been assaulted. There were several witnesses prepared to advise police that the woman being detained had not assaulted the other woman.

Police said that they were going to take statements, but did not. One officer had to leave in an ambulance with the accused-the trauma had caused her to have a panic attack. The other officers began leaving without taking statements. I stood behind the last vehicle in protest, and was arrested for obstructing a police officer. Due to the bail conditions imposed I could not return to the protest site.

I have had some discussions with the police administration about this irresponsible practice; it was defended. I am currently preparing a formal complaint about this unacceptable policy. This may require political or court intervention.

Homeless Action Strike

As the Homeless Action Strike successfully approaches its 400th day at City Hall near the Human Rights Monument, the 15 homeless strikers are safe from criminalization of their protest, but still feel vulnerable.

"The City is trying to cooperate with us now which is giving advancement and legitimacy to our cause," said Homeless Strike spokesperson Ryan McGrath. "Although we are very pleased by the support and success we have had so far we still need to see more results because we are afraid of a police raid before our issues are resolved."

I spent the first 17 days helping to set up the strike location, which has since been dubbed "Camp Where-Else". The homeless campers took more and more responsibility as time went on and a good degree of solidarity developed. On July 18-the day after the police arrested me and imposed bail conditions barring me from the camp-15 policemen led by Sergeant Terrie Walsh arrived at the camp, and attempted to shut it down. The strikers refused to cooperate with the attempted eviction. Police subsequently said it would be alright for the strikers to protest-but without tents. The protesters were advised that they had until the next morning to remove their tents or the tents would be confiscated and the protest would be shut down.

Press was notified and all tents moved onto the Human Rights Monument property, which is attached to the southwest corner of City Hall property, to avoid being shut down. Strike organizer Andre Brisebois called on George Wilks, one of the original founders of the Human Rights Monument, for help.

George intervened on behalf of the committee in defence of the homeless strikers and strongly advised the city and police not to remove the strikers from their protest.

The next day, members of the press arrived en masse and stayed all day waiting for the police raid, which never occurred. Instead, representatives of the police advised the strikers that they could stay as long as they followed basic rules (which of course they were already following). The police also advised the press that the protesters were peaceful.

Through the strength of the 15 homeless persons on site and with the clear support of the Monument Committee, Homeless Action Strike demands the following:

* Resolution by city council to refrain from ordering the police to brutalize protestors; stop the punishment and criminalization of dissent;

* Resolution by city council to cease ordering the police and the state to arrest and prosecute panhandlers if they are not aggressive;

* Resolution to find immediate and humane solutions to homelessness issues;

* Public apology to Jane Scharf and the other Homeless Action Strike protesters, to Heidi Rimke, and to all the members of the Seven Year Squat for the criminalization of our dissenting voices in direct violation of our constitutional right to freely express our political opinions on social problems without prosecution.

Sean McKenny, President of the Ottawa District Labour Council, is assisting in negotiations with the mayor's office through John Crupi, the mayor's press secretary. So far no offers of resolution have been made to the strikers.

Andre Brisebois is coordinating a petition in support of the homeless and their plight. Copies will be available online shortly at:

Email address for the Homeless Action Strike is:

Strikers still need help with food, clothing, blankets, photocopies for the petition, and phone numbers for a phone tree that will be called on for witnesses to attend the site if police try to close the strike down.

To put your phone number on the phone tree contact John Dunn at .

Jane Scharf

Homeless Action Strike, other news

Planned Detox Closure Endangers Staff, Clients

Wed, 25 Aug 2004 23:35:31 +0000

Thirty years after its opening, the City of Ottawa is planning to shut down the Bruyere Street Detoxification Unit. Social workers and citizens are calling the planned closure a critical mistake. The Detox Unit, which is the only centre of its kind in Ottawa, provides services for those suffering from drug and alcohol addictions. If no sponsor steps forward, the Detox Unit could be closed in the fall.

Virginia Hamilton, Executive Director of the Detox Unit, said that the Sisters of Charity and Health Services Board of Directors made the decision to close the Detoxification Centre permanently in April. The Ministry also learned it would be responsible for locating a new sponsoring Schedule One Hospital.

"The Monfort hospital made some effort to provide some financial support but this fell through because their own budget was overextended. I am still hopeful that we will find ways and means to stay open," said Hamilton.

Mayor Bob Chiarelli and Counselor George Bedard have both professed interest in seeking support to keep the Detox Unit open.

No new sponsor has yet been found.

"I have found the task of seeking sponsorship to keep the centre open very tenuous," said Ms. Hamilton. In fact, she said the pending October 1st closure of the 30-year-old unit has created a stressful environment for those working in the facility and those requiring services.

21 (CUPE) unionized staff members keep the 26-bed unit running 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Detox Unit provides services to people of diverse ages and backgrounds who suffer from addiction. In addition, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) offers a spirited force to the Detox Unit where volunteers from local groups gather for meetings six days and evenings per week.

The Detox Unit has space for 20 men and six women. For the last 20 years, the space has been divided by gender, as most women are not comfortable in a shared or co-ed environment.

Tracy Bellamy has started an online petition, which she plans to present to the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. The petition is an appeal to keep the Detox Unit open. "I am asking that if you agree with the content of the petition that you sign it, send it to people on your contact list. This is a very worthwhile cause," said Bellamy.

"It is literally a matter of life and death for many people."

The petition can be found at www.petitiononline.com/2411525/petition.html

Thirty year old Detox unit is the only one in Ottawa

Small Victory for the Poor and Homeless

Wed, 25 Aug 2004 23:32:36 +0000

Activists put up "Wanted" posters around the city bearing the likeness of Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli. The group says Chiarelli is "wanted for a citizens' arrest" because he has "committed crimes against panhandlers, homeless and protestors." They say he has continually incited police to violence against these groups-including seven-year squatters and homeless action strikers. A citizens' posse was formed to arrest the mayor at his City Hall office at high noon August 16.

Members of the Homeless Action Strike and supporters located on City Hall property since July 1 stormed the Heritage Building, which houses the mayor's office. The group occupied the hallway outside Chiarelli's office and demanded a meeting to make charges of crimes against homeless, panhandlers and protestors.

The main players in this action were Ryan McGrath, Laura Doepe, panhandlers Prosconto Smith and Sue Clark, and squeegee kid Jesse McVicar. Several other activists and members of the press were also present for the occupation.

Police kicked Proscanto Smith's wheelchair out of the way, handcuffing him and issuing a ticket for panhandling. He was there to read charges about the abuse of panhandlers on Ottawa streets.

Jesse was there to issue charges that the city of Ottawa is not protecting children who are wards of the Children's Aid Society from neglect and abuse. Once these children are released from care, he said, they become street youth caught in a brutal cycle of deprivation and abuse. Further, he charged the mayor for failing to accord the necessary resources and compassion to meet the needs of these homeless persons; instead they are regularity arrested for panhandling and sleeping outside.

Sue Clark charged that the mayor is orchestrating a war on the poor. She said she wanted to let him know that they are not going to take it anymore.

Ryan and Laura led the demands for the mayor to meet the group to hear the charges. Initially the mayor refused to meet the group, calling the charges a "dead issue". The group asserted that they would not leave the building until a meeting was agreed to. The group read demands over a megaphone, played a siren, blew whistles and banged their fists on the door.

After a two hour standoff, city officials agreed to a meeting with the group, though a date has not been set.

Under pressure, mayor agrees to meet protesters

Canoeing trip ends in disaster

Wed, 25 Aug 2004 23:31:18 +0000

by Jane Scharf

When news that Marshal Miner-a carrier at The Dominion-lost his cousin Rob Fowler in a canoeing accident, fellow carriers were struck with deep sadness. The two men were on a canoe trip involving three busloads of participants organized by Centre 454 drop-in for a group of homeless men and women.

In tears, Miner described how his cousin Rob Fowler, a 26-year-old homeless man, drowned when their canoe capsized on Lake Philippe in Gatineau Park on July 27th at 1:45 p.m.

"After we went out the wind came up and started rocking the boat and we went over the side." Miner said. They had been out on the water for about 45 minutes. They were both panicking and tried to swim to the shore, but it was too far. Then they tried to swim back to the overturned canoe. By this point, they were about 20 minutes from the shore of Breton Beach.

"I made it back," said Miner, "but Rob had trouble keeping his head above water. I think he went under two or three times and got water in his lungs. I tried to grab Rob but I couldn't reach him."

Shortly after the spill an employee from Centre 454 arrived to try and help the men but was unable to help Rob.

"This was such a tragedy," Miner said sadly, "because things were looking up for Rob. He was going to move into his own apartment in Centretown today. He was a really good guy."

Two carriers, Marshal's sister Tammy Gillet and Homeless Action Strike Organizer Andre Brisebois both requested a note of condolence from the Dominion to Rob's family and friends and especially to Marshal who is very disturbed by the loss of his dear cousin.

Rob moved to Ottawa from Fredericton, N.B. about four years ago and was well known around Ottawa streets. He was living at the Shepard's of Good Hope on the day of the accident.

Both men had life jackets with them in the boat but didn't have time to put them on before the boat turned over.

Police continue to look for the body and the National Capital Commission has closed the beach until further notice.

26-year-old homeless man drowned

Media Blackout in Najaf

Wed, 25 Aug 2004 23:25:36 +0000

Iraqi police officers enforced at rifle-point an order from the US-appointed interim government to remove all journalists–foreign and local–from Najaf, as American forces ratcheted up their offensive on the Shi'ite holy city on Sunday.
Police officers arrived at a Najaf hotel housing journalists and demanded they leave the city at once or face arrest. "You've got two hours to leave or we are going to open fire at you. It's just our orders," an Iraqi police officer told London Times reporter Stephen Farrell.

Officers arrested an Iraqi reporter, Mohammad Kazem, during a live rooftop broadcast for Iranian state television, Al-Alam, after they fired warning shots into the air. The Daily Telegraph reports that as night fell and the deadline for the eviction order passed, bullets were fired at the roof of the hotel, the known site from which journalists frequently file their reports. Iraqi police had cited the reporters' own safety as the reason for the expulsion order.

Reporters embedded with US troops are now the only journalists allowed to correspond from Najaf.

(source: newstandardnews.net)

Floods and Droughts Strike India

Wed, 25 Aug 2004 23:24:07 +0000

Northern India is experiencing what are being called the worst floods in two decades. For the past month, over 700 people have died, and millions of acres of farmland have been destroyed as a result of overflowing rivers fed by abnormally heavy rain in the region. Aggravating the effect of the heavy rainfall is the half-completed Sardar Sarovar Dam, which began overflowing into the Narmada river valley late last week.

At the same time, the south has been languishing without rain for months, particularly in the agriculturally crucial Haryana and Punjab states. The disastrous summer weather is feeding fears of disease brought by the floods and famine caused by the destroyed cropland and lack of rain.

The United Nations University's Institute for Environment and Human Security has recently stated that it expects threats of flood to double by 2050 due to deforestation, rising sea levels and climate change. Floods in the relatively undeveloped economies of Asia are believed to have caused in excess of $136 billion in damage between 1987 and 1997.

Prozac in UK Drinking Water

Wed, 25 Aug 2004 23:23:30 +0000

Traces of the anti-depressant drug fluoxitine (known commercially as Prozac) have been found in Britain's drinking water, the UK's Environment Agency reports. The drug is believed to have entered the environment through the urine of people taking the medication, for which 24 million prescriptions are written annually in the country of 60 million.

Britain's Drinking Water Inspectorate has stated that the level of concentration of the drug is too low to have any effect on the public. Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac have recently been implicated in increased suicide rates in teenagers. The Inspectorate says that systems used to remove pesticides in rural areas are being installed nationally to cleanse trace amounts of prescription drugs from the public drinking water.

Canadian Military Involved in Haiti Massacre?

Wed, 25 Aug 2004 23:21:29 +0000

The Canadian military involvement in a March 12 incident in Haiti is being called into question. On that night, witnesses claim that between 40 and 70 civilians were massacred by US and international forces as part of the US-led overthrow of popular and democratically elected President Aristide. Canada may have actively taken part in the killings, but the details are shrouded in secrecy.
On March 11, the US military signaled its intent to "actively disarm" Lavalas militants. On the evening of March 12, there were two "official" civilian deaths in Belair. Eyewitnesses say that the number was much higher, and that the only reason that two deaths were recorded at all was because the bodies were the only two that bystanders were able to hide from the US and international forces' ambulances that accompanied the killings.

A small number of Canadian troops had arrived in the area earlier that evening and it's not clear whether they were involved in the events. The Ottawa Citizen's David Pugliese reported that the Canadian Joint Task Force Two was in Haiti before and after the massacre, and that its operations are always secretive.

On July 29, Lieutenant Colonel Jim Davis, the Commander of the Canadian Forces in Haiti, acknowledged that over 1000 people have been killed in Port-au-Prince since February 29th, and that occupying forces were involved in the March 12 massacre. However, in response to the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti report that included grim massacre photos and extensive damning details, Davis said "photographs can be produced, doctored."
The Canadian national mainstream media, and the Canadian government have ignored the events of March 12. A Toronto Star headline soon after proclaimed "Haiti Mission called success: shops open, children smiling." On July 29, Canadian Minister of National Defence Bill Graham said "Our mission in Haiti was instrumental in bringing peace and stability to the troubled country."

(CMAQ)

Art

Wed, 25 Aug 2004 23:15:53 +0000

"Art," by Heather Meek

Canada in Haiti

Wed, 25 Aug 2004 23:09:43 +0000

Who Engineered the Overthrow of Democracy?

Around 2,500 Haitians demonstrate for the return of Aristide in Cap Haitien on August 14. Canada’s role, Fenton writes, may have gone well beyond diplomatic complicity. During the US-Canadian-Franco occupation, thousands of pro-Aristide activists have been jailed or murdered. photo: Haiti Information Project

For those seeking to understand the roots of Canada's latest intervention in Haiti, there appears to be no better place to begin than the central figure of the emerging Canada-Haiti controversy, Quebec MP Denis Paradis.

In recent interview aired on CBC's "The Current", journalist Michel Vastel, who had interviewed Paradis numerous times, had the following to say:

"Denis Paradis...had been in Haiti in the year 2000. And he was shocked by the state of the people over there, and he decided, he almost made it a personal goal about the problem of Haiti. Denis Paradis wanted to have a brainstorming session with the players in Haiti." (August 6th, 2004)

In this "brainstorming session," it turns out, "the players" did not include a single Haitian.

It is instructive to explore the path that Denis Paradis, once considered the "top Canadian diplomat for the Americas," and former head of the Quebec Bar Association, tread preceding this meeting.

Back in 2000, the year of Haiti's so-called "deeply flawed elections," Paradis was Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy.

In May 2000, Haiti held an election. The Organization of American States (OAS) initially declared the procedure "free and fair", but reversed course suddenly a few months later, reporting the election as having been "deeply flawed". Why the change?

In September 2000, Madeleine Albright convened the first "friends of Haiti" meeting. The purpose of the meeting, according to CNN, was to "pressure Haiti to strengthen democratic procedures in advance of presidential and legislative elections in November." That is, the elections that everyone knew Aristide was going to win in a huge landslide.

By this point, the OAS had updated its view of the elections: from minor irregularites, where 10 out of 7000 overall positions were disputed due to tabulation discrepancies, to "serious irregularities and deficiencies."

On this basis, and without providing any further evidence, the Clinton administration had "already vowed to impose economic sanctions on Haiti if it [did] not change its ways," as one CNN report put it. It was at this point also that Luis Lauredo, U.S. ambassador to the OAS, announced that the U.S. government would begin the economic strangulation of Haiti by sending "nearly all bilateral assistance... through private and nongovernmental organizations, thus bypassing the Haitian government." Clinton blocked Haiti from receiving international loans and aid, a policy that continued with the Bush Administration. In four years, over $300 million in aid and loans was blocked; the Haitian government's annual budget is just over $400 million.

The reasons given for Clinton's drastic actions against Haiti cannot be taken seriously. While a series of dictators were in power in Haiti in the 1980s, and the murder of dissidents was a regular occurrence, no such sanctions were imposed. Indeed, millions in US aid flowed freely. For anyone with even a tenuous grasp of US foreign policy, it is clear that Clinton's motives lay not in maintaining democracy, but in maintaining control of Aristide. Indeed, the Clinton administration's rhetoric emphasizes exactly this: "The elation [of the elections] has turned sour as a result of the unwillingness of the Haitian authorities to address the serious irregularities and deficiencies arising in the elections' aftermath"-so said Luis Lauredo, US ambassador to the OAS.

Nonetheless, Axeworthy (presumably with Paradis in tow) threw Canada's weight behind the US plan to back Aristide into a corner, with the eventual goal of replacing him.

Denis Paradis was elevated from the backbenches in January 2002, to "Secretary of State for Latin America, Africa and La Francophonie". Paradis was responsible for Canada's relations with Latin America, Africa, and the 56-member La Francophonie, where Canada, next to France, is the most powerful member.

Fittingly, the term 'francophonie' has colonial origins. According to Canada's own Department of Foreign Affairs:

"La Francophonie was not born yesterday! In fact, the term "francophonie" was coined in 1880 by French geographer Onesisme Reclus (1837-1916) to designate the community of people and countries using French for various purposes... As was the case with all the great powers, France's colonial past served as the foundation that tied France-primarily economically, but also socially and culturally-to its many colonies throughout the centuries."

In December of 2002, Paradis introduced the idea for "the creation of [a] watchdog to clamp down on human rights abuses in the Francophonie grouping of French-speaking nations, some of which have been accused of serious violations," during a gathering of the 56-member La Francophonie group of countries in Lausanne, Switzerland. Said Paradis, "There are eight million French-speakers in Haiti. If there is a place on the planet where the words democracy, good governance and human rights should apply, it's surely in Haiti."

Prior to the December meeting, Paradis had raised the issue of employing the Bamako Declaration (made in Bamako, Mali, by La Francophonie member-countries) in the case of Haiti in the House of Commons. Referring to the upcoming meeting in Switzerland, Paradis said "We have proposed a mechanism, enabling the implementation of Bamako, which will allow us to quickly apply this declaration where there are problems with specific Francophone countries." Ominously, Paradis added, "Whenever the Bamako declaration and its principles are mentioned, I think of Haiti. This is a place where Bamako could be truly meaningful in terms of democracy, human rights and good governance."

Paradis saw in the Bamako declaration an opportunity to formalize intervention so as to "take action against states who fail to meet those standards."

In his interview with "The Current", Michel Vastel went on to describe who participated and what the nature of the January 2003 "Ottawa Initiative" meeting was:

France, La Francophonie, the European Union, the [U.S.] Secretary of State sent two what they call "high ranking officials" [Otto Reich and the OAS's Luigi Einaudi]. And, for Latin America there was the Minister of Foreign Affairs for El Salvador, and the idea was to just search for new ideas. So the meeting took place at the Meech Lake resort, you know the place, the last week of January 2003. It lasted three days over an extended weekend. Once again, all information that I'm giving you is coming from Paradis and from the French government. There was a consensus that 'Aristide should go.' But, how do you do that? This is the French government...who suggested there should be a trusteeship like there was in Kosovo. That was not an intervention, they said, that was their responsibility-all these countries-to protect.

In Vastel's l'Actualite article, Paradis is quoted as saying: "If Canadians treated their animals as the Haitian authorities treat their citizens, they [Canadian authorities] would be jailed," and "In Africa I have seen poverty with dignity... but in Haiti there's not even dignity."

Vastel continues: "Therefore, [Paradis] concludes that the international community wouldn't want to wait for the five-year mandate of President Aristide to run its course in 2005." Quoting Paradis, Vastel writes, "Although the United Nations wouldn't wish for the intervention to lead to a military occupation... that might be inevitable until elections can be held."

Enthusiastically and publicly leading the overthrow of a democratically elected government was a bit much for the Liberal government. Consequently, the overzealous Paradis soon faded into the background. After his interview with Vastel was published, he was quickly removed from the 'Haiti file,' while the plans to overthrow Aristide proceeded, albeit a couple of months behind schedule. The position of Secretary of State for Latin America was subsequently eliminated, and Paradis has since been banished-once again-to the Liberal backbenches. Subsequent meetings took place, such as the one in El Salvador; involving, according to Vastel, "a White House official" and Canada's Marc Lortie, deputy Minister for the Americas, as well as other "friends of Haiti."

According to Paul Martin, Canada's involvement in Haiti was the "morally responsible" thing to do. He has also said that Haiti was a "failed state," that Canada and other "friends of Haiti" intervened at just the right time to restore peace and stability to Haiti. In July, Martin addressed what the Globe and Mail referred to as an "exclusive gathering" of "media moguls" in Idaho. The gathering was closed to the press and the public, but the transcript of Martin's speech noted the following about Haiti:

In short, just as companies have to improve their governance, so do countries. Better governance within fragile, failing or failed states means building effective public institutions. It is true that fragile states often require military intervention to restore stability...we saw this in Haiti.

Almost 10 years ago Canada, the United States and some other countries intervened...The problem is that none of us...though all of us were involved, stayed long enough nor did we take the time and effort...to build these institutions. So 10 years later, here we are, back with the same problem and the same mess, but this time, we have got to stay until the job is done properly.

Measured against the reality on the ground, Martin's claims take on an altogether different meaning.

On July 29th, Lt. Colonel Jim Davis, Commander of the Canadian Forces contingent in Haiti, acknowledged that at least 1000 bodies had been buried in a mass grave in Port au Prince, within one month of "restoring stability." Davis also would not deny the eyewitnesss testimony that spoke of a massacre of Aristide supporters committed by occupying forces on March 12. According to the eyewitnesses, international forces staged an attack in a Port-au-Prince slum, killing dozens of people. These international forces reportedly took all but two bodies away in ambulances. At the time, US, French and Canadian forces were stationed in Haiti. French troops had explicit rules of engagement: they were not to shoot unless they were attacked. Canadian and American occupying forces had no such limitation.

Said Davis: "I do not deny that these things have happened."

* * *

Canada made itself complicit in disinformation about the Haitian elections circulated by the OAS, hosted meetings to plot the overthrow of a democratically elected government, illegally occupied the country, and knowingly participated or was complicit in the murder of Haitians opposed to the coup. For months, Martin's Liberal government ignored Aristide's requests for "a few dozen" peacekeepers. On the day he was escorted out of office by US troops, however, Canada had 500 soldiers available to occupy the country and enforce his departure.

These actions have been carried out openly, but opposition within Canada has been scarce or nonexistent. When asked, NDP leader Jack Layton has simply said that his party "has questions" about the human rights situation; Layton agreed that Canadian troops needed to be sent.

The Globe and Mail, CanWest newspapers, and Canadian Press have actively repeated the OAS allegations that elections were "deeply flawed" as fact, while failing to mention the US funding of "opposition groups".

Paul Martin has not been criticized at all for his use of Madeleine Albright's "failed state" rhetoric to justify "responsible intervention". Canada's elite, it seems, is quite comfortable with its government's increasingly overt colonial practices.

But was Canada's pre-occupation involvement limited to the "diplomatic steps" necessary to remove Aristide?

On February 5, 2004, Pierre Pettigrew met with the self-styled rebel leader, Paul Arcelin. Arcelin had been arrested, along with his "protege" Guy Philippe, for plotting a coup against Aristide in 2003. Why was Pettigrew, whose Montreal riding is populated by many prominent members of the Haitian diaspora, meeting with a known coup-plotter?

During an exclusive post-coup interview with the Gazette's Sue Montgomery, Arecelin revealed that he and Philippe had "spent 10 to 15 hours a day together, plotting against Aristide...From time to time we'd cross the border through the woods to conspire against Aristide, to meet with the opposition and regional leaders to prepare for Aristide's downfall."

Arcelin also describes having "explained the reality of Haiti" to Pettigrew on February 5th, the same day that his paramilitary colleagues entered and took over the city of Gonaives. Arcelin's testimony conflicted with that of Pettigrew's office, who downplayed the meeting in an interview with the Globe and Mail, claiming that "the meeting was part of the minister's 'open-door policy' to the Haitian community in his constituency, and did not affect Canadian policy.,Aeu But Arcelin, whose sister-in-law, Nicole Roy-Arcelin is a former Conservative MP, claims to have taken advantage of these "political connections to meet with Pierre Pettigrew." And, concerning Canadian policy, Arcelin says that Pettigrew "promised to make a report to the Canadian government about what I'd said."

Interestingly, Pettigrew was nowhere to be seen during the crisis, but is now Foreign Affairs Minister, and recently met with Colin Powell to discuss the Haiti 'situation.'

Who Engineered the Overthrow of Democracy?

Anthony Fenton digs into Canada's role in the overthrow of a democratic government in Haiti, and the players involved. His investigation raised questions. Among others: was Canada's involvement to diplomatic enabling, or have Canadian troops been directly involved in the hundreds of political assassinations that followed the coup?

Books, August 2004

Wed, 25 Aug 2004 22:53:29 +0000

Written On Water

Written On Water
by Michel Marc Bouchard
Talonbooks, 2004

You have to love a play in which Scene Two begins, "CLAIRE: (as she throws a dead cat in the air)". In this 2003 script--freshly translated from the original French--a flood has washed away the most beloved features of a Quebec village, from the dead cat, Max, to the church. The characters' concern, however, is not for their houses or institutions, but instead for the lost manuscripts contained in the old school gymnasium, which, under the forceful will of the aging schoolmaster, Samuel, has been the meeting place for the senior citizens' writing group. Samuel has set his peers/pupils the task of finding all the works they have created over the years, now beached in drowned piles on the gym floor, and recreating the lost sections. The elderly characters lead the audience through a dramatic meditation on age, memory, and the status of the past as fixed or mutable. While some of the themes dealt with may be overly familiar, like the demographic shift of young people from the villages to the cities, there is a touch of magic realism that reaches behind the cliches of getting older to highlight the subliminal way in which communities transmit knowledge, accruing a history that gains as well as loses from death. --Linda Besner

* * *

The House That Highjack Built
by Adeena Karasick
Talonbooks, 2004

This is an experimental work devoted to linking words through sound, to the near exclusion of semantics. Karasick "highjacks" our linguistic structure and drives it away as the gleaming vehicle for phrases like, "subpoena peonie poesis,/ a performative promise/ a promiscuous/ fescue, a fillet au fracas/frothing/ in the vertigo of a minoritoria flora,/ a flapping applet frappe". One section makes effective use of Hindi words like tikka and bhaji, and glimmers with succesful punning, as when the speaker refers to "my sari ass".
Other wordplay directed humourously is less succesful: the author mixes highly esoteric words with the demotic in a way that unintentionally sets up the more casual phrases to disappoint the reader. It's hard to pass from "frilly frolic freilach freitag" to "Yo dude!" Unfortunately, this extended joyride can indeed feel "frothy" at times; the surface may be boiling too hard to allow a clear look at what's underneath. --Linda Besner

* * *

Meet Me in the Parking Lot
by Alexandra Leggat
Insomnia, 2004

Leggat's car stories are not about the moral emptiness of suburban car culture. Instead, they celebrate the centrality of cars to rural small town life, accepting the car as a personality, a partner, the significant other of our ambulatory lives. Leggat's bluntnosed prose acknowledges her setting as the "shooting, stabbing, child-porn ring" kind of countryside, the kind where your neighbours know you intimately and not at all, where your car is as familiar as your face. There is a pokerfaced humour at play in these stories, from the blankly titled "The Car", in which a woman matter-of-factly sets up housekeeping in her rotting car in the driveway of her house, to the final story "The Parking Lot", in which small-fry drug dealers argue by cellphone from adjacent parking spots over whether to meet in Leo's Monte Carlo as usual, or to upgrade to Leo's new Cadillac. Leggat's sentences, like her cars, are squat, utilitarian inhabitants of our psychic space, whose contours are both squarely resistant to and natural containers for our attachments and anxieties. --Linda Besner

* * *

The Year One
by David Helwig
Gaspereau, 2004

Just when it starts to feel too placid, the wind tilts, the clouds shift shape, and before you know it the periods are gone and the music on the speaker's record player is everything again. Helwig's collection of long poems traces the progress of a year through the vital signs of the weather, beginning in the long variable whiteness of January. Helwig's musings are full of digressions that fuse with his natural observations as if people and events were of the same order as milkweed: common, but worth commenting on. He is attentive to the readable traces that movement leaves on the landscape, but carries always before him the idea that, "We act and vanish with our acts./ Snow, rain, wind or the growth of new grass/ will conceal us equally." None of the tricks of the trade are employed here to give the verse hooks, but there is a firm momentum that pushes the reader forward, if only to reassure herself that conclusions to this type of reflection are unnecessary. --Linda Besner

Linda Besner reviews new poetry from Adeena Karasick, Alexandra Leggat, David Helwig and a recently translated play by Michel Marc Bouchard.

Aliant Loses $13 Million

Wed, 25 Aug 2004 22:35:24 +0000

Aliant Loses $13 Million on Strike, refuses to negotiate

Around 4,500 Aliant workers and supporters march in downtown Halifax.

photos: Dru Oja Jay

Aliant Loses $13 Million on Strike, refuses to negotiate

In a conference call with business analysts, Aliant CEO Jay Forbes said that the company had lost $13 million as a result of the ongoing strike by 4,300 employees. Aliant's first-quarter earnings were $50.1 million, compared to $70.6 million in 2003.

The strike, which began April 23rd, has centred on the fight for improvements to the pension plan. Some workers may retire after 30 years with a pension of $12,000 per year, which workers say is inadequate. Another "huge issue," according to union officials, is Aliant's attempt to claw back protections against contracting out work that is currently done by full-time, unionized employees.

Though provincial and federal politicians have not taken a stand regarding the strike, Aliant is under increased pressure to end the strike. Aliant's managers have been working long hours to fill the roles of the missing workers. Installations have been backed up for weeks, and many customers are complaining of technical difficulties, and a lack of customer service.

Aliant is under pressure from shareholders to consistently grow profits. Formed as a result of a merger of five provincial telephone companies, Aliant is the major provider of telecommunications in Atlantic Canada. The company is effectively controlled, in turn, by Bell Canada, which owns a 54% stake in Aliant. Canada's largest telco, Bell Canada, also owns a majority stake in Bell Globemedia, which includes CTV and the Globe and Mail.

Other unions and telecommunications workers have recognized the value of Aliant as a precedent, and have raised millions of dollars to support the striking workers.

The union representing Bell Canada's technicians' union recently accepted an updated offer from the company. A previous offer in July had been rejected by 62 per cent of the membership.

Quebec Unions Cancel Plans for One-Day General Strike

After threatening a one-day walkout in protest of wage freezes, tax cuts, and privatization, Quebec's major unions made it clear that the strike would not go on as planned. Many unions voted in favour of the strike.

Some observers say that the decision to cancel the strike indicates divergent goals between the union leadership and the grassroots. Tens of thousands of union members have protested in outrage at Liberal legislation that eliminated union positions, raised prices for day care services, and cut taxes for corporations and the wealthy. Leaders, by contrast, have been cautious in their criticisms of Charest's Liberals, claiming that the government has also implemented some good policies.

In February, Quebec Federation of Labour president Henri Massé has said that he is not "calling for the defeat of the government. It is there for four years. It is doing its job. If it adopts damaging policies, we will always criticize it."

"When we speak of some correct government measures, people are still outraged and don't want to listen," Massé commented more recently.

National Strike at Parks Canada

On August 13, one day after talks broke down, 4,800 Parks Canada employees began a nationwide strike. The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), which is representing the workers, is calling for a 13 per cent increase in wages over three years. The Government's highest offer has been four per cent. Other outstanding issues include working conditions and workplace safety.

More than 135,000 workers represented by PSAC are currently in negotiations, and may join the strike in the coming weeks if an agreement is not reached.

Parks Canada employees have not been charging entry fees or providing services at parks across the country, resulting in free entry and hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue.

Newfoundland Home Care Workers on Strike

Around 60 home care workers in Corner Brook, Nfld., have been on strike since August 2. Employed by the Victoria Order of Nurses, they are demanding improved wages, vacation time and sick leave benefits.

Health Care Workers on Strike in York Region

Ninety-two health care workers at the Community Care Access Centre in the York Region in Newmarket, Ontario have been on strike since August 6. The striking workers have rejected wage concessions demanded by their employer.

In labour news, the Aliant strike drags on, Quebec's union's cancel a plan for a general strike against Charest, Parks Canada workers go on strike, along with home care workers in Newfoundland and health-sector workers in York Region.

President Bush, See You in Court

Wed, 25 Aug 2004 22:27:17 +0000

Judging the cost of climate change

As climate change increasingly affects islanders and those living in the North, many are seeking legal recourse in international venues.

Frustration with the Bush Administration's failure to take meaningful action on climate change is spilling over into the courtroom. Victims and potential victims of climate change, ranging from community organizations to city councils to entire nations, are taking legal action to force the US government to address the issue.

The Inuit people from the north of Canada and Alaska have indicated that they will launch a case against the American government at the Washington-based Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Sheila Watt-Cloutier is the chairwoman of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, which represents all 155 thousand of her people inside the Arctic Circle. She announced the lawsuit at a meeting where 140 governments were negotiating the final details of the Kyoto Protocol in December last year. "This a David and Goliath story. Most people have lost contact with the natural world. They even think global warming has benefits, like wearing a t-shirt in November, but we know the planet is melting and with it our vibrant culture, our way of life...Europeans understand this issue but in America the public know little or nothing and politicians are in denial."

The US is the most obvious target for a climate change lawsuit according to a report written by Andrew Strauss, a professor of International Law at Widener University. He explains that although the US has 5 per cent of the world's population, it emits 25 percent of the world's emissions and is actively impeding the ability of the global community to take collective action.

The government of the island nation of Tuvalu is also planning a case against the US and/or Australia at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Tuvalu's highest point is only four meters above sea level and scientists are predicting that the rising sea levels caused by climate change will swamp the island within the next fifty years. Despite being in one of the most extreme positions in terms of damage from climate change, Tuvalu will have difficulty gaining a chance to make its case. Neither the US nor Australia is expected to agree to the jurisdiction of the court, which is the most straightforward method for Tuvalu to gain a hearing; other options, such as International Court advisory opinions and dispute resolution clauses, do not present a clear legal path.

Although the court system is being promoted by experts such as Strauss as having a great deal of potential to force action on greenhouse gas emission reductions, the legal process is also extremely complicated, and with an issue as complex and far-reaching as climate change, promises to be slow and costly.

In his report Warming Up To a Not-So Radical Idea: Tort-based Climate Change Litigation, lawyer David Grossman suggests using the example of legal action brought against tobacco companies. In these cases, expert testimony and scientific and statistical evidence showing the probability that smoking causes cancer was sufficient for the courts; the same methodology would likely apply to climate change. With this method the courts will be less likely to fall victim to the same skepticism and haggling over facts that has toned down the wording of statements by international scientific bodies.

There are three broad legal options to encourage the US to address climate change, according to Strauss. Plaintiffs harmed by climate change can bring actions against the Bush Administration in US federal court. Plaintiffs can sue companies who have done a disproportionate amount of damage in either US federal court or foreign courts, or plaintiffs can call the US government itself to an international tribunal.

While the Inuit and Tuvalu have chosen international legal options, organizations within the US have launched cases in the federal courts. The cities of Oakland, California, and Boulder, Colorado, in partnership with the Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, have gone to court against two US government agencies-the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)-for funding fossil fuel projects. After the city council voted to join the lawsuit, Boulder Mayor Will Toor said, "All of the work that the city of Boulder does to maintain the quality of life for our residents will be negatively impacted by the detrimental effects of climate change. We believe that this lawsuit is one way to force the federal government to start paying attention to this critical issue."

At the same time, twelve US states, several cities, and over a dozen environmental groups have joined forces to challenge the US Environmental Protection Agency's decision that it does not need to regulate US greenhouse gas emissions. "The Bush Administration is asking for five more years of studies while the world is warming and regular people will pay the price," said Gary Cook, climate coordinator for Greenpeace. "We are now asking the courts to intervene and order the EPA to enforce US environmental laws and take action to address global warming."

Although a variety of legal avenues are being explored, the United States seems to be a common target. Watt-Cloutier explained why the Inuit have taken this approach, "We are hunters and we are trained to go for the heart. The heart of the problem is in Washington."

Is there legal recourse for those who are losing their land and livelihood to climate change? Yuill Herbert finds out what courts will hear their cases, and what precedents might help.

Missing History in Action

Wed, 25 Aug 2004 22:19:43 +0000

Canadian coverage of Joseph Pannell and the Black Panther Party

Joseph Pannell in 1969.

On July 29th, the Canadian Press, Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and others reported that Joseph Coleman Pannell had been arrested in Toronto for the shooting of a Chicago police officer in 1969. All of the reports described Pannell as a former member of the Black Panther Party who was charged with attempted murder, jumped bail and fled to Canada. He lived in Montreal and then Toronto, where he worked for 13 years as a research librarian under an assumed name. The Globe and the Star offered additional information, the substance of which came entirely from accounts by the police and from the man Pannell is accused of shooting.

The media coverage of the case seems to be factually correct. The claims that were reported were in fact made. However, the coverage also omits massive amounts of relevant contextual information-information which undermines the claims which were reported.

In 1969, the year that the shooting in question took place, eleven black youths from Chicago's south side were killed by police. A dozen members of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, and slightly fewer members of the Chicago police force, were wounded or killed in shootouts. 100 Panther members were arrested, and the Panther headquarters were raided four separate times by FBI and police forces. At the same time, the FBI's CounterIntelligence Program (COINTELPRO) was planting agents within the Black Panther Party (and other political groups) with the aim of disabling or destroying the organization's political effectiveness.

All of these facts are well-established, uncontroversial, and a part of the public record. Yet not even a suggestion of conflict (much less constant arrests, raids, and shootouts) between the Panthers and the police appears anywhere in Canadian newspaper coverage. The reports, to the contrary, actively cultivate the impression that this was an aberration. A normal day; then, unprovoked, a policeman was shot.

The Globe quotes Terrence Knox, the man who Pannell allegedly shot, as describing the event this way: "I stopped him and asked him why he wasn't in school, and for some reason he decided to shoot me."

For some reason.

Since the reports do not acknowledge that a conflict existed at the time, there is no possibility at all of discussing the state of police brutality within black communities, or the political nature of the conflict. (Police oppression-beatings, arbitrary arrests, harassment-in black communities was the historical motivation for the creation of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, but the possibility of evaluating the legitimacy of such a motivation is preempted by the press's denial of the existence of conflict...other than this one shooting.)

The 1000-word Globe article, written by Jeff Gray and Jonathan Fowlie, goes on to quote Knox at length; 16 out of 28 paragraphs are based on claims made by the police officer. Neither Pannell nor his attorney were quoted in the initial coverage (Pannell's attorney was limited to a one-line assertion of innocence in subsequent coverage).

On December 4, 1969, police raided the home of Fred Hampton, the leader of the Chicago Black Panther Party. Hampton, who at that time was a figure of national prominence, was known for his unassuming charm as a public speaker and phenomenal talent as an organizer. Four Panthers were seriously injured, and two were killed-one of whom was Fred Hampton. No police were harmed.

Police claimed that they had returned fire when "attacked" by the "extremely vicious" Panthers, and had been acting in self defense and with remarkable "self-restraint". Later, forensic reports revealed that 99 shots had been fired, of which only one came from a Panther's gun; witnesses said his weapon went off as a result of the physical impact of being shot repeatedly. Witnesses reported that Hampton was injured during the initial raid, and then executed with two shots to the head by a police officer.

No members of the Chicago police department were ever charged in the killing. Decades later, the Chicago City Council designated "Fred Hampton Day" in the slain leader's honour.

This famous, thoroughly documented event provides obvious avenues of inquiry for even an incompetent journalist. Should a member of the same Chicago police department that was publicly shamed for telling blatant lies be relied upon as the sole source for a story, as if there was no doubt at all as to his credibility or motives? The fact that Fred Hampton's killers have gone unprosecuted, while a man allegedly responsible for a non-lethal shooting is in jail 30 years later, might also raise questions among journalists, were they interested in conveying some sense of the actuality of the event they were reporting on.

The Toronto Star, Canadian Press, CTV News and others did not differ substantively from the Globe's coverage, with one exception. The Globe's Gray and Fowlie added a short description of the Black Panther Party in their last paragraph. (Other media, including the CBC, made no effort to outline this context, only labelling the group as "notorious" or as being "at the height of their notoriety" in 1969.)

The Globe article describes the Black Panther Party as "a revolutionary black nationalist movement that rejected the integrationist vision of the more mainstream civil rights movement." Nothing else is said about the party, which was also famous for its popular free breakfast programs for inner city kids, its demands that the legacy of slavery be addressed in a fundamental way, its revolutionary politics, its war with the FBI, state and federal governments, and its high levels of support in black communities. (The Black Panther Party no longer exists. Those interested in learning about its history might begin by reading the Party's ten point program, which is available on numerous web sites.)

As of this writing, Joseph Pannell is awaiting an extradition hearing.

Joseph Pannell is being threatened with extradition to the United States for a crime he allegedly committed thirty years ago. Dru Oja Jay looks at the assumptions that the media brings to the case.

Colonialism and Kanehsatake

Wed, 25 Aug 2004 22:09:18 +0000

Are dispossession and forced integration ongoing?

Mohawk community members stand guard after forcing James Gabriel and his police force to leave.

The Mohawk Nation in Kanehsatake in southern Quebec is the site of a long, simmering dispute-a dispute that has deep implications for Mohawk and First Nations sovereignty, and which calls into question the Canadian Government's commitment to ending its legacy of residential schools, forced integration, and dispossession. The Mohawks' ability to determine and control their own economy, security, justice system, and ruling structure is at stake. The focus of the conflict is a stealthy land transfer carried out under the auspices of James Gabriel, Grand Chief of the Mohawk Council of Kanehsatake.

The year following the Oka crisis of 1990, Gabriel began talks with the federal officials to secure lands purchased for Kanehsatake. At this time, Gabriel made concessions, unbeknown to the people of Kanehsatake, which led to Bill S-24, the "Kanehsatake Land Based Governance Act."

Gabriel signed Bill S-24 in secret and called for a referendum to ratify the Act, allegedly without informing the Mohawk community of the details. Under these conditions, the referendum vote passed by a slim margin of 239 to 237.

Mohawk journalist Dan David describes the details: "Chief Gabriel signed the agreement that transferred $14 million worth of land purchased by the federal government to the control of a private corporation–not the band–called Kanesatake Orihwa'shon: a Development Corporation." Mohawk lands would be converted into "fee simple" estates, Mohawks would lose their tax-exempt status, and band by-laws would be harmonized with the by-laws of Oka–a municipalization of Kanehsatake, and an end to meaningful sovereignty.

In January 2004 Canadian authorities began funding a 60-man police militia, under the control of Gabriel. This militia was accused by the Mohawk Council of Kanehsatake of "actively provoking incidences on the Territory," such as attempts "to run community volunteer patrol drivers off the road." The residents of Kanehsatake rebelled, surrounded the police station, and ousted what they called the "invasive" police force. Some of the dissenters, provoked by the police use of tear gas against them, responded by torching Gabriel's house. Warrants were subsequently issued for the arrest of many Kanehsatake dissidents.

Particular members of Gabriel's police force, brought in from outside the community, had incurred the enmity of Kanehsatake residents. Among them was non-Native Richard Walsh, a criminal with a previous conviction for impersonating a police officer. Two other policemen, Terry Isaac and Larry Ross, led a police operation in 1999 that resulted in the shooting and paralysis of Mohawk Warrior Joe David, who has since passed away.

In February of this year, journalist Ross Montour asked Gabriel why he brought Isaac and Ross back into the community despite their checkered past in Kanehsatake. Gabriel's verbatim reply was, "Well Ross, history aside, those people [i.e., what Gabriel calls the "criminal element" in Kanehsatake] know that when those two men were there, they kicked a lot of doors in." Montour considered this a "rather chilling statement for any leader to make."

Concerned community members subsequently assumed responsibility for patrolling the territory of Kanehsatake and remaining vigilant for outside police seeking to enter the community uninvited. On August 9, Kanehsatake Interim Chief of Police David Thompson, much appreciated by the community, resigned in a "last ditch effort to force both the governments of Canada and Quebec to respect their word and provide the safety" of the community.

A twice-elected Grand Chief, Gabriel was removed from office by a non-confidence vote of 207 to 130. A Canadian court overturned this decision. Justice Daniele Tremblay-Lamer found the exclusion of non-resident Mohawks from voting to be discriminatory and the vote to be contrary to the Election Code.

This is, however, a Canadian court ruling on a Mohawk Nation matter. As Kanehsatake Chief John Harding points out: "To begin to have an understanding of the current situation in Kanehsatake, one must first appreciate the two fundamental differences between governance in a Mohawk Community, and governance in non-native society."

"Primarily, what is important to understand about governance in Kanehsatake is that the people, not the Chiefs, are the final authority on all matters relating to ourselves and our territory."

"Secondly, decisions taken by the community on important issues must be exercised with responsibility. Decisions must be reached by consensus, not by a slight majority vote."

Nonetheless, at a subsequent election Gabriel gained three more supporters on the council. Montour: "This gave him [Gabriel] both quorum and a superior voting bloc, one which has enabled him to move forward his agenda as he pleases."

Montour cites the opposition argument that Gabriel possesses a mailing list of all off-territory members, which he exploits by manipulating the image of Kanehsatake for his own ends.

According to Montour, two issues make this possible:

One is the failure of the Council to draft and adopt a membership code defining who is and is not a member of the Mohawks of Kanehsatake. The other is modifying the electoral code, which, among other things, defines who may and may not vote in the community's elections. The two are tied together. Those who live in the community and oppose Gabriel argue that only those people who live in the community and know the issues should be allowed to vote.

The conditions and date of the next election are currently the subject of a court battle.

Some also contend that their sovereignty has been undermined by an enforced reliance on federal money. Many Mohawks have sought to establish economic independence by building their own businesses, including the growing and selling of their own tax-free tobacco, staunchly opposed by the federal government. Under Gabriel, the band budget had accumulated a deficit of over $1 million by 2003. The Department of Indian Affairs seized upon this to unilaterally place Kanehsatake under financial trusteeship of PriceWaterhouseCoopers. The PriceWaterhouseCoopers trusteeship saw Kanehsatake plunge deeper into the red with the deficit reaching $3.1 million. Ongoing legal battles continue to be an economic drain on the resources of the Mohawk community.

The corporate media is accused by some Natives of collaborating with the government agenda by demonizing Mohawks as a narcotics-smuggling and otherwise criminal society. Media coverage, they say, has allowed the conflict to be framed as a battle between law and order and a criminal element, ignoring efforts to undermine sovereignty and place land under the control of private interests.

Policing has also been a flashpoint in Kahnesatake. The Quebec government refuses to continue financing Gabriel's police force. A joint police force of Kahnawake-Akwesasne oversees security in Kanehsatake. Gabriel, whose power in Kanehsatake rests on the backing of federal and provincial politicians, has been stymieing attempts at negotiating an end to the issue. Said Gabriel, "You don't mediate law and order. You respect it."

With law in mind, three Kanehsatake women brought the issue of Mohawk sovereignty and human rights before the UN. Canada took the extraordinary step of walking out of the forum. Article 1 of the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states, "All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development." Canada, as a signatory and having ratified the Covenant "shall promote the realization of the right of self-determination, and shall respect that right, in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations." Chapter 1, Article 1 of the UN Charter moreover binds Canada. It states that among its purposes and principles is "respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples."

Mohawks are demanding a full investigation into the Gabriel affair. In respect of Mohawk sovereignty, there are calls for the matter to be settled within the Mohawk community.

Gabriel and his police remain exiled from Kanehsatake, and are staying in a hotel at the government's expense. Gabriel threatens Mohawk sovereignty by working secretly towards assimilation into Canadian governance. With memories of the federal government's 1994 plan for a 6,000-troop invasion of Mohawk Nation still lingering, Mohawks stand ready for the continued possibility of an armed invasion.

The people of Kanehsatake are in an ongoing battle with the federal government. The government says it's about crime; Mohawks explain that their land and sovereignty are at stake. Kim Petersen takes a critical look.