Toronto man launches website to bring attention to land claims

Karen Best - Haldimand Review Staff
Haldimand Review
Local News - Thursday, July 13, 2006 @ 09:00

[SISIS note: The following mainstream news article is provided for reference only, as an example of how mainstream media treats indigenous resistance to genocide. Mainstream media often presents biased and distorted information, lacking pertinent facts and/or context. Inclusion of this article on our site should not be considered an endorsement by SISIS.]

TORONTO - Gary McHale was so frustrated with media reports and government inaction that he launched a website to spread the word about a Six Nations occupation of a Caledonia subdivision.

“I believe this issue is bigger than Caledonia,” said the Toronto man, who designs websites and works in the financial field. The 65 outstanding land claims cover a significant area of the province including the popular Muskoka cottage sector.

Caledonia is first and, if other communities don’t get involved, similar actions may begin in their backyards, he continued. He also stated that if all First Nations in Canada were given sovereignty, the country would be broken into 500 nations with 500 different sets of laws. This is a wake up call for Canada, he declared on the site.

Some of the posting on the Caledonia Wake Up Call website are controversial and he has put up a disclaimer saying all views expressed do not reflect the beliefs of the host. McHale said he is not racist but he has strong opinions about government and police actions. “What the government’s been doing is appalling.

I’m not in it for the native versus non-native. I only got involved for three reasons,” he said.

McHale condemned the Toronto media for its failure to cover the Caledonia situation and criticized OPP for failure to enforce the Criminal Code. In a recent interview with The Review, OPP Commissioner Gwen Boniface said officers are expected to do their job and she denied that Six Nations persons were treated differently under Canadian law.

He was also appalled with what he described as the absolute willingness of involved Six Nations persons’ to commit crime and state they were not subject to the Criminal Code and the Canadian constitution.

At the beginning of June, McHale began to work fulltime on the website.

He has posted numerous news stories and documents, including factfinder Michael Coyle’s report and Caledonia fire station response statistics.

Ontario Provincial Police Association president Karl Walsh was disgusted by the website’s posting of OPP officer photos and was looking into legal action. On the site, McHale declared some officers as wanted for services not rendered. The photos were taken from a May 22 video, that showed OPP standing by as some Six Nations residents hauled a hydro tower down Argyle Street South to use it as a new barricade. He contended that OPP should have responded to robbery and closure of a public roadway.

While building the site, McHale has aggressively sought information from government and OPP officials and politicians. His request for Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s cell phone number was denied. He has filed a complaint about policing through the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

When he started the site, he was getting 100 hits a day but last week it grew to 1000. Over 725 people have signed a petition asking for Boniface to be removed and over 250 signed a petition asking that no amnesty be granted to those who commit criminal offences.

In his petition comments, Hamilton police officer David Hartless called Boniface a disgrace to the profession and contended that she failed in her duty as a police officer.

Due to discreditable conduct and dereliction of duty, the commissioner dishonours policing everywhere, he added.

On June 4, Hartless was punched by a Six Nations protester after intervening in on an attack on a Caledonia residents. The assault did not stop until his neighbours formed a line of defence that the off duty cop could get behind. This incident is part of the Class Action Lawsuit and is given as one of several examples of a criminal act. The lawsuit is seeking damages from Haldimand County, Boniface and Haldimand County OPP Inspector Brian Haggith.

Retired police officers have signed the Boniface petition and one active officer noted that he was once proud to be with OPP. A couple relatives of Kenneth Deane also signed the petition, one stating that Boniface did not support OPP at Ipperwash.

Deane was convicted criminal negligence causing death by a court [sic]. He fired the shot that killed Stoney Point band member George Dudley beside the Ipperwash Provincial Park in 1995. On Feb. 26, Deane died in a car accident. He was scheduled to give testimony for the Ipperwash Inquiry in March.