A land claim protest has resumed at Pinery Provincial Park, months after demonstrators first parked a trailer outside the park entrance.
While Pinery is still technically open, Ontario Parks officials note that access to the park may be impeded by protestors.
An Aboriginal family led by Maynard T. George is at the centre of both demonstrations. George said that the demonstration in the fall was called off after the Ontario government opened dialogue with them but that those talks have broken off.
“You don’t want to listen to us, then we have no choice,” said George.
George argued that the British confirmed their right to the land following the War of 1812, that the family’s grandfather leased it for 99 years, and that his son inherited the land when he died.
“He was displaced from Goderich, that was the Sauble Reserve at that time and the River Sauble was in Goderich. Then, they changed it to Red River Basin, moved it down here and called it the Sable Reserve in Grand Bend. This park was another portion of their land. We moved them down to the most southwesterly corner of the reserve, changing the title from military land grant to reserve,” said George.
“They confused it, though, as alleged surrender. Sarnia signed it. Walpole didn’t sign it and they said: ‘We’re not moving off our land. We’re here. You can’t take it from us. We didn’t sign it.'”
In 2004, then Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant told the legislature that George’s claim was “an individual grievance” and not a land claim.
Bryant noted that the First Nations in the area – Kettle and Stony Point First Nation – had said that they didn’t endorse the grievance and that they have no land claim at Pinery.
Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Monte McNaughton released a statement expressing frustration over the demonstration.
“Late last year, the weeks-long closure of the park under similar circumstances had a serious economic and social impact on the community. Families were turned away, school trips were cancelled, and local residents were left in the dark as the government allowed the untenable situation to drag on,” the statement read.
“A court of law has already established that there is no legal or historical standing for this land claim, and to date, the local band has not been supportive of the claim.”
McNaughton’s statement urged the Ministry of Natural Resources to uphold the rule of law and ensure the people of Ontario’s rightful access to the park is maintained.
George said the family is there to stay.
“We took possession of it. Now we’re going to begin to develop it and we’re also going to put infrastructure in.”
Pinery Park is near Camp Ipperwash, where a land claim demonstration turned deadly in 1995 when a police sniper killed Dudley George – no relation to Maynard George – during a raid on the protesters’ camp.
The Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation approved the deal with the federal government in 2015 to settle that claim.
With files from The Canadian Press.
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