It’s time for public hearings on land disputes
“Give us a deep and thorough understanding of the needs of the people we serve.”- the Speaker’s Prayer

We have an opportunity to get to the bottom of land disputes in our area – disputes that have been ongoing 22 months, going on 220 years.

This past Thursday marked the commencement of the 39th Parliament of Ontario with the Lord’s Prayer, the Speaker’s Prayer and Her Majesty’s Speech from the Throne. The first session of the Legislative Assembly – held at Newark in what was then Upper Canada - commenced September 17, 1792.

Since the 1700’s, millions of words have been written about disputes among the English, French and Indians in our part of North America. As our new Ontario parliament moves forward it is incumbent on decision-makers to separate fact from fiction – to start making decisions to resolve area land disputes based on understanding of accurate, comprehensive evidence. Evidence can be found in the plethora of legal papers, government reports, depositions, theses, council reports, tribal records, court rulings, newspapers and other documents that have been archived over the years.

The facts speak for themselves.

But, we all have a responsibility. We – on all sides of the issue – cannot stick our heads in the sand and let someone else deal with it. We cannot shirk our responsibilities as citizens. We have a mutual investment and must continue to remain engaged; to assemble; to speak up and to demand resolution.

I remain hopeful that the visit of the new Aboriginal Affairs Minister to Caledonia this past week represents a turning away from the secrecy, lack of transparency, and total disregard for public input that has become a hallmark of this 22 month land dispute. These months represent a ‘black hole’ with respect to government communication on land disputes.  I take Minister Bryant at his word when he indicates that he, 'wants to hear from local people', and that, 'we need local homegrown solutions’.

Given the Minister's reported, "interest in listening to people", I am calling for real input and communication through recorded, public meetings open to the media. Our taxpayer dollars fund Ontario Legislature activities for just such a purpose – to understand the needs of the people we serve as articulated in the Prayer of the Speaker of the Legislature. To that end, I have drawn up a petition calling for parliamentarians to hold a round of recorded hearings whereby deputations - both spoken and written - would be made to a standing or select committee of the Ontario Parliament.

I don’t mean to raise unrealistic expectations, but theoretically there is no excuse for leaders in our society to not marshal the significant resources at their disposal to explore the truth.

The Ontario Legislature is there to work for us, not the other way around. We all pay taxes to support these various entities. We do not hire people or elect people to see them play their cards close to their vest or to spend years equivocating until they can eventually pass the problem on to the next generation.

We have a wealth of knowledge and wisdom in this area - knowledge that the Ontario Parliament has yet to tap. That's why I'm calling on all those affected to sign my petition calling for public hearings.