Caledonia – Do you know who’s in charge?

Recent protests at Toronto Island by the Mississaugas of New Credit and at Deseronto by the Tyendinaga Mohawks recall the Caledonia Plank Road information pickets last year.

Then, as now, it’s difficult to speculate on the future course of events, and on who will drive the agenda. Often events take on a life of their own – a course unanticipated by pundits and those in charge.

Recent events have caused me to think back to a line in the film Apocalypse Now, when Captain Willard asks, “Soldier, do you know who’s in charge here?” Amid the chaos and confusion on the bridge, the soldier responds unhelpfully, “yeah.”

On the land dispute the McGuinty government has been equally unhelpful – constantly changing its mind on who is in charge, and who it should blame.

On February 28, a handful of people blockaded the entrance to Douglas Creek Estates – with what appeared to be neither the support of the elected band council nor the confederacy chiefs.

The next day, I crossed the floor of the Ontario Legislature to ask the Aboriginal Affairs Minister the question, “who is in charge?” His briefing note said the federal government.

The following day – March 2 – I walked on to the occupied site and was told they would only talk to the federal government.

On March 3, I wrote a letter to the federal Minister of Indian Affairs, conveying that message. On March 21, I hand-delivered a package of documents from the clan mothers at the occupied site, to Canada’s Governor General in Ottawa.

And then we all waited!

But then, on April 12, in response to my question in the Legislature, Premier McGuinty’s Minister of Aboriginal Affairs said, “The province has been taking a lead role on this.”

And for a while we saw a modicum of consistency – the McGuinty government maintained that there was no land claim. On June 6, Minister Ramsay said, “The dispute really is an accounting claim, by and large.” It appeared that since it was an accounting claim, the Ontario government was in charge.

But, on October 25, Premier McGuinty demanded the federal government reimburse $25 million to the province. Since then, the Premier has blamed the federal government for Ontario’s failed response – apparently going back to the original position that Ottawa should be in charge. In doing so, the Premier has tacitly admitted he is in over his head.

This flip-flop needs to be understood within the broader context of Premier McGuinty’s strategy for the coming year. Realizing he is burdened with the distinction of breaking more promises than any politician in Ontario’s history, he is trying to distract voters by attacking Ottawa. The anti-Ottawa rhetoric was so heated, the federal Minister of Indian Affairs refused to meet with his provincial counterpart.

Rather than facing up to a history of saying anything to get elected, the Premier has one simple strategy: blame Ottawa. On the crisis facing Ontario’s farmers, the Minister blames Ottawa. On the massive surge of job losses since the Premier started raising taxes in Ontario, once gain the Premier blames Ottawa.

In the redux version of Apocalypse Now, the young soldier is asked, “Who’s in charge here?” The young soldier responds with, “In charge? I don’t know man.”

Does anybody know who’s in charge?