Reserves targeted in battle against contraband tobacco

The Globe & Mail

May 8, 2008

OTTAWA — The RCMP and the Conservative government are targeting three of the most volatile native reserves in the country as part of a new effort to battle contraband tobacco and organized crime.

A report released yesterday by Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day and RCMP Assistant Commissioner Raf Souccar singled out Kahnawake in Quebec and Tyendinaga and Six Nations in Ontario as the Canadian sources of illicitly manufactured tobacco.

Factories on the U.S. side of Akwesasne, which straddles the Canada-U.S. border, remain the largest producers of illegal tobacco in Canada, and Mr. Day said he was working with American officials on that front.

AK 47’s M16’s and grenade launchers seized by RCMP from Mohawk Reserve

March 26, 2008

This is what happens when a Police force is not being ordered to stand down by their chief.

From the RCMP website:

Drug Trafficking Ring Dismantled by the Aboriginal Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit

MONTRÉAL, Wednesday, March 26, 2008 - Early this morning, the investigators of the Aboriginal Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (A-CFSEU) dismantled a criminal organization that allegedly specialized in the trafficking and exportation of marihuana to the United States.

Insect Eggs and Human Feces Found in Contraband Cigarettes

As disturbing as this story is, it’s a must read in light of the epidemic of illegal smoke shacks popping up around Caledonia)

Most people would think they know what is in the cigarettes they are smoking. If the cigarettes were smuggled and you bought them off the street, think again.

Contraband cigarettes and tobacco that were seized in B.C. were found to have insect eggs, dead flies, mold, and even human feces! RCMP labs have been testing counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes that were seized in 2006, also found some cigarettes that were entirely stuffed with tobacco stems.

Haldimand County : RCMP Bust 2 Local Men for Smuggling Contraband Smokes

A Hagersville man and a resident of the Six Nations reserve have been charged along with 13 people in a crackdown on tobacco smuggling in the Cornwall area.

November 1st, a number of law enforcement agencies, including the RCMP, the Canada Border Services Agency, the OPP and the Ontario Ministry of Revenue targeted criminal organisations that smuggle contraband smokes into the Cornwall area. During the sweep, the agencies stopped 10 vehicles and arrested 13 people. No names of have been released .

Edit: How about dealing with the local men who have set up illegal smoke shops in Haldimand instead of just those who chose to travel to Cornwall?

Top court upholds conviction in ‘right to remain silent’ case

An interesting story that although not directly related to Caledonia demonstrates how the Police can ignore your most basic rights at will in Canada and get away with it.

Canadian Press – November 1st, 2007

The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld the murder conviction of a B.C. man in a case viewed as a test of how police interrogation tactics should square with the charter’s long-protected right to silence.

The court ruled 5-4 Thursday against the appeal from Jagrup Singh, a 31-year-old from Surrey, B.C., of his 2002 conviction for second-degree murder.

The case revolved around the question of whether police breached Singh’s right to remain silent when they persisted in questioning him about a shooting, even though he repeatedly made it clear that he didn’t want to talk.

Under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the accused has the right “not to be compelled to be a witness” against himself in criminal proceedings.

“It is not appropriate to impose a rigid requirement that police refrain from questioning a detainee who states that he or she does not wish to speak to police,” Justice Louise Charron wrote in her majority opinion.

$12M Lawsuit: 100 RCMP officers at Hamilton Airport, Not called by OPP to assist in failed raid

CaledoniaWakeUpCall and VoiceofCanada have obtained a copy of the Statement of Claim for a $12,000,000 lawsuit against Gwen Boniface, Julian Fantino, Brian Haggith and the Province of Ontario by Caledonia residents Dave Brown and Dana Chatwell.

Failure of Commissioner Boniface and O.P.P. to Request Assistance

31. The Haldimand Police Services Agreement requires the O.P.P. to be capable of providing provincial-level of response that can be mobilized for emergencies, disasters and specialized needs. Section 55 of the Police Services Act authorizes the Solicitor General, not the Minister of Public Infrastructure and Renewal, to make an agreement with the Crown in Right of Canada or of another Province or with any Federal or Provincial agencies including the Canadian Armed Forces for the provision of police services in an emergency.

Read the full story here

Police clear protesters from Caledonia site

CALEDONIA, Ont.–The last pocket of native protesters was cleared yesterday from a residential construction site where a house builder was severely beaten last week.

With neighbours watching and cheering from their backyards, about 50 Ontario Provincial Police officers in riot gear marched in and arrested nine men and women who had defied their native elders by refusing to leave the Stirling St. site in Caledonia.

The operation went off without a major hitch as natives watching from the sidelines made no attempt to assist the protesters. It was a marked contrast from an abortive OPP raid at Douglas Creek Estates on April 20, 2006, when protesters with clubs and crude weapons chased off a heavily armed police team, injuring several officers.

Read the full story here

Police arrest nine at native protest site in Caledonia

Brantford Expositor

A large OPP force took over a contested housing site in Caledonia on Wednesday and arrested nine native protesters who defied their elders by refusing to leave the Stirling Street development.

Residents watched and cheered from their homes as about 50 officers in riot gear, a tactical team and canine units marched into the Stirling Woods subdivision where home builder Sam Gualtieri was beaten unconscious last week.

Officers surrounded a group of protesters and gave them time to walk away from the site or face arrest, Const. Paula Wright told reporters near the site. Within minutes, nine men and women were taken away.

Police did not release the names of those arrested or the charges they face.

Sgt. Dave Rektor said police were still processing the protesters late Wednesday night and weren’t prepared to release their names or ages to the media.

Read the full story here

Nine native protesters arrested in Caledonia dispute

September 20, 2007
Globe & Mail

The Ontario Provincial Police yesterday arrested nine aboriginal protesters who had continued to demonstrate outside a new subdivision in Caledonia, southwest of Hamilton, even though Six Nations chiefs had made a deal with the developer to allow the project to proceed.

A Caledonia source with detailed knowledge of the background to yesterday’s police action said that it was done with the tacit approval of the Six Nations Confederacy Council.

“It [the nine arrested] was that splinter group that has been giving all the trouble,” the source said.

The OPP said in an announcement that the arrests were made after a joint action by the OPP and the Hamilton Police Service, in which the protesters were given the option of leaving the property or being arrested.

Read the full story here

18 Protestors Arrested In Caledonia

Wednesday September 19, 2007

CityNews.ca Staff

It appears the OPP may have finally taken some action against native protestors in Caledonia. Reports from the scene of a long standoff at a housing subdivision indicate cops moved into the disputed land on Wednesday afternoon and took 18 people into custody. All those arrested are said to be natives.

There’s no word on what prompted the police action or if any charges have been laid. But there doesn’t appear to have been the kind of violence many fear a police move might incite. And the OPP hopes to keep it that way. “We’re just asking everybody to be respectful to each other while this is unfolding and we’ll have a peaceful resolution at the end of the stay,” offers Sgt. Dave Rektor.

This latest incident follows a violent confrontation that took place last week between a home builder and those on the land. Fifty-two-year-old Sam Gualtieri was discovered unconscious and bloody after he went to check out a home under construction.

Read the full story here