April 27, 2010
By Jeff Parkinson
The thing that’s most striking when speaking to any of the victims of Caledonia is how abandoned they feel. Race based policing and government cover ups have done their job of leaving many residents who were plenty feisty in 2006 feeling as though there’s little more they can do.
Some come to all of the rallies in the hope that their voice will be heard, but most feel that they have been abandoned by their government and their police force and that their voices have been squashed by forces much larger than they. A public meeting held last night by CANACE will however hopefully give them some new found hope. Change is in the wind, and I’m hopeful that everyone can see it.
On May 5th 2010, CANACE director Gary McHale and Voice of Canada’s Mark Vandermaas will be invited speakers at a National Aboriginal Policy forum at Mount Royal University in Calgary. Their purpose is to address the policy makers and intellectuals about the disastrous effects of appeasing criminals who hide behind their aboriginal ancestry, and they will be in elite company.
Since it will finally be possible to give the victims of Caledonia a voice at a national level, a meeting was held to get feedback from the public. Unlike token government meetings of the past, the concerns of residents will not be buried and the stories of the victims will be taken to an audience with the power to effect change.
Desperate efforts have been made by CUPE and others who blindly support violence and chaos to prevent the victims from having a voice including thinly veiled threats made to the organizer and an alarmingly defamatory online petition to keep CANACE out of this forum, but they have failed to intimidate author, organizer, and expert Dr. Frances Widdowson much as they failed to intimidate us over the past 4 years.
2010 has been a year of great strides for law and order in Haldimand and our momentum will not be stopped by a few small minded, disillusioned students from Toronto, and some desperate militants. The days when Caledonia was a free target for unimaginable crime are now over, and the next big step is to ensure that it never happens again.
Giving residents and victims a voice at the National policy level is a huge step toward lasting peace, law & order, and recognition of the wrongs committed by the Government, the OPP, and the Native thugs. It’s a huge step for Caledonia that Ipperwash unfortunately never received.
Many thanks to those who attended last night and gave victim impact statements to be brought to Calgary. As pointed out last night by Mark Vandermaas, the only remaining evidence from Ipperwash is the victim impact statements as the residents had absolute faith in their government and turned over all material evidence to either government officials, or the OPP. Not surprisingly it all mysteriously vanished.
The battle may be far from over, but the days of scrambling to get a foothold are long gone, and the desperation of the few remaining extremists to stop us is proof positive that we’re on the road to resolution.
Update: Be sure to see below for comment on this matter straight from Dr. Francis Widdowson – Author of the ground breaking book Disrobing the Aborinigal Industry
JeffParkinson.ca 
I just wanted to add that it is not just me that has made the forum and Vandermaas and McHale’s participation possible. It is also due to the efforts of Mount Royal University – the Department of Policy Studies (especially Bruce Foster and others too numerous to name), the Faculty Arts (Dean Manuel Mertin and Associate Dean Sabrina Reed) and Office of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic, Robin Fisher – that has provided funding and supported the Forum. The university was put under great pressure, even from some of its own faculty, to exclude Vandermaas and McHale, but it stood firm because it recognizes the importance of academic freedom. I am extremely grateful to the university for its support and think that its actions provide a model for universities attempting to discuss controversial issues today.
Thank you for weighing in Dr. Widdowson. It’s an honor to have your voice added to this forum, and I hope that we will one day have a chance to meet.
To say that we have had something less than the best of luck with Universities before would be an understatement, but it’s clear that Mount Royal is on a very different level.
Having been in this fight for almost 4 years, I can tell you that we’re all very grateful for the efforts of yourself and everyone involved in ensuring that free speech prevails.
I’m well aware of the vile pressure that those who oppose us can put on someone when they feel threatened and it’s clear that this policy forum scares them a great deal.
Jeff Parkinson
Jeff,
A couple of thoughts, and some important developments:
1. I can’t agree with you more about just how hopeless and traumatized some of the residents are. Just when I think I can’t be more saddened by the stories, I am proven wrong. Last night, people were explaining to me how even the sound of a flag flapping or a helicopter triggers panic in them, how they never really will know for sure if police or the fire dept. will come for them, how they feel as though they were citizens without a country (a thought I first heard expressed by Ipperwash community leader Mary-Lou LaPratte).
It is no wonder those who committed these crimes against innocents have worked so hard to silence those who speak out.
2. I, too, am grateful to Mount Royal University, not just for standing firm on free speech and open debate, but on the possible benefits their commitment to these principles might bring because of it: now that a Six Nations negotiator will also be speaking, this will be the first time that a civil debate about the issues from both points of view will occur.
http://blogs.mtroyal.ca/fwiddowson/2010/04/27/caledonia-aboriginal-sovereignty-and-the-rule-of-law/
As I told the crowd last night, we must seek out moderates of good will from 6N who are willing to engage in a realistic healing and reconciliation process based on truth, justice and apologies. We are, possibly – one large step closer to that day.
It’s ironic and a little sad that we have to take a trip to Calgary to make it happen. Who could have known?
3. A professor at Mount Royal who had planned to sign the petition suggested that Christie Blatchford speak instead of us. When Blatchford received a copy of the message, she sent one of her own to Dr. Widdowson in which she rebutted the allegations against us, and she gave permission for it to be published. Here’s the link:
Christie Blatchford on McHale et al.
http://blogs.mtroyal.ca/fwiddowson/2010/04/28/christie-blatchford-on-mchale-et-al/
Dr. Widdowson reports that the prof is reconsidering his position after receiving Blatchford’s msg. 🙂
It was very kind of Blatchford to send the note, but it’s a shame that she had to be drawn into this sleazy smear campaign along with Mount Royal staff.
Still, I suppose there’s an upside: the smear club (who claim to be academics) have now dirtied their own house with their filth, and I imagine their credibility is taking a bit of a beating. Nobody likes to be lied to.
Thanks for the post, Jeff.
Mark Vandermaas, Founder
Caledonia Victims Project
http://www.caledoniavictimsproject.ca
Editor, VoiceofCanada.ca
Thanks for your message Mark. I have come to realize that this sort of thing needs to be gone through before progress can occur. It is not pleasant, but after all the professed offence and outrage exhausts itself, everyone will have a better understanding of the situation then before.
It is important to recognize that aboriginal people are hurt and frustrated too. They have been lied to and manipulated by the Aboriginal Industry and have become, as Roger Sandall has stated, “the deluded victims of the extravagances of their admirers”. And although the condescension might seem pleasant at first, it is honesty that will be appreciated in the end.
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God speed Mark and Gary. Yours and Caledonia’s is a story which must be told, even though it is a detestable black mark on Canada’s record of fair play and peaceful resolve.
It also had the effect of ‘outting’ the radical element responsible for the agitation and collusion behind the violence. I hope that gets on the official record and is addressed later by RCMP investigation into it as criminal conspiracy.