Is Oka round 2 about to erupt?

January 22, 2010

With all of the headway CANACE has been making in bringing an end to race based policing in Ontario, I was somewhat surprised to learn today that the signs of another illegal occupation are beginning to surface. This time it’s not small town Ontario, but in Oka Quebec where the Canadian military had to be called in to quell Mohawk Warriors (a terrorist organization) in 1990.

The Oka crisis had many familiar hallmarks of Caledonia. An illegal occupation to prevent development on private land, a lack of action by the local police until it was too late, a riot, the blockade of a prominent highway, and a government that wanted to keep its hands clean of the situation.

The primary differences are that the Mohawk warriors murdered a police officer with a gunshot to the face, and the military was subsequently brought in to quell the riot. Extensive history of Oka can be found online so long as one is able to weed through the pro criminal propaganda.

The issue in 1990 was the expansion of a golf course, and today it’s development of land right across the street. Thus far media coverage is somewhat limited, but we’re hopeful that many more details will come out soon. Here’s what we know so far.

Citizens armed with video cameras become watchdogs of police accountability

A video clip on website YouTube.com may have forced Quebec’s provincial police to admit undercover officers were involved in a protest this week, and in an age of proliferating cellphones with video capability, ordinary citizens are poised to become watchdogs of police accountability, experts say.

A clip appeared on the website showing a union leader confronting three apparent protesters at the North American Leaders’ Summit in Montebello, Que., accusing them of being police officers attempting to incite violence at an otherwise peaceful demonstration.

After days of denials, the force admitted Thursday the trio were, in fact, police officers, but not the “provocateurs” protesters made them out to be. Protesters and the union leader seen in the video, Dave Coles, note the video clearly shows a fist-sized rock in the hand of at least one undercover officer.

In the past, such a debate likely would not have progressed beyond the he-said-she-said sphere, but video evidence posted on the World Wide Web for all to see left the Surete du Quebec with few options.

“It obviously raises the level of accountability and weakens what, in Ottawa circles, is called plausible deniability, which is a good thing,” said Errol Mendes, a professor of constitutional and international law at the University of Ottawa.

“I think plausible deniability is one of the great evils of modern free and democratic societies.”

“It’s good, in terms of accountability in these situations where in the past all you’ve had is what people say happened and a lot of doubt amongst the public for the reason that protesters have an agenda,” said Duff Conacher, co-ordinator of Democracy Watch.

Read the full story here