ELMVALE – Six people were arrested by the OPP today while seeking a reason for the cloudiness and loss of pressure in an artesian spring on a farm property next to Dump Site 41.
Three of the people are aboriginal. One of them, Jen Meunier, an Algonquin from Eastern Ontario, was arrested along with Patricia Watts, a First Nations woman from Toronto, while holding an eagle feather and making ceremonies.
To make an arrest in ceremony is an act of disrespect, Beausoleil First Nation Councillor Beth Brass Elson said in a telephone interview. “They should never have touched those girls while they were sitting there with their smudge bowls.”
An observer said police did wait for a pause in the ceremony to move in.
Brass Elson said she believes Simcoe County staff are making immense efforts to get the dump site finished before a moratorium vote that’s to be held August 25. “We’re afraid it will get to the point when it goes to the County Council, it will be at the point of no return.“
Dave Wahwahbiginojii, a Dene-Anishinaabe from Northern Ontario who was at the scene trying to negotiate answers through the OPP’s aboriginal response team (ART), said the concern is that the water used by the protest camp turned cloudy on Saturday.
It comes from an artesian spring that has been tested as exceptionally pure by an exoert on water quality.
Simcoe County has been working late into the night and on the weekend since OPP moved in on Friday August 7 and dismantled a shelter, opening access to Gate 2. The action ended a 5-week blockade although the protest has continued across the road.
Wahwahbiginojii said that when workers arrived Monday morning, the site supervisor was asked about the water quality. Two local citizens also wanted to know who gave permission to keep working at such a pace when the next Simcoe County Council meeting, on August 25, will be voting on a moratorium.
“These were simple questions,” Wahwahbiginojii said. “What is wrong with the water? Why are they still working?”
Observers said the protestors were awaiting answers facilitated by the aboriginal response team. Instead, around 8 police cruisers arrived and it appeared that the ART was overseeing the arrests. Meunier went limp and was dragged by two OPP officers to a cruiser where she was handcuffed before being put in the vehicle.
Also arrested were Rick MacRae of Six Nations, Bruce Wilkes and John McNeil of Elmvale, and David Milne of the Christian Peacemakers Team. All were charged with mischief and released after signing an undertaking not to participate in the “unlawful blockade at Site 41.”
No restrictions on movement requiring people to stay a certain distance away from the protest were imposed. Dairy farmer Anne Ritchie-Nahuis spent a night in jail August 6 when she refused to sign such an undertaking, arguing it interferes with her Charter right to protest. A Barrie justice of the peace agreed.
MacRae said after his release that his action was related to the cloudy water. “What they’re doing today,” MacRae said, gesturing across the road to the dump site where dust raised by heavy machinery obscured the work, “maybe by the 25th, they will have ruined the water permanently.”
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THIS CERTAINLY SOUNDS LIKE CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR TO ME ON THE PART OF SIMCOE COUNTY – TRYING TO FINISH THE DUMP BEFORE THE COURT IMPOSED VOTE ON A MORATORIUM! WHERE ARE OUR OPTIONS? WHERE ARE OUR MPPS? WHERE IS MCGINTY? DO WE NEED STEPHEN HARPER?
Oh this is awful! The trucks need to stop now….who is authorizing the over time for the workers? If wells are running dry, cloudy water is a good indication that the aquifer is in DANGER NOW! There isn’t any time to wait for the 25th it will be done and ready to accept garbage!
If there is a possible moritorium in the works then there shouldn’t be any work being done UNTIL it’s decided.
This is getting way out of hand on the side of the Police and Simcoe County and Guergis.
What a defamation of land/water and innocent people just wanting answers.
How could the judge presiding over this continue with allowing the injunction but not the stoppage of work until the 25th?
It’s time we back people who are willing to fight for and with us. It sure as hell isn’t who’s in power now.
What is it that we’re missing in all of this? There’s something that doesn’t feel right and I know I’m not the only one thinking it.
Where is the media on this one? Major injustices are occurring right now here in Canada and the media covers the same news over and over. Peacefull protestors getting arrested for trying to protect OUR WATER while the people responsible for pushing this through have much to answer.
You do not have to look far to find out somthing is wrong. WAKE UP CBC, CTV, TORONTO STAR, etc. This is frustrating, we need your help!
We need Alex Jones here. He’s not afraid to get the truth.
http://www.infowars.com
He came to Ottawa in O6 to get information regarding the Bildeburg Group. Because he’s an activist and has a radio station and has uncovered many truths from government lies, our border held him up for hours, going through his stuff until they couldn’t find anything to hold him on.
The County is dirtier than the water they’ve already polluted. Development needs to be stopped until at least the decision on the moratorium. We, and both the political and justice systems have seen how polluted the County’s decision making is; can we trust them working on the site weeks before voting on a moratorium?
My thoughts exactly, Ernie. How can we trust these hooligans??
We must not be naive any longer…because we are peaceful protestors, unfortunately, we have been taken advantage of in a very shabby way!
The road is not ready BUT who can say Tony won’t allow/invite/order the trucks anyway before the moratorium date of Aug 25.
Especially if the water is now cloudy…maybe they have deliberately hit clay to muck it up…who knows…but then the Warden will simply dismiss this as “oh well the water is ruined anyway” and continue with this madness!
Did I miss something here…how is it a few misguided persons can literally thumb their noses at the law by withholding pertinent information (modflo) while others are facing criminal charges for allegedly participating in the blockade….
Lets all pray for rain in the next week!!!
Shoulder to Shoulder.
Sandi.
when things don’t make sense it may be helpful to look beyond to just who stands to gain from the implementation of dump 41.
not only will there be a great deal of money made hauling the garbage to this site but from what i understand there is a plan to haul the leachite to a yet to be built facility in thornbury of all places.
now is it not standard practice for these big companies to buy the support of those that can pave the way.
You are so fortunate to be dealing with peaceful people. Our Government is corrupt. I am so very sorry to all the good ones, but you are aware of the ways and means of how this is done with no fear of REPERCUSSIONS.
We have let this go on.
It is all tied up in the legal system that only the extremely educated understand. It is held at bay by political agenda and parliamentary procedure that is hundreds of years old.
Then the well trained and heavily armed Police come in with no regard for right or wrong, just the rules and the ones ones who make them up at need. The ones who sign the pay checks paid with our money.
I wonder what the situation will be when we the people finally wake up and say ENOUGH.
Although I can’t think of anything more important to life than water.