ALGONQUINS FACE AGGRESSIVE NEW INJUNCTION

URANIUM NEWS

AUGUST 27, 2007

URGENT: PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT AN NEW INJUNCTION HAS BEEN ISSUED AND WILL BE SERVED. PLEASE COME OUT TO THE SITE AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT. THE NEXT 48 HOURS ARE A VERY IMPORTANT TIME TO MAKE OUR PRESENCE KNOWN. PLEASE BRING ‘QUICK’ FOOD DONATIONS SUCH AS MUFFINS, SANDWICHES, ETC. THE RALLY STARTS AT 8AM AUGUST 28TH AND IS ON GOING UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.

STAY TUNED FOR FURTHER UPDATES. 

THE FOLLOWING IS A STATEMENT FROM THE FIRST NATIONS

ALGONQUINS FACE AGGRESSIVE NEW INJUNCTION,
CALL ON MCGUINTY TO NEGOTIATE

Mr. Justice Thomson of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Kingston issued a new order late today which aims at ending the peaceful protest by the Ardoch Algonquins and our allies.  We are currently occupying a proposed uranium mine site in eastern Ontario where a company called Frontenac Ventures Corporation wants to explore for uranium and eventually open a mine.  

The interim injunction issued today says:

* "any representative of the AAFN, Shabot or any one supporting their position or associated with them in any way shall forthwith immediately leave the subject property";
* "Frontenac shall have immediate, unfettered and unobstructed access to the subject property including the field office, access road and all of the exploration property and the Clarendon site";
* The police are "authorized to arrest and remove any person who has knowledge of this order and who is contravening or has contravened the order".
*Police retain their discretion to decide whether to arrest or remove anyone pursuant to this order.

The final sentence of today's order says: "It is important for all concerned … that confrontation in any form simply should not happen". 

Today, Co-Chiefs Paula Sherman and Randy Cota again called for a peaceful settlement and called on the province to begin discussions to resolve the issues which led to the protest.  Said Chief Sherman, “we have yet to hear anything from Premier McGuinty or his Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, David Ramsay.  They do not appear to have any interest in resolving this mess.”  Ardoch spokesperson Robert Lovelace added “The recent Report of the Ipperwash Inquiry very clearly said that these disputes should be resolved through negotiations rather than through injunctions.  We agree, but it seems like the McGuinty government is ignoring the recommendations of Justice Linden and instead continuing to use injunctions rather than negotiations.”

Last year Frontenac Ventures Corporation began aggressively exploring for uranium on our land in Frontenac County in eastern Ontario.   FVC staked hundreds of mineral claims covering more than 5,000 hectares of land and clear-cut large areas of forest to make way for the next phase of exploration: drilling core samples to determine how much uranium is under the land they have staked.  The government of Ontario has allowed all of this to happen without any consultations whatsoever with our communities, in clear violation of Canadian law.  

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THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT:
  • We must not trespass on private land. Unlike the First Nations People, we must stay on the road allowance (The road side of the gate.)
  • Be positive and respectful with everyone.
  • You are there as an observer, not as a representative of any group, so do not speak about issues you are unsure about. It is important not to promote inflammatory rumors, as it can harm our position.
  • If you are approached by a police officer, they will ASK your permission to be arrested. At this time you should decline. The officer will then ask you to step out of the way. DO SO IMMEDIATELY AND POLITELY. DO NOT MAKE ANY SIDE COMMENTS OR INFLAMMATORY REMARKS.

			

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