Gualtieri Family shuns McHale and leaves Thankgiving Rally '07

from the Turtle Island News

by Duane Rollins

CALEDONIA--Joe Gualtieri and his three nieces walked away from a protest organized by Gary McHale and Mark Vandermass Monday, after several people involved began to challenge police authority.Gualtieri, whose brother Sam was injured when he was involved in an altercation with native youth on the Stirling Woods construction site last month, spoke at the rally. There, he called for a public inquiry into the handling of the “occupations” at Kanonhstaton (former DCE) and Stirling Woods. However, he stressed to the group of about 100 that his family would not support civil disobedience.Later, as protesters attempted to force their way through about 20 OPP officers that had set of a barricade at the corner of Stirling and Peeples streets, Gualtieri quietly slipped away.“Sam didn’t want to inflame the situation,” Gualtieri said. “He’d be upset by this.”“We told them at the rally that we would not support civil disobedience, so we are going to leave.”The group had marched from the Lions club in Caledonia towards the Stirling Woods site with the intent of hanging a Canadian flag from a utility pole. However, acting on the request of the developers, OPP would not allow the group access to the site.One woman, who would not give her name, expressed anger at the police action.“We weren’t looking for conflict,” she said. “If they had just let us do what we came to do we would have left already to eat our turkey.”About half of the group left the protest after it became clear that police would not allow them through. Those that remained became increasingly agitated.Several individuals threatened to break through the line and two protesters did. In one case a man carrying a Canadian flag returned behind the barricade on his own accord. In another case, a man of about 40 was arrested for obstruction. His name has not been released.Not everyone in Caledonia agreed with the actions of the protesters.Dan Roberts is a Caledonia resident who said he is a “proud Canadian that sees both sides of the issue.” He estimates that about 85 per cent of Caledonia is either opposed to McHale and Vandermass’ efforts, or don’t care one way or another.Roberts says that even among those that do support the “ideals” of the protesters, few support the approach they take.More people would vocalize their opposition to McHale and Vandermass if they did not fear being sued by the two men, Roberts said.“Both Caledonia and Six Nations people want to coexist peacefully,” Roberts said. “Whenever he comes he does nothing to help that. His protests are disruptive and serve no positive purpose.”Roberts said that if McHale wishes to protest, he should do so in Ottawa or at Queen’s Park.After it became clear that the police weren’t going to allow the protesters onto the Stirling Creek site, a new plan was made. The protesters decided to march to Kanonhstaton, where a Thanksgiving potluck dinner was taking place.Police quickly mobilized, setting up a makeshift barricade on Braemar Avenue and to the west of Kanonhstaton.Although there were about 100 people on the site for the potluck, there was little interaction between the protesters and those on the site.Eventually, a small Canadian flag was hung on a pole across the road from the Caledonia Baptist Church.A small group of about 10 protesters stayed on the roadside about 100 meters west of Kanonhstaton until about 7:30 p.m.