McHale manipulates Media for attention

http://www.canada.com/Group+used+militia+moniker+attention+grab/1727797/story.html

Group used `militia' moniker as attention grab

Canwest News Service June 24, 2009



CALEDONIA, Ont. - A citizens group from a southern Ontario town who originally called themselves an unarmed ``militia'' now say they only used the term to get media attention.

The so-called ``Caledonia Peacekeepers'' held an information meeting Tuesday night, with about 45 residents in attendance, as well as a number of protesters.

The group has said it will enforce laws they say the Ontario Provincial Police have failed to uphold since their community - about 75 kilometres southwest of Toronto - turned into ground zero of a land-claim battle between an Iroquois community and the provincial government.

``The goal is to pressure the OPP into doing their jobs,'' said Gary McHale, one of the group's organizers. At the meeting, it was said members plan on making citizens' arrests, using force if necessary.

The debate spawns from a 200-year-old Six Nations' land claim on Douglas Creek Estates, a Caledonia residential development, which burst to national attention in 2006 with images of burning tires and blockades. The provincial government eventually bought out the land's developer, and negotiations continue to this day, while tensions remain.

A crowd of protesters, many native, grew throughout Tuesday evening, arriving by the busload from the Kitchener-Waterloo area. There was no violence.

"Vigilante justice is not the way to solve issues. The Canadian government needs to solve the land claims. Peacefully, swiftly and justly,'' said one protester.

The group is planning more meetings, but said it will be several weeks before the Caledonia Peacekeepers are ready to uphold the law.

CHCH News

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