O.P.P Commissioner Fantino Warns Caledonia Militia

'Days of vigilantism long gone,' OPP warns Caledonia group

Lee Greenberg
Canwest News Service

Thursday, June 25, 2009




Brent Foster, National Post Staff Files

A native occupation in Caledonia has lasted nearly 3½ years, frustrating many in the area.
A group of Caledonia residents attempting to form a militia should be prepared to go to court, Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian Fantino says.
"The days of vigilantism are long gone in this country," Commissioner Fantino said yesterday. "That group had better seek good and adequate legal counsel because, if they exercise what they think is their right and their authority, they better be prepared to defend themselves, as we always have, and justify what they do."
A native occupation in Caledonia, a small town southwest of Toronto, has lasted nearly 3½ years, leaving many residents frustrated by what they see as a lack of government and police action.
Earlier this week, two men -- Doug Fleming and Gary McHale -- held a recruitment meeting to gauge interest in forming a citizen's group to patrol sections of Caledonia. Mr. Fleming, a self-employed lifelong Caledonia resident, said the militia would be unarmed, save for video cameras.
The group would focus its efforts on the Douglas Creek Estates, a subdivision still occupied by Mohawk protesters, which Mr. Fleming said has become a safe zone for native criminals because police refuse to patrol there. He believes OPP officers are failing citizens by not enforcing the law.
The militia's ultimate goal is to provoke a confrontation, thereby forcing the police to step in, he said.
"I'm not talking about a bunch of civilians marching out to look for a fight," Mr. Fleming said. Rather, he hopes militia members will catch a burglar stealing from one of the bordering properties, then issue a citizen's arrest.
"If [police] were to stand back and allow a group of unarmed civilians to basically go intervene in a crime scene, that would look very bad on them," he said. "And I think, from a legal standpoint, there would be repercussions for the OPP."
Craig Grice, who represents Caledonia on county council, disagrees with the idea of a militia, but said he understands the frustration and anger behind it.
"If anyone didn't see this coming, they're blind," he said. "The frustration and stress level is huge."
Mr. Grice said many believe the police could do more to enforce the law in Caledonia. He said hundreds of illegal cigarette shacks on the nearby Six Nations reserve go unnoticed by police.
"People are frustrated because if the rules are in place, then why aren't they being enforced?" he said.

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