Ignoring Caledonia will not make things right
Well, what do you know? Until this week, it seemed we were going to get through four weeks of intensive political campaigning for the Oct. 10 election and not a single word would cross the lips of the assorted party leaders about an issue which continues to infuriate most Ontarians - the illegal Native occupation at Caledonia.

It would have been a natural for last week's televised leadership debate. If nothing else, Premier Dalton McGuinty, who has mimicked the head-in-the-sand ostrich since the protest began in April 2006, at least would have been forced to say something.

But, alas, no such luck. It didn't even come up. And neither Conservative Leader John Tory or NDP Leader Howard Hampton mentioned it either. But now, to his credit, Tory has gone to Caledonia and announced that if he becomes premier - a concept not nearly as far-fetched as it was not long ago - protesters engaged in illegal occupations would face daily fines of $2,000 and organizations supporting them would face daily fines of $25,000.

So what's the Liberal response to this? Well Health Minister George Smitherman, the party's designated attack dog - who, like McGuinty, to his shame has never even visited Caledonia during all this time - attacked Tory for "fanning the flames" and being "willing to jeopardize a fragile peace for his own personal gain."

Oh please. These are the same Liberals who shamelessly exploited the tragic 1995 shooting death of protester Dudley George at Ipperwash Provincial Park, even going so far as to personally blaming then premier Mike Harris - contrary to the evidence - of being directly responsible for the Ontario Provincial Police shooting.

Talk about chutzpah! But even beyond that, just what "fragile peace" is Smitherman talking about anyway?

Perhaps if he or McGuinty were responsible enough to actually talk to the innocent victims of this ongoing occupation, they may discover that life has been a living hell for the people of Caledonia and - to their shame - the OPP have allowed it to happen. He should ask married Caledonia couple, David Brown and Dana Chatwell, if their lives have been peaceful while the Liberals and the OPP blithely look the other way, apparently hoping that if they don't look it's not really happening.

Brown and Chatwell, in fact, have launched a $10-million suit against the provincial government and the OPP. Hearing their story, this correspondent hopes they win. It might be enough to prompt our political leaders to actually show some leadership, although given McGuinty's cavalier use of public money that may be a tad optimistic.

Obviously, Brown and Chatwell haven't proven their case in court - but given the ongoing and highly public nature of the protest that shouldn't be too much of a burden.

Consider this: since their house sits in the "native controlled" subdivision, they have to present a "passport" to natives when they are leaving or returning to their own home. Worse, their car is subject to searches by masked men at the barricades and they have even been refused access to their own property. In addition, they have no mail delivery or garbage pickup, they are subjected to regular threats and late-night noise and their house has been ransacked.

Yet, according to them, the OPP, standing within sight of all this outrageous behavior, continually refuse to intervene on their behalf and have even ignored 911 calls. On one occasion, they say, Brown arrived home to be told he was past the native-imposed "curfew" - one wonders what gives them the right to impose anything on these people - and when Brown, concerned that his wife was alone in the house, drove through their barricade you'll never guess what happened: Brown became the bad guy. He was taken back to the barricades by the natives. They told the OPP he was trespassing (it's his own house remember) and the police tossed Brown in jail for the night, leaving his terrified wife home alone.

According to Brown - and nobody has denied it yet - when his wife called 911 she was told to "lock the doors and turn the lights out." When she called again, she was told, 'Don't call again, we can't help you."

There's more, but you get the drift. There have been verified accounts to attempted murder, hijackings, assaults and tire fires, yet McGuinty, like Nero, fiddles while Caledonia burns and Smitherman claims that Tory, while calling for law to be restored, is jeopardizing the "fragile peace."

There is no peace in Caledonia, fragile or otherwise, and ignoring the ongoing outrage there is not going to set matters right.

Finally, Tory says not only would he impose huge fines but - and here's the best news - there would be "no negotiations with anyone engaging in an illegal occupation."

Good for him. Here's hoping he gets the chance to end this mess. The Liberals never will. They'll just keep pretending it's not happening. They' re good at that.