Dispute over Land Back Lane injunction in Caledonia, Ont., back in court
CBC
The developer behind controversial efforts to build a subdivision in Caledonia, Ont., was back in court Monday, trying to get a permanent injunction against demonstrators from Six Nations who have been on the site for over two years.
Foxgate Development (a joint venture between Losani Homes and Ballantry Homes) planned to build more than 200 residences at the location they called McKenzie Meadows in 2020.
Activists stopped the work, saying the land was unceded Haudenosaunee territory and renamed it 1492 Land Back Lane.
The land sits on the Haldimand Tract, which was 384,451 hectares of land along the Grand River granted to Six Nations in 1784 for allying with the British during the American Revolution.
Skyler Williams has been the spokesperson for the 1492 Land Back Lane camp. The Six Nations-led group erected several buildings and remained on the site.
Police arrested dozens of demonstrators in the months that followed. As part of legal action, the developers sought an injunction to bar activists, also known as land defenders, from the site and prohibit them from blocking area roads.
A judge granted the injunction, but in December 2021, Ontario's highest court ruled the judge had denied Williams an opportunity to be heard.
The Appeal Court found the proceedings were unfair, and set aside the permanent injunction barring access to the site.
The parties returned to court Monday.
Paul DeMelo, Foxgate's lawyer, offered Justice Paul Sweeny numerous reasons Foxgate believes a permanent injunction should be granted.
Some of the reasons he mentioned include:
"No one in these proceedings, your honour, is saying my clients have done anything wrong. No one is saying my clients stole the land. No one is saying my clients improperly acquired the land," DeMelo said in court.
"My clients are simply being held hostage in the dispute between the Crown and the Indigenous communities."
DeMelo added the land defenders have been "clearly trespassing" and that has had a financial impact on Foxgate.
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