Posted by admin on Jun 18th, 2009
by Sandra Cuffe – BASICS #14 (June / July 2009). June 18, 2009
As part of a national plan regarding border security to be put in place by 2016, the Canadian government insists on arming all Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA) agents, even at their controversial post within the sovereign Mohawk territory of Akwesasne. After months of respectful communication opposing the arming with 9mm guns of the very same CBSA agents who have been accused of years of documented cases of harassment and racial profiling, the community of Akwesanse set a deadline of midnight Sunday May 31st for a resolution to the conflict.
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Posted by admin on Jun 12th, 2009
By Jorge Barrera, Canwest News Service June 12, 2009
The Skyway Bridge near Deseronto, Ont. reopened late Friday afternoon after a morning of “hand-to-hand” clashes between about 40 Ontario Provincial Police officers and protesters who had blocked the bridge, about 200 km east of Toronto. “These are some of the ripple effects we are feeling as a result of the federal government’s lack of action in entering into proper and adequate dialogue with the Mohawks of Akwesasne,” said Aboriginal Affairs Minister Brad Duguid, who added the province had urged the federal government to “enter into meaningful dialogue” to resolve the dispute.
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Posted by admin on Jun 8th, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009 | 6:23 PM ET. CBC News
About 40 Mohawk protesters blocked a bridge in eastern Ontario Sunday evening in support of a nearby First Nations community engaged in a standoff with the federal government over the arming of border guards. Protesters blocked either side of the Skyway bridge, which spans the Bay of Quinte near Belleville, Ont., and links the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory and Prince Edward County.
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Posted by admin on Jun 6th, 2009
– Seaway International Bridge, on the Mohawk territory of Akwesasne, remains closed
– Akwesasne community still not allowed full free movement on their own territory
– Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan states that permanently “moving the border crossing off the Akwesasne reserve” is an option
* June 6, 2009: Akwesasne band council chief Tim Thompson states that despite claims by politicians of dialogue with Akwesasne, federal politicians are not in discussion with Akwesasne leaders. The only concrete discussion was a request from CBSA to remove equipment out of the customs facility, but the Akwesasne leader rejected the request. Full article here
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Posted by admin on Jun 1st, 2009
Mon Jun. 01 2009 17:29:35. ctvottawa.ca
The federal public safety minister says the Canada-U.S. border crossing near Cornwall, Ont. won’t reopen until the Mohawk community accepts that guards at the border will be armed with handguns. “We are going to keep it closed until such time as the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne and the community indicate a willingness to allow the border services officers to be there as they are required across the country now in an armed circumstance,” Peter Van Loan told CTV’s Power Play. The government closed the eastern Ontario border crossing at Cornwall Island just prior to midnight in advance of planned protests from members of the Akwesasne Mohawk First Nation.
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