27 September 2007
bridging the Grand
There are many cases in Ontario and elsewhere where it has been found thatit is not appropriate
to sacrifice
our built heritage
on the altar of traffic efficiency. (6)
Photos copyright Sandamara Images 2002-06. First photo of Grand River flowing southeast downstream of the Bridgeport Bridge. Where the river meanders east (left) in this photo is the approximate location of the new Highway 7 bridge soon to be built.
Region of Waterloo has approved the rehabilitation of the Bridgeport Bridge (1934) & roundabout @ $10,300,00 projected cost. Work is to start in Apr 2008 with project completion expected in Aug 09. Cost breakdown: a) to repair bridge @ $4,900,000; b)to install temporary Bailey twin bridge @ $2,000,000; c)to build roundabout at Bridge/Lancaster Streets @ $3,300,000: included in this cost are monies for “city*to buy and preserve the former Grand Hotel(1856), now a strip club, and buy and demolish an auto garage at 623 Lancaster Street.” Landowner compensation is to be “at fair market value” based on independent appraisal. (1)
Photo of the 5 span concrete bowstring arch*** Bridgeport Bridge taken downstream looking northwest.When Highway 7 is ultimately constructed, traffic models forecast that traffic volumes on Bridge Street between Lancaster Street and Bloomingdale Road would decrease by approximately 6000-7000 vehicles per day (which will represent a 30-40% decrease; now at 17,600 vehicles per day.) However, a development cap in Bridgeport north and east imposed in 1996 by the Region of Waterloo is to be lifted in phases after roundabout construction: i. 40% upon roundabout completion or 2011 & can be considered during construction “if no additional traffic would be generated prior to completion of construction”; ii. 25% by 2016 for a combined maximum of 65% of proposed developments. (4) ===>A review of City of Kitchener Staging of Development 2007-2008 report shows 4 subdivision applications waiting in the wings @ 803 total housing units = 1,606 cars x2 return trips =3,200 vehicles per day could possibly use this bridge. Another 5 parcels of land slated for residential development and one industrial development are in the planning stages. That's a lot of development pressure on regional/municipal politicians. RR has not consulted City of Waterloo staging of development report but notes that this particular bridge serves to connect both Kitchener and Waterloo residents with lands on the east side of Grand River--particularly the proposed employment lands and the Regional airport. Can we trust these statistical projections?
Photo of Freeport Bridge (1926): seven span reinforced concrete bowstring arch structure with integral pedestrian sidewalk; earliest Grand River crossing to Kitchener: repairs @$1,370,000 in 2003. Post-rehabilitation the City of Kitchener designated this structure under OHA Part IV. ====> Will the City do likewise with the Bridgeport bridge after the Region spends the money to rehabilitate the structure?
Note re the heritage aspect of this particular bridge, the news story quoted a local heritage advocate: “the bowstring-style concrete bridge built as make-work project during the Depression is among only three along the Grand River and part of the social history of the region." (1) ===> this comment was the prompt for this post and RR's search through her portfolio and readings for all of the concrete bowstring arch bridges within the entire Grand River watershed. On RR's future photoshoot list are several more of this bridge styles in Brant and Wellington Counties; the best example of them all? i.e. the nine span concrete bowstring arch Caledonia Bridge (1927), the only one of its kind in Canada. It is currently deteriorating; heavy trucks are not permitted to use the bridge. =======>Why, oh why, do locals remain so self-absorbed that they are blinded to the larger picture? These bridges are part of the social history of the entire watershed and part of the rationale for the nomination of the Grand River as a national heritage river!!
Next photo: Main Street Bridge in downtown Galt -1930's dual arch bridge beside historic Queen’s Square has undergone restoration recently.What about impacts on the natural environment? Regional staff assure us they will "strive to minimize and mitigate any impacts on aquatic and wildlife habitat. Any construction activity that requires work in the
river will be scheduled to avoid the fish spawning season from April to
June." Furthermore, "all detailed design plans will be submitted to the appropriate government agencies for approval. Depending on the type and extent of impacts, the approving agencies consist of the Grand River Conservation Authority, Ministry
of Natural Resources, Ministry of Environment, and Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The Grand River is a designated Navigable Waterway; therefore construction in and over the river will require approval from Transport Canada as well.'" (2)===========> mmm? not so fast as the Region found out this particular legal requirement: "Consultation with Six Nations/Mississaugas of New Credit per 2004** Supreme Court Ruling to consult on projects that could adversely affect aboriginal rights or titles."
Photo of Black Bowstring Bridge (1930) over the Grand just north of Grand Valley whose fate is threatened by its new replacement now nearing completion. "The existing bridge is one of the few remaining bowstring bridges in Ontario and is therefore, of local, provincial, and possibly national interest. It is a unique remnant and early example of highway bridge development in Ontario and the Black bowstring bridge is a rare example of the larger double lane bowstring bridges used by highway engineers at the time. It is one of the last bridges of this style to be built before the advent of the concrete arch bridge. It is a landmark in the community and a focal point of the surrounding landscape. It also forms part of the Grand River Heritage River system." (5)
In a report about the proposed Fairway Road bridge to Kossuth Road, John Stephenson, Project Mgr was “not aware that the aboriginal land claim has any impact on regional bridge planning” and stated that the Region had duly consulted with the Six Nations in 2005.** However, Ann Greene, director of lands and resources for Six Nations only received notification in Apr 06. According to Ms. Greene the Six Nations have these concerns: (a) “What kind of footprint is the bridge going to have? (b)How will it affect the fisheries? (c)How much damage is it going to do to the bank? (d)[Are] there archaeological sites in there? (e) How much disturbance is this going to create? (3)Photo above of the Atkinson reinforced concrete tied bowstring arch bridge across Irvine Creek/Wellington County shows the historic Baseline Road aligned north to Fergus.
“Greene said Six Nations is not out to delay Grand River bridges but intends to assert its land claim by reviewing plans. This may include technical, political, and public review of undetermined length... 'We have a real connection to the river; it’s a spiritual connection.'” (4) ====> RR proceeded to review all the proposed and existing Grand River crossings scheduled for the next decade (N to S, Region of Waterloo only): 1) Bridgeport @ Bridge/Lancaster; 2) new Highway 7 between Kitchener and Guelph with proposed Interchange at Riverbend Drive/Shirley Avenue (note: some traffic diverted by Breslau by-pass to eliminate steep grades and curves); 3) existing Highway 7/Victoria Street bridge; 4) Fairway Road bridge to Kossuth Road; 5) existing Freeport bridge; 6) existing Highway 8 bridge to 401; 7) new Highway 8 bridge to 401 as part of the River Road arterial road expansion; 8) Highway 401 bridge across King Street to Fountain Street; 9) Conestoga ; 10) Parkhill Dam & road crossing in Cambridge; 11) Reg RD 97 crossing, Cambrige; 12) south end of Cambridge crossing to access West River Road.--oops! forgot another one: 13) Main Street/Cambridge--any more? That's a lot of bridges carrying a lot of traffic with possible negative environmental impacts (one tanker spills whatever--oil/chemicals--into Grand River & kiss downstream river-dependent water supply goodbye?. ===> Are there any cross-jurisdictional provisions to address cumulative impacts? Perhaps the Six Nations do have a stewardship role to play here??? Worth pondering.Last photo above by way of contrast: steel truss bridge (ca 1920) across Nith River at Richview/Blandford Blenheim Township. The Nith sub-watershed is characterized by these steel truss bridges--many of which are single lane only.
Notes: *the City of Kitchener??? is to purchase and refurbish the historic Grand Hotel (1856). The monies budgeted are Region of Waterloo funds; will these funds be transferred to City of Kitchener to complete the purchase and restoration? interesting question concerning the relationships between an upper- and lower-tier government.
** some confusion here as to timing of Supreme Court ruling re consultation process: the news report uses the date 2004; RR has in her files a copy of Grand River Notification Agreement Renewal dated 3 Oct 1998 covering a 5 year period of consultation to 2003 and signed by GRCA and southern watershed municipalities; during summer 1999 RR conversed with Six Nations professional at a Summer Institute re the ongoing land claims & was told that this claim was then before the Supreme Court of Canada. As recently as summer of 2006, regional officials and GRCA staff were disputing the legal requirement to consult with Six Nations: why? 1) delays in projects; and 2) not sure whether to consult with elected or traditional council. Rather disappointing as 1) GRCA was already a signatory to the notification agreement covering the southern Grand watershed; and 2) the regional politician who was uncertain has academic qualifications as an historian.
***"A tied arch bridge is a bridge in which the outward-directed horizontal forces of the arch are carried by the bridge deck, rather than the ground or the bridge foundations. Because the bridge deck ties the ends of the arch together and is under tension, much like the string of a bow, this design is also called a bowstring arch bridge."--City of Brampton, "Brampton Bridge Restoration" & winner of national heritage award for restoration of a single lane bridge across Credit River. Also noted in same report: bridge restoration cost was approx $700,000 less than cost of building new replacement bridge.
Sources: (1)Greg Mercer, Region plan for Bridge Street best option, The Record 26 Sept 07; (2)BRIDGEPORT BRIDGE AND BRIDGE STREET IMPROVEMENTS INFORMATION PACKAGE:Public Information Centre Thursday, June 22, 2006 : note the actual public meeting was cancelled without notice but subsequently rescheduled; (3)Jeff Outhit, Land dispute delaying bridges: Six nations claim to Grand River disrupts construction
proposals, The Record 08 Apt 06; (4)Jeff Outhit, Region mulls bridge option, The Record 29 Nov 06; (5) Robert Hulley, Black bowstring bridge is worth saving, Orangeville Times 2 Aug 07; (6) Conservation Review Board decision re Bow String Bridge in Eden Mills, 24 Feb 1991.
Self-directed tutorial on bridge styles:
http://whatiscivilengineering.csce.ca/structural_bridges_Canada.htm
bridge terminology:
bridge terminology:
Labels: built heritage, land claims
24 September 2007
development rights? Hidden Valley update
Available right now on City of Kitchener website are 1) report DTS-07-153 and 2) series of maps showing land uses and proposed arterial road in Hidden Valley. The report will be presented by staff to Council at the Development and Technical Services committee meeting at 7:00 p.m. tonight.
The report's author asserts that "the natural environment within the Hidden Valley Community is a jewel...an exceptional environmental area in the centre of our region....Conservation of as much of the identified natural environmental features as possible...is a paramount objective....It is the community's preference that the environmental features be in public ownership [although] the lands always have been and currently are owned by a development interest." Negotiations will take place with the landowner once the EA process is completed.
Still to be decided are the answers to these questions:
a) should the natural lands be physically secured for conservation purposes? ====> more lobbying required to ensure that this option becomes the final solution. Cf. Homer Watson Park immediately adjacent that secured those lands forever for public use.
or
b) should there be public access and passive recreational features incorporated? [i.e. within future residential land uses?]
Elsewhere in the report there is this sentence that needs clarification and could provide the legal loophole through which this exceptional natural area could vanish forever: "As shown on the attached Figure 4, there are lands within the Hidden Valley community that are primarily open fields and that currently have some development rights." ===> the issue of development rights touches on the greater public good versus private gain and needs to be explored in depth.
If this community as well as its Council and staff have now moved towards a greater appreciation of the value of these lands, it is thanks to Gord, Daphne, and the Friends of Hidden Valley who have tirelessly lobbied to save these lands. Wonderful work, all of you!
Photos: 1) Hidden Valley seen from opposite side of Grand River; 2) the adjacent industrial basin. See also RR's previous blogs on this issue: 1.an emerald jewel in the heart of this region? 2. colour my world green? 3.colour my world brown? ===> to do so, enter Hidden Valley in search box at top left hand corner of this page.
Labels: land use
fall colours
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, this summer's drought has affected our trees and the annual display of fall colour. Symptoms of the lack of moisture include thinning foliage and leaves dropping earlier than usual.
Stress on trees results from road construction, salt spray. insects, wind in urban areas, or competition for ideal conditions in woodlots. The cumulative impact of such stressors renders a tree vulnerable. for example, if a tree's root system has been pruned to widen a ditch and it is old and defoliated by insect infestation, that tree's health will decline even faster during drought conditions. Some species are more susceptible than others to drought conditions, for example, ash and hickory trees.
Drought can delay the onset of fall colour and a warm period during the fall will lower the intensity of fall colours.
Pigments in leaves include:
1. chlorophyll (green) present during growing season starts to break down during the fall
2. carotenoids (yellows and browns) during growing season
and during autumn
3. anthocyanins (reds and purples) produced in fall in response to bright light and excess plant sugars within the leaf cells.
Source: Bonnie Gropp, Dry summer may affect fall colours, The Citizen 20 September 07.
Labels: climate change, forests
20 September 2007
protecting our water supply
Photos copyright Sandamara Images 2004 L to R: 1) one of the source streams of the Grand River near Dundalk; 2) the Grand River flowing south through the protected Keldon source waters region; 3) Willow creek, a tributary of the Grand, flowing through Amaranth Township wetlands; 4) the Grand River flowing south through the town of Grand Valley. The photos were taken during summer 2004 as part of a ramble to locate the sources of the Grand River. Mabel Dunham in a local history written during the 1950's observed that the Grand was noted as the river of many sources and indicated that there were six streams in the headwaters feeding the Grand. After studying a hydro map with a farmer near Dundalk, RR and her host concluded there were only three streams sourcing the Grand River. In 2005, Carl Hiebert flew over the same area and counted only two source streams. The first photo was taken closest to the highest point of elevation near Dundalk.
Residents in the Grand River watershed concerned about water quality and quantity can turn to or volunteer to serve on the Lake Erie Region Source Protection Committee. Details as follows:
"Applications are now being accepted for 14 seats for "sector" and "public" members of the Lake
Erie Region Source Protection Committee.
The 14 seats are allocated to:
* seven "sector" members representing economic interests:
o three seats for agriculture representatives
o three seats for business and industry, including commercial and small businesses
o one seat for the aggregate industry
* seven "other" members representing the public interest:
o six seats for individuals
o one seat for a nominee of the Elgin Area Primary Water Supply System Joint Board of
Management.
The Source Protection Committee will also include:
* seven members selected by the 52 municipalities in the Lake Erie Region
* three members selected jointly by the band councils of the Six Nations of the Grand River and
Mississaugas of the New Credit.
* a chair, appointed by the Minister of the Environment
Candidates must submit an application form and resume by Oct. 3, 2007 . Available online at this link:
Labels: Grand watershed, water
18 September 2007
This inexcusable delay
Friday 1 June 2007, the Record headlined the long-awaited Ipperwash report by Justice Sidney Linton thus: "Inexcusable delay and long neglect....are at the heart of the story." The Record's headline writer spoke of a "scathing report warning all levels of government they must deal with land claims fairly and swiftly." Rambling Rose skimmed the news report and wondered how anyone could have obtained a copy, read all 1, 500 pages and digested it in such short order, but did clip the news report for a second reading later....heavy going as are these blogs that took days to research. Justice Linton's conclusions were as follows: "This inexcusable delay and long neglect, by successive federal governments is at the heart of the Ipperwash story. Understanding Ipperwash can help us understand how to prevent aboriginal occupations and protests in the first place, or how to reduce the risk of violence if they do occur. Aboriginal occupation and protests are not inevitable, nor are they invariably violent. The provincial government and other institutions must redouble their efforts to build successful, peaceful relations with with the aboriginal peoples in Ontario so we can all live peacefully and productively.' (1) Fast forward now to last week's act of violence at the Stirling Street, Brantford development site which are the subject of the blog quagmire. Over the weekend, one developer John Kragten met and negotiated with the traditional council. Per news report: "The developer of a Caledonia subdivision hopes his face-to-face negotiations with Six Nations members protesting his development will pave the way for future agreements up and down the disputed Grand River tract...Despite the deal allowing Kragten's crews to resume construction, the site remained quiet yesterday. The developer said he was giving Confederacy leaders time to try to convince a small group of native protesters still camped behind a barricade just west of the subdivision to leave. Yesterday, several Confederacy and Unity flags were still hoisted above the barricade, along with a large sign accusing Canada of genocide. Yesterday, Kragten declined to reveal details of his deal with the natives but insisted there was no monetary concession involved. Instead, he said he had agreed to provide native representatives with his "expertise" on development issues and help build bridges with other developers. A media release from the Six Nations Confederacy confirmed that a "tentative agreement" had been reached to allow development on the Stirling Woods subdivision.... Yesterday, Kragten held up his direct approach to negotiating with traditional Confederacy leaders, such as clan mothers and subchiefs as well as Detlor, as far more efficient than wading through government bureaucracy. "I honestly think we've made more headway in the last four days than I've seen elsewhere in the last 19 months," he added, referring to the former Douglas Creek Estate property occupied by native protesters in February 2006.Haldimand councillors praised the developer for his handling of the occupation, describing it as a "benchmark" for future incidents." (2)
"It is hard for me to understand
a culture that spends more on wars and weapons to kill,
than it does on education and welfare."
--Chief Dan George,"I am a native of North America"
Sources: (1)"Ipperwash,"The Record 1 Jun 07; (2) Dana Borcea, Natives, developer hammer out a deal:Pact hinges on liaison role, not money, The Hamilton Spectator 18 September 07.
Labels: land claims
quagmire*
Gentle reader, for the past weekend Rambling Rose has tried to extricate herself from a quagmire, i.e."an area of miry or boggy ground whose surface yields under the tread; a bog" (1), she ventured into after reading the local rag's editorial which began by stating that "the rule of law is breaking down in the Grand River Valley." The lead editorial issued this appeal to the electioneering Dalton McGuinty:"Yet, at this critical moment when leadership at the highest level is so urgently required, Premier McGuinty is missing in action on the election campaign trail. Mr. Premier, with respect, your silence, your evasion, your insistence that this is a job for the federal government, are simply not good enough -- not for the non-natives of the area, not for the people of the Six Nations either." (2)
What prompted this outcry? Two related events: first, the unfortunate beating of a Brantford developer by a group of natives; second, the announcement of a development protocol by the traditional Haudenosaunee council. It appears the two events are related according to today's report in The Hamilton Spectator: "Work on the partially completed Stirling Street site came to an abrupt halt last Thursday after violence erupted between a group of native protesters and home builder Sam Gualtieri. The 52-year-old remains in hospital recovering from facial fractures and head trauma...Last Thursday, natives said they occupied the Stirling Street site because developers had not followed up on a promise to learn more about their new development protocols." (4)
Adding 1 + 1 =2, the local rag thundered forth the following inflammatory statement: "The demand for a development fee, backed up by thugs accountable to no one but themselves, is not a reasonable request; it is blackmail and a
precursor to anarchy." (2)
Equally swift were the following responses:
(1) a prompt apology by Mohawk Chief Allen MacNaughton who expressed anger and disgust when he was shown a picture of the beaten man yesterday. "I believe it's an atrocity, sir," MacNaughton told Joe Gualtieri, 46, who had taken the pictures of his injured brother at West Haldimand General Hospital earlier in the day. MacNaughton and Cayuga sub-chief Leroy Hill had expressed their regrets to the Gualtieri family at a press conference minutes before the younger brother walked up to them and showed the pictures. MacNaughton said a group of natives who have been occupying the Stirling Woods building site, which involves 49 units under construction, are acting on their own and do not have the sanction of the Six Nations Confederacy. MacNaughton and Hill said the incident is being investigated by the Six Nations Confederacy and "justice will prevail." (4)
(2) a prompt evasion by the elected premier of this province who walked back into his campaign bus when confronted by a worried developer; per news report: "McGuinty, meanwhile, continued to direct responsibility to the federal government as he has done throughout the Caledonia dispute. In a statement, he condemned the violence and said there must be consequences legally and at the negotiating table. 'Every time a violent activity takes place, it sets back the progress being made at the negotiating table.' McGuinty said the province will not participate in the next scheduled negotiating meeting and called upon the federal government to do the same." (5) McGuinty continues stuck in this quagmire as of today: a) a press release: "TORONTO, Sept. 18 /CNW/ - As a response to last week's violent confrontation in Caledonia, government negotiators will not participate in this week's scheduled negotiation meetings with the Haudenosaunee/Six Nations." (6) and b) news report: "The Ontario Liberals say only Ottawa can resolve the Caledonia crisis and there's nothing more the Dalton
McGuinty government can do." (7)
Gone missing in this quagmire is a perfectly reasonable suggestion advanced by Howard Hampton, leader of the opposition NDP, to "hire former Ontario lieutenant-governor James Bartleman, an aboriginal himself with great credibility and diplomatic skill, to get involved. "I would ask him to specifically engage in the Caledonia issue -- as the mediator, conciliator, fact finder -- to sit down with both sides and to try to find where there's middle ground,'' Hampton said. (8)
(3)On the surface, the federal government responded more decisively to the ongoing Caledonia crisis: "The federal government has appointed David Crombie to act as liaison between federal negotiators and the non-aboriginal community. He says Crombie will offer an official channel though which non-aboriginals can voice concerns and get updates on the process of negotiations." (9)
However, this face-saving appointment needs to be set within a larger context i.e. the Harper government's failure to sign the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous peoples: "TORONTO, Sept. 14 /CNW/ - Yesterday the United Nations General Assembly adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Declaration sets out the individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples, as well as their rights to culture, identity, language, employment, health, education and other issues. This landmark Declaration was passed by a vote of 143 to 4, with 11 countries abstaining....Canada was among the group of four countries, which included the United States, Australia and New Zealand, that opposed the Declaration." Why oppose this declaration? Perhaps the answer is to be found here: Firstly, that it acknowledged that First Nation people "have suffered historic injustices" as a result of colonization and the dispossession of their lands". Furthermore the UN Declaration reaffirmed that
"Indigenous people have the right to own, use, develop and control the lands, territories and resources that they possess by reason of traditional ownership or other traditional occupation or use." (11)
"Canada condemns other countries about their human rights violations,
but the Federal government continues to violate Aboriginal peoples' human rights.
The hypocrisy is staggering." --Leo Cheverie vice-president for diversity of CUPE(12)
In Canada, native people are still at the 63rd level
of the United Nations international living index,
while at the same time Canadians enjoy being the ninth richest country in the world.(12)
but the Federal government continues to violate Aboriginal peoples' human rights.
The hypocrisy is staggering." --Leo Cheverie vice-president for diversity of CUPE(12)
In Canada, native people are still at the 63rd level
of the United Nations international living index,
while at the same time Canadians enjoy being the ninth richest country in the world.(12)
"This minority Conservative government has demonstrated again that the
recognition of native peoples' rights will not be respected on Mr. Harper's
watch."--Paul Moist, CUPE national president (12)
recognition of native peoples' rights will not be respected on Mr. Harper's
watch."--Paul Moist, CUPE national president (12)
Footnotes:
A. the Haudenosaunee development protocol:
First, according to the local rag: "Today, the Six Nations traditional government, known as the Confederacy, insists it has jurisdiction over the historic Haldimand tract -- a 384,450-hectare (950,000-acre) swath of land running 10 kilometres on each side of the Grand. The natives do not necessarily claim ownership of all this land which they were granted in 1784 and later, for the most part, sold. But they do demand to be consulted before any new development proceeds in the area. They insist that prospective developers pay the Six Nations up to thousands of dollars for development permit approvals before any building goes forward." (2)
This is confirmed by another report in the Brantford Expositor: The traditional Haudenosaunee council* announced a development protocol for entire Haldimand tract requiring payment of development fees. Thus far, approximately 50 developers have submitted proposals since draft protocol was released in early June; no details have been given re payment of fees. The protocol specifies three zones: example, the green zone from north of Brantford to just north of Fergus is undergoing “significant intensity of development.” According to Detlor,a lawyer who helped create the protocol:
i. “the Haudenosaunee “will be seeking a solution with the province, federal government and municipalities to provide for native jurisdiction over the area”;
ii. “The protocol was developed to address environmental concerns as well as protect the Haudenosaunee jurisdiction over the area.” (3)
B. The rule of law? another point of view:
"Kempton [Olthuis Kleer Townshend, Toronto legal firm] stated the Crown has no right to impose its laws over Aboriginal people because “Aboriginals are not subject to Canadian law.” According to the lawyer, way back in the 1700s, the British asserted their authority over what would become Canada – but only over the settlers – not Aboriginals.“There are only three ways the Crown would have power here. Number one, to conquer all Aboriginal people – and that never happened. Number two, by settlement. Which means to settle a deserted piece of land that was unoccupied. Clearly this land was heavily settled by people.The only other way to get legal right is through the indigenous people ceding rights to the land through treaties. They would have to say ‘We give up our right to self-government’The lawyer said Aboriginals understood treaties as a way to share the lands and resources, 'but treaty language doesn’t reflect this.'” (13)
As noted by an anonymous reader to the Globe and Mail forum on this topic: "Those in power in Canada understand these principles very well. They know that even under their own laws aboriginal title precedes and preempts other claims, unless transfer of title to the land was is or agreed to by the original inhabitants...In consolidating its own national landbase, Canada has not only violated every single one of those treaties, but that it remains in a state of perpetual violation to this day. Thus, they know they have no legal title--whether legality be taken to imply Canadian law, international law, The law Of Peace, or natural law, or all of these combined-to much of what they now wish to view as the territoriality of Canada proper...Finally, they are aware that to acquire even a semblance of legal title, title which stands a chance of passing the informed scrutiny of both the international community and much of its own citizenry, Canada must honor its internal treaty commitments, at the very least." (14)
Notes: *quagmire 1579, from obsolete quag "bog, marsh" + mire. Quag is a variant of M.E. quabbe "a marsh, bog," from O.E. *cwabba "shake, tremble" (like something soft and flabby). Extended sense of "difficult situation, inextricable position" is first recorded 1775. (1)
Sources: (1)http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/quagmire;
(2)Six Nations can't dictate new laws, editorial The Record, 15 September 07; (3)John Paul Zronik, Confederacy’s rules; Traditional Six Nations government exercises ‘jurisdiction over the land’, Brantford Expositor12 Sept 07; (4) Paul Legall, 'Justice will prevail' :Mohawk chief offers prayers, condemns 'violent actions of a few' The Hamilton Spectator 15 September 07; (5)Nicole Macintyre, Provincial party leaders offer few solutions to Caledonia tensions,The Hamilton Spectator September 15, 2007; (6)Government Negotiators Respond to Last Week's Events in Caledonia Http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/September2007/18/c2007.html; (7)Caledonia crisis is not ours to fix, Liberals say: Ontario won’t be at land claim talks The Hamilton Spectator
(Sep 18, 2007); (8)Canadian Press Election rivals blame McGuinty for aboriginal tensions The Record 15 September 07: (9)Canadian Press Former Toronto mayor to be federal liaison on Caledonia impasse The Record, 15 September 07; (10)http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/September2007/14; (11)Ontario Regional Chief Angus Toulouse responds to incident at the Stirling South Development site http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/September2007/17/c9512.html;
(12)CUPE news release,"Government insults Canada's native people at United Nations, CNW Group newswire; (13) Lea Storry, Canada has no rights over First Nations, Slave River Journal 12 September 07; (14) This opinion was posted to the Globe and Mail forum that followed the news report regarding the violence at the Stirling Construction site; posters remain anonymous and this message board took hours to read and sift emotional opinions from helpful insights.
Labels: aboriginal, land claims
11 September 2007
the country wife
Sarah Henry/Tuhbenahneequay (1780-1873) who was the daughter of Wahbanosay, a Mississauga chief, is remembered on this plaque* and in history as wife of the surveyor Augustus Jones, mother of the Methodist minister Peter Jones/Kahkewaquonaby "sacred feathers", and sister of the Mississauga Chief Joseph Sawyer/Nawajegezhegwabe "the sloping sky."Other than brief references to her in the biographies of the men in her life and the information on the plaque mounted on a rock in Kitchener's Victoria Park, little is known about this woman. Sarah wasn't even Jones' legal wife as Jones subsequently married another Sarah Tekarihogen/Tekerhogen, the eighteen-year-old daughter of a Mohawk chief, with whom he had eight children. This type of arrangement was not uncommon in this country's early history as even the famed explorer David Thompson had a legal wife in Montreal and a country wife in western Canada who accompanied him on his explorations of discovery.
Two centuries ago, the Mississaugas (aka Chippewas and/or Salteaux) controlled the land we now refer to as the Golden Horseshoe extending from Niagara to the Bay of Quinte. The Mississaugas were semi-nomadic moving rapidly across the land and establishing no permanent villages. During winter, they travelled to their hunting grounds at the heads of the rivers draining into Lake Ontario; in spring, they gathered in maple sugar bushes to collect sap; in late summer, they harvested corn they had planted in the river flats.** In the late 1780's, the Mississaugas on the north shore of Lake Ontario numbered 200 warriors with a total population of 1,000, grouped into a half dozen bands. By 1819, their population had been reduced to 200 as a result of measles, smallpox, tuberculosis and alcohol abuse. In 1847, Sarah's brother and son effected the Mississauga move to what is now the New Credit Reserve outside of Brantford, Ontario.
During her lifetime then, Sarah witnessed firsthand the deforestation of the Ontario landscape into agricultural lands and the transformation of her hunter-gatherer lifestyle into a farming one. She was there to welcome the incoming United Empire Loyalists only to find herself displaced to the confines of a reserve after multiple land transfers had taken place.
The man in the black and white portrait is Augustus Jones ****(1757-1836), her common-law husband and father of her children. Jones came to the Niagara Frontier, Upper Canada from the Hudson Valley, New York some time during the 1780's. In 1791, he was appointed deputy surveyor and during the 1790's he surveyed, the greater part of the Townships from Fort Erie to the head of Lake Ontario, the lands along the Grand River, the course of the north shore of Lake Ontario, from Toronto to the river Trent, town plots for Niagara (Niagara-on-the-Lake) and York, Dundas Street*** linking Lake Ontario and the Detroit frontier, and Yonge Street connecting lakes Ontario and Simcoe. Jones was an ambitious man determined to amass large landholdings.Through the system of petition and grant, he acquired extensive lands in Saltfleet and Barton townships during the 1790s, in addition to town lots in Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake) and York (Toronto). In 1797 and 1805 he received from the Mohawk war chief Joseph Brant [Thayendanegea*], reputedly in payment for surveys on the Grand River, two leases of land there which together comprised roughly ten square miles. Employing Indians in his survey parties, Jones came to know both the Mohawk and the Mississauga Ojibwa peoples, whose languages he learned. A number of Indians came to trust him. oseph Brant employed him on many surveys on the Grand River. The two men, who lived at opposite ends of Burlington Beach, became close friends. In addition to leasing him land on the Grand, Brant made Jones his agent on occasion, in land purchases among other matters, and named him one of his executors. After his departure from government service in 1800, Jones farmed for some 17 years In Stoney Creek where he had acquired 1,200 acres. The retired surveyor became a prominent settler in the area, serving as a militia captain from 1794 to 1811. In 1817 Jones and his family, including Peter, left Saltfleet for the Mohawk Village (Brantford) and his wife's people on the Grand River. For several years Jones farmed on the plains bordering on the Grand, and then, in his 70s, he moved north to Cold Springs, his tract of 1,200 acres on Dundas Street, east of Paris. He supported his family by farming and by selling off portions of his vast estates. Donald Smith, his biographer describes him thus: "A physically strong and ambitious man, whose wives and best friends were Indians, he lived in two worlds simultaneously and, particularly in his first years in Upper Canada, served as a bridge between them."The man in the colour photo is Sarah's son, Peter Jones/Kahkewaquonaby "sacred feathers" (1802-1856) who, we are told, was born in a wigwam on Burlington Heights and raised to become an excellent hunter by his mother until 1816. In 1817, his father took 15 year old Peter to live with him and Peter's stepmother, the other Sarah--the legal Mohawk wife. From his father, Peter learned how to farm. When he was 17, he agreed to his father's request he be baptized because, in his own words, he wished "to be entitled to all of the privileges of the white inhabitants'" even as he continued to be the "same wild Indian youth as before." Until.... a camp-meeting of 1823, when he converted to Methodism. His life thereafter consisted of teaching, preaching, writing / translating scriptures,and non-stop missionary work to convert others to Christianity and the agricultural lifestyle of the dominant society. In 1833, Peter married Eliza Field, an Englishwoman who immigrated to Upper Canada to become his wife and assist in his missionary work. His biographer Donald Smith credits Peter Jones with the "successful adjustment of many Ojibwa bands to the European presence."
No photo is available of Sarah's brother, Joseph Sawyer/Nawahjegezhegwabe "the sloping sky" (1786-1863). He acquired the name of Joseph Sawyer when he was baptized ca 1801 while living with Augustus Jones on Jones' Stoney Creek farm. Shortly after his baptism, he returned to his people and his traditional (non-Christian) faith. Twenty years later, his nephew Peter Jones brought his uncle back to the Methodist fold. He moved to the Methodist Indian settlement at the Credit River, became a successful farmer, and eventually Chief Sawyer. When Sir Frances Bond Head (cf. blog below "my red children of the forest") suggested that the band move from the Credit River to Manitoulin Island, Chief Sawyer replied, "Now we raise our own corn, potatoes, wheat; we have cattle, and many comforts, and conveniences. But if we go to Maneetoolin, we could not live; soon we should be extinct as a people; we could raise no potatoes, corn, pork, or beef; nothing would grow by putting the seed on the smooth rock."
In the end, the country wife --Sarah Henry/Tuhbenahneequay-- outlived them all. When she died, she had attained a remarkable 93 years!
Notes: * the plaque is located near the canoe sculpture in Victoria Park; **"Throughout the 18th and 19th century, Mississaugas hunted, fished, gardened, and camped on the banks of the Grand River, especially on the floodplains and forested uplands of Kitchener Waterloo, Blair, Cambridge and Brantford.+-- Gary Warrick, WLU Professor of Archaeology; *** Dundas Street aka the Governor's Road (Highway 2) was the first major road through southwestern Ontario and a military highway to move troops quickly between Fort Malden (near Windsor), York (now Toronto) and Kingston in the event of an American invasion; **** In 2005, the City of Hamilton erected a sculpture of Augustus Jones in the fountain of the Stoney Creek Town Square, at the intersection of King Street East and Jones Street in recognition of his surveys of 14 townships in the Niagara Region.
Sources: Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online; Early Days in Richmond Hill; Gary Warrick, Finding the Invisible Mississaugas of Davisville, Grand Actions 2005 Newsletter; City of Hamilton 2005 news release.
Labels: aboriginal, Berlin/Kitchener history, history
04 September 2007
pit rehabilitation
Gentle reader, this string of blogs beginning with "hard rock cafe" was prompted by two letters to the editor.
The first, "Moraine story misleading" prompted a review of photos, notes, and various readings relating to the Aberfoyle-Mill Creek watershed explored in the autumn of 2005. In her letter, Carol Hochu, president of Ontario Stone, Sand and Gravel Assoc., The Record 13 August 07 stated, "I'm writing to provide clarification and correction of misleading information on aggregate extraction and moraines that appeared in the 28 Jul Record article, MPP calls for Policy on Moraines. In this letter Ms.Hochu made the following assertions:
- “According to the article, ‘the porous, gravel-strewn earth in moraines absorbs groundwater.’ In fact, the Paris and Galt moraines are composed of a stony sandy silt till that is not permeable enough to be deemed an aquifer and is not used extensively for water wells...Actually the Paris and Galt moraines are not sources of aggregate. The till has no real aggregate value. Any aggregate deposits tend to lie beyond these moraines in other types of landforms such as glacial outwash.” ===> The primary source of aggregates is from the glacial outwash; however, a careful reading of sources quoted in the blogs preceding this one indicates the entire issue is much more complicated than Ms. Hochu would have us believe. The Ministry Review of moraine policies is certainly warranted and supported by current technical research.
- “In fact, pits and quarries promote groundwater recharge, are not significant sources of contamination, and do not affect watershed function (as shown by the government’s own studies of the Mill Creek watershed, containing highly concentrated aggregate extraction.” ====> GRCA is currently studying the impact of a) aggregate extraction and b) water takings on this watershed to determine their effect on watershed function. The GRCA's findings should prove interesting.
- “The article quotes Alan Morgan...stating: ‘the land can be regraded and renovated. But many construction companies fail to do so, leaving the land in a barren state.’ ....The Aggregate Resources Act requires every licensee and permittee in Ontario to perform progressive site rehabilitation on the site...”
"I would like to point out that according to the Pembina Institute report entitle Rebalancing the Load: The Need for an Aggregates Conservation Strategy for Ontario of 25 Jan 2006, less than 3% of pits are rehabilitated in the province. Currently , site plan rehabilitation is a requirement for licensing but the Aggregate Resources Act does not set a completion date on the extraction of gravel from a pit, and therefore there is no reason for a pit licensee to finish extraction only to be faced with the cost of rehabilitation.....Site plan rehabilitation drawings that are presented to the public are merely pretty drawings that are never realized."
Photo of Woolwich Twp rehabilitated gravel pit. The owner provided more education regarding pit rehabilitation. The soil that is trucked in as part of the rehabilitation process is too poor to be used for agricultural purposes; at best, only conifers can be grown as their shallow root system extends horizontally across a vast area. How many acres of prime agricultural land are we losing through aggregate extraction?
Labels: aggregates
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