Algonquin jailed six months and fined 25 000

This is from Mike, Donna Dillmann's partner. I hope every single one of you will make their outrage heard - this is our future and the future of our children Ontario politicians are in the process of fucking up meanwhile the Ontario's judicial system just gave the indigenous people involed in the protest a big hearty kick in the butt - thanx McGuinty, but you won't get away with that one.

Make sure to come to Napanee on Feb 23rd and express your solidarity with the heroic Algonquin leaders who won't back down for OUR WATER, AIR and SOIL.



Hi
Thank you for your interest and, more specifically, for being in touch with Mike and/or I in regard to efforts to raise public awareness on the uranium issue. Raise public awareness we did and, in addition, while we did not (yet) convince Premier McGuinty to place a moratorium on uranium exploration and mining, the plan to hold a Citizens' Inquiry into the Impacts of the Uranium Cycle is moving ahead. See below for the recent press release or visit www.uraniumcitizensinquiry.com

Many of you have asked what you could do to further the goal. We are writing now, not only to update you on the Citizens' Inquiry, but to invite you to participate in one (or more) of several ways. Below you will find several initiatives that would help, the first (unnumbered) is something you can do in the moment, the rest over the next few weeks. We expect you are all busy people as we are and it is easy to be overwhelmed by the task at hand, but together we can make the change our society so desperately needs.

If you have a few minutes today: call or e-mail the CBC noon show, Ontario Today. http://www.cbc.ca/ontariotoday/contact.html#

On Friday, the show covered the Kingston Court decision where Queen's U. Professor and Elder of the Ardoch First Nation, Bob Lovelace, was sentenced to six months incarceration and a $25,000.00 fine for his efforts in protecting the people of the region, the eco-system and the unborn. (See # 6 below, as well as the first press release after signatures.)

Ontario Today has requested feedback/reactions to the sentencing. They will be reacting to responses on Monday's show unless Family Day bumps it 'til Tuesday.

As well:

1) Where ever you live, please send a written or email submission expressing your thoughts and feelings about uranium its uses, etc. to "The Citizens' Inquiry on the Impacts of the Uranium Cycle" - info@uraniumcitizensinquiry.com (see second press release below)

2) If you live in the area or are visiting, you can participate in the Inquiry's Public Hearings by making a presentation (10 min. max.) at one of the four venues in eastern Ontario in April: (Sharbot Lake, Apr 1st; Kingston, Apr 8th; Peterborough, Apr. 15th, and Ottawa, likely Apr 22nd (venue yet to be nailed down in Ottawa): www.uraniumcitizensinquiry.com

3) For those living outside of eastern ON, consider organizing a Citizens'
Inquiry in your area, or a Public Hearing in your town/city. The
presentations/submissions received could be forwarded to us, for inclusion
in the Inquiry Report and on our website: www.uraniumcitizensinquiry.com
Were this Inquiry to go Canada-wide, the attention to the issue would be
worth the effort.

4) Forward this email to your lists, and invite them to participate/submit and help with the following:


5) Speakers Needed: Advise us of people who might be willing to speak on the
issue at campuses across Canada - we'll link them to people organizing the talks - alternately, forward this email to people you know and ask them to be in touch at the above link/addie. This is a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness among the generation who will be most affected by today's decisions.


6) Queen's University Instructor and Elder Robert Lovelace was taken away from Kingston Court in handcuffs on Friday and will spend the next 6 months in jail, as well as being fined $25,000 for his actions to date - and he has not backed down. Similar fines were levied against Trent University Professor and Ardoch Chief, Paula Sherman, who purged her contempt charges in order to remain home with her children after also being sentenced to six months in jail. Individuals from each of the First Nations were forced to accept an agreement that essentially means they will not be continuing to help stop the drills. Already in contempt and faced with daily fines of up to $5,000, the decision was difficult. Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation members will be sentenced in March, along with three 'settlers' - non-natives - also charged with contempt.
When writing your Letters to Editors, to McGuinty and others, please let them know what an injustice it is that those trying to protect our land, water, air and unborn have to risk losing their homes in the process.
There will be an action outside of the detention centre where Bob Lovelace is being held in Napanee, ON, on Sat. Feb 23rd. Please contact us for more info on this initiative, if you are able to join us.

7) If you live in Ottawa or could pass this to your contacts who do, you can help with a current initiative in regard to your City Council. The resolution for a moratorium on uranium has passed unanimously at the committee level and will be brought forward on the agenda of the Committee of the Whole on Feb 27th. Please contact your Ward Councilor http://www.ottawa.ca/city_hall/mayor_council/councillors/index_en.html
and share your thoughts/feelings with him/her.

To date every municipality from Kingston through to Carleton Place has passed this or a similar resolution. So far, they have been ignored by the province. We think it will be interesting to see what the Premier does when constituents in the city that he represents (Ottawa South) support a moratorium.

8) Mike and I plan on taking the "Living on Earth as if we want to stay tour" (with a new addition - moi speaking on the uranium issue) across Canada and down into the western and north central States. If you are interested, please be in touch. The rough timing is: spring - eastern and southern Ontario; mid June to mid July - Ontario and points west to BC, returning through the US; and September - Ontario and points east to NS. We are looking for sponsors to help with the venues, media, etc. It would be great to see some of you again and to put faces to the names of those that I/we have yet to meet.

Thanks for your love, concern, thoughts, prayers, and letters, as well as your time and energy. With the inertia that currently exists in the system, it will take a monumental push to change direction, but I continue to believe that it is doable. I have to.

blessings and apologies for the length of this email :)
Please see the two press releases that follow:
_______________________________________________________________________

BOB LOVELACE TO SERVE SIX MONTHS IN JAIL:
Press release: Christian Peacemaker Teams Canada

Where Is The Justice?
Kingston, Ontario
February 15, 2008

Kingston Regional Police took Bob Lovelace away from the courthouse in handcuffs this morning to serve a six month sentence on a contempt of court charge handed down by Justice Douglas Cunningham. Lovelace, age fifty-nine, is an ex-chief and spokesperson for the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation (AAFN). He is also father to seven children and an instructor at Queen's University and Sir Sandford Fleming Community College. Justice Cunningham imposed a fine of $25,000 on Lovelace and $10,000 on his community.

Lovelace said "I am in a dilemma. I want to obey Canadian law but Algonquin law instructs me that I must preserve Creation. I must follow Algonquin law." Judge Cunningham in his sentencing said, "There can only be one law - the law of Canada as expressed in this court."

Co-chief Paula Sherman and Honorary Chief Harold Perry agreed to abide by the terms of an injunction which forbids them from blocking Frontenac Ventures Ltd from drilling test holes on the site or encouraging others to do so. In this way they avoided Bob Lovelace's fate. "I want to be with Bob" said Harold "but my community does not want me to do this". Perry is age seventy-eight and has heart problems while Paula Sherman is a single parent.

Earlier in the hearing Chief Doreen Davis and Earl Badour of the Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation agreed to abide by the terms of the injunction of September 27, 2007. They must reappear in court on March 18, 2008.

Chris Reid, lawyer for AAFN, noted that there were other options available to the involved parties which would have prevented this outcome. The Province of Ontario could have removed the claimed land from the lands available to be staked and explored. Further, he observed "The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that all provinces have a duty to consult with First Nations who have even a weak claim on land before they permit any development. Ontario has not consulted with any Algonquin band about this claim".

Christian Peacemaker Teams laments the unjust actions of Justice Cunningham and the government of Ontario. We fear that the actions of the court and the government are leading this province down the road of confrontation that will inevitably lead to more suffering, injustice and bloodshed for Aboriginal Peoples. We beg Premier McGuinty to intervene and change course, to choose instead to work towards a just relationship with Aboriginal Peoples.

- 30 -

Christian Peacemaker Teams Canada
quipes Chrtiennes d'Action pour la Paix Canada
25 Cecil St Unit 307
Toronto ON M5T 1N1
Tel: 416-423-5525; Fax: 416-423-7140
canada@cpt.org
www.cpt.org
_______________________

PRESS RELEASE No. 2

Eastern Ontario Citizens' Group Announces Citizens' Inquiry on the Impacts
of the Uranium Cycle

The Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium (CCAMU) is pleased to
announce the Citizens' Inquiry on the Impacts of the Uranium Cycle. Public
Hearings will take place 1-5 p.m., 6-9 p.m. daily, during April:

Sharbot Lake: Beginning April 1st. at the Anglican Church
Kingston: Beginning April 8th at the Queen St. United Church
Peterborough: Beginning April 15th at Sadlier House
Ottawa: 4th week in April (venue yet to be selected)

"It became clear that the government of Ontario was not going to put a moratorium in place before they recessed for the holidays and wasn't listening to concerns around the exploration for uranium that is taking place in eastern Ontario. A team is in place and plans for the inquiry are well underway," stated Donna Dillman, the 53 year-old grandmother who resumed eating on December 13, after 68 days without food, when several organizations, including Greenpeace, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, David Suzuki Foundation, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, Voice of Women, Mining Watch Canada, Student Against Climate Change and Sierra Club of Canada stepped forward to support a citizens' inquiry.

Anyone can attend the public hearings to observe or make a presentation. As well, written or electronic submissions can be provided to the Inquiry Panel. CCAMU anticipates a broad range of topics relating to the issues and facts, including public and environmental health and safety, economics, and political responsibility.

The inquiry will be accessible to citizens and experts alike. Presentations at the inquiry venues can be in a variety of forms and will be limited to 10 minutes each. "Because people express their ideas in different ways, we're inviting people to communicate through narratives, poems, skits, and songs as well as with written submissions," said Dillman.

Registration to make a presentation is required. Deadline: Two weeks prior to event:
online registration:
Phone: 613-259-9988,
fax: call first 613-259-9988,
mail: 2799 McDonald's Corners Rd, R.R.#3 Lanark, K0G 1K0
or email: info@uraniumcitizensinquiry.com

Registrations will be acknowledged prior to the scheduled date of the location requested and will confirm your participation during the afternoon or evening session.

Written and electronic submissions may be made to the addresses as noted above.
These submissions must be received by May 1, 2008