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6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday August 11, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: IAN OLIVER Publisher NEIL OLIVER Associate Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor KELLY MONTAGUE Advertising Director DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Manager TERI CASAS Business Manager MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, Caledon Enterprise, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian Rule of law must be obeyed For 164 days the residents of Caledonia have had their lives turned upside down. They have seen their peaceful little town become a battleground, their economy battered, infrastructure vandalized and neighbours pitted against one another. While the ongoing native land dispute continues to simmer, we can only wonder how much longer Premier Dalton McGuinty's government intends to let this untenable situation carry on. That also appears to be the question that Ontario Superior Court Justice David Marshall was asking this week when he ruled negotiations with the native protesters must cease until the protesters move off the housing development site they have illegally occupied since Feb. 28. Marshall had previously ruled the protesters must leave the site and wondered why those orders had been ignored. "The court has been patient, but the court cannot turn a blind eye to blatant contempt of the court's lawful order," said Marshall. The McGuinty government, however, suggests more negotiations are necessary, and Wednesday provincial and federal government representatives announced they are appealing Marshall's decision. "Let's not lose ground as a result of this ruling," said McGuinty, who has yet to visit the site. Lose ground? The Liberals' decision to bring in former Premier David Peterson to bring both sides to the negotiating table may have allowed for a brief cooling off period, but this standoff appears to have no end in sight. Conservative Leader John Tory is right when he says, "the rule of law must prevail in Caledonia." With the memories of Oka and Ipperwash still fresh, it is understandable the Liberals want to move cautiously in the Caledonia standoff. However, when the courts have ruled -- repeatedly -- that the protest must end it is the responsibility of the government to act. No group in society -- no matter how wronged they may have been in the past -- can stand above the law. The natives' claims should be a matter left to the courts of this land -- a land of which the natives are a part. Assurances must be given that they will have their day in court, but their protest must end. The residents of Caledonia have been caught in a fight that wasn't theirs. The Premier, indeed the Prime Minister, owes it to those people to have their lives returned to normal. The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Property rights must be protected Throughout history, the strong have forcibly taken what they want from the weak. Governments call it the law when they do it. Ordinary people call it theft. Whether the perpetrator is a petty thug, a monarch, a dictator or a democratically elected government, it is still contrary to the laws of natural justice. It is true that Canadians have no property rights in our Constitution. That wasn't expected to be a problem because we are supposed to live in a civilized society and it was consequently not expected that our governments would abuse their power. Unfortunately, they have been, and it has been getting steadily worse. I have written repeatedly about my family's plight in an attempt to wake my fellow citizens up to the fact that they could be next. Finally, the proposed tree by-law has struck a collective nerve. Hallelujah! Just because the government can take actions or make changes to the law that destroys the value of your property and have no obligation to compensate you doesn't mean that they should. It also doesn't mean that they are not criminals if they do. They may not be criminals under the criminal code of the land, but they are criminals in the eyes of the people they assault. The laws of natural justice do not have to be written for us to know what they are. Assault enough people and revolt will ensue. I hope that we have reached that critical mass of awareness and that the wave of public outrage surges. The federal government must take action if we to are to achieve property rights; property rights that are already unalienable in most of the rest of the Western world. It probably will come too late to help my family for now. I hope that it doesn't come too late to help yours. Halton MP Garth Turner says that he thinks that this country needs to bestow property rights upon its citizens. I want to thank him for taking action on this important cause. Let's hope that Stephen Harper and a majority of our federal representatives are willing to act on this critical issue and to act fast. We need results now. In the meantime, please don't vote for anyone who is opposed to individual property rights and keep communicating your outrage to all levels of government. DAVID BAZAR Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline.