Mohawks of Akwesasne Issue Response to Public Safety Minister Interview
Ohiari:ha / June 16, 2009AKWESASNE, ONTARIO — Yesterday’s radio interview with Public Safety
Minister Peter Van Loan on Cornwall’s AM1220 was simply a chance for the minister to deflect blame away from the Federal government over the
situation at Akwesasne, and to continue to mislead the public in believing
there have been efforts at the federal level to resolve the situation.
Instead of addressing the great financial impacts being felt by Cornwall
businesses, Minister Van Loan simply restated his stance that CBSA will
not send their officers back to work unarmed, and he continued to insist
that Mohawk Council of Akwesasne was consulted on the issue of arming the customs officers, despite the Grand Chief’s announcement last week
disputing this claim. The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne maintains that the
federal government of Canada must consult on a government to government level with the Mohawks, and that the Canada Border Services Agency does not have the authority to consult, or negotiate, on behalf of the Government of Canada.
In response to the question of arriving at a solution to the issue, the
Minister referred Cornwall business owners to the Mohawk protesters for
answers, suggesting that suffering Cornwall businesses had Mohawks to
blame for the bridge closure, instead of addressing the issue at hand,
which is the arming of customs officers who have demonstrated a pattern of racial profiling and abuse of authority.
In response to the question of why the customs officers cannot go back to work, unarmed, while the issue is discussed and negotiated, Van Loan said simply that the CBSA will not send their officers back to work unarmed - clearly dodging the real question of why Canada is not working toward a resolution. This is an arbitrary policy decision, and the Minister’s
response in the interview was illogical and evasive. The customs officers
were not armed on May 31st, and both the CBSA port and Akwesasne community members were safe.
Minister Van Loan clearly wants the CBSA to speak for Canada instead of
dealing directly with the Mohawk governments. To date, there have been
no attempts by the Minister’s office to meet with the Mohawk Council of
Akwesasne.
The Mohawks of Akwesasne continue to encourage supporters to help urge the Minister of Public Safety to engage the Akwesasne leadership in meaningful and respectful discussion toward a peaceful resolution. Minister Van Loan’s office can be contacted by phone at (613)996-7752, by fax at (613)992-8351, or by email at VanLoP@parl.gc.ca
To listen to the interview, visit www.am1220.ca
