Whether the Ministry of the Environment gets a court injunction against the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) or whether it is the city of Hamilton, it appears such an injunction will be required if the dredging of Chedoke Creek is to proceed this year. Representatives of HDI successfully blocked any work last year by paddling watercraft into the creek and preventing work from commencing. They argue they have standing in the matter and must be consulted before the remediation can take place; but the elected Six Nations of the Grand Chief, Mark Hill issued a public letter to municipalities urging them to not do business with this group. The city has already reached amicable agreement with three elected bands in the area and unless somebody wants to argue that hereditary lineage is more legitimate than elected bodies in 2023 the matter should end there. City staff, asked about the negotiations with HDI last year, described the talks as “transactional”—in other words, it was all about money.
The City’s position in its recent court filing appears to be that since it is the Environment Ministry putting on the pressure to get the dredging done, they should take the legal steps to deal with HDI, but that is not likely to happen as the Ford Government has shown no eagerness to get involved in the ongoing occupation in Caledonia, where once again the developer had come to terms with the elected band only to be thwarted by unelected activists.
If HDI is allowed to block this project again this year they will only be emboldened to extort funds from other public works. The First Nations have been properly consulted and have agreed to the project. It is time to put a end to this obstruction. Whoever seeks the injunction, it looks like it will be the Hamilton Police Service who will be asked to enforce it; and correspondence suggests they are prepared to do their duty, hopefully in a peaceful manner. This situation is not a good look for anyone involved, so it is best to get it over as quickly as possible.
Seen silence delays before. Those that are holding this up are looking for money or any delay over time would help reduce the health concerns as far as waste materials.The lack of Trust shows up once again.