New First Nations police station draws protest

By Brian St. Denis

Protest: Protesters gathered early Wednesday morning in objection over a new police station being built.A protest against the installation of a new Tyendinaga police building ended early Wednesday night when activists delayed its delivery for a second time.
Approximately 25 native protesters braved the frigid weather for several days to protest the installation of the York Road station on the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, west of Deseronto.
The building, which was assembled off-site, was trucked in Oct. 29 but was not successfully installed on the site.
“The trucking company had to leave because their permits were only good for the daylight hours, so it when it started getting dark they had to get out of there,” said Brant Bardy, a spokesperson for the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory band office.
The original delivery date was Sept. 23, making this the second delay in just over a month. Bardy said the protest has not deterred plans to bring the building in.
“The building is bought and paid for, and every delay is pushing up costs,” said Bardy. “That’s an injustice to the community coffers.”
The issue of the heart of the protest was clean drinking water. According to the protesters, approximately 80 per cent of the community’s wells are contaminated. The Quinte Mohawk School, just seconds down the road, has to provide bottled water for students because the tap water is unsafe.
“They need to address the issues,” said Dan Doreen, spokesperson for the protesters. “They have bags over the fountains at the school.”
He said that they don’t object to the new building, but to the community having to match the government funding of $980,000. They believe this money should go to solving the drinking water problem first.
“Kids are number one,” said another protester.
Bardy said that the actions of the protesters were not representative of the community.
York Road was blocked off by the Mohawk Fire Department and several police officers for the duration of the protest. The protesters had a pick-up truck parked on the cement pad where the new building was to be placed.
The protesters also used a small tractor to dig on the property, claiming it was for a new youth centre, but Bardy said it was just a red herring.
Police announced early Wednesday morning that the protest had become a matter of public safety and blocked the public, including media, out of the area. Bardy said that a police investigation is underway, but Tyendinaga Police Chief Ron Maracle could not be reached for comment.