> Subject: JUNE 16 UPDATE FROM AKWESASNE: MINISTER"S COMMENTS INACCURATE
> Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:52:35 -0400
> From: kanentiio@aol.com
>
> For immediate release:
> Ohiari:ha / June 16, 2009
>
> For more information:
> Brendan F. White
> Communications Officer,
> Mohawk Council of Akwesasne
> Cell: (613) 551-3287
> Email: bwhite@akwesasne.ca
>
> MOHAWKS OF AKWESASNE ISSUE RESPONSE TO
> PUBLIC SAFETY MINISTER INTERVIEW
>
> AKWESASNE, ONTARIO — Yesterday’s radio interview with Canadian 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 protes
> ters 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.
> --30--
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment