More than half of charges related to Land Back Lane occupation withdrawn

Twenty-four out of 41 peoplewhofaced charges related to the occupation of a housing development site in Caledonia, Ont., have had them withdrawn by the court.

"It's a relief but there's still so many other places where our lands are being developed without our consent," said Courtney Skye, a research fellow at the Yellowhead Institute,a First Nations-led research centre based in Toronto,from Six Nations of the Grand River.

"It's really been proven over the past year where I've had to wait out this kind of unjust criminalization to be where I'm at now where it's OK for me to feel comfortable in my own territory again,"

Skye was one of many arrested after visiting 1492 Land Back Lane, asite occupiedbymembers ofSix Nations of Grand River since July 2020 to halt the now-cancelledMcKenzie Meadows housingdevelopment. The site is on part of the Haldimand Tract granted to Six Nations of the Grand River in 1784 for allying with the British during the American Revolution.

Charges against her for mischief, disobeying a court order and breach of conditions were withdrawn on Oct. 12. Skye said she donated $500 to an organization and the Crown agreed to not seek a conviction.

"I wasn't a part of the planning. I wasn't there during the initial raid," she said.

"When our communities are under threat, you show up and you go there and you do whatever you can to help out your community members. To me, that was just the Haudenosaunee thing to do."

She said dealing with the arrest andthe conditions imposed by the court impacted her career as a policy analyst, weighed on her family, and her own mental health.

"It raised a lot of questions around like whether or not I would be able to do the type of work that I do with vulnerable people because oftentimes you need to have a clean record," said Skye.

Over 50 arrests were made in relation to the occupation of the site. They included journalists, supporters attending concerts or lacrosse matches held at the site, and even some individualsdropping off food and water according to criminal defence lawyer Ian McCuaig.

According to Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney General, 24individuals have had their charges withdrawn or resolved by diversion to date. One individual pleaded guilty.

McCuaig said the Crownagreed to divert most of the charges.

"Essentially anyone who is in the category of just disobeying the court order, mischief, and then one breach has either been already diverted or is in the process of being diverted," he said.

Among them is Karl Dockstader, a journalist from Oneida Nation of the Thames, who was arrested in September2020.

"It felt validating to have my charges dropped," said Dockstader.

"It was intense. I was worried about my job, my reputation, and my family. It was devastating. I honestly thought about it every day when I woke up and every night before I went to bed for the entirety of the three months."

Juno-award winning musician Tom Wilson also had charges against him dropped, after being arrested for performing at the camp. He said he feelsthe police were heavy handed in making arrestsbut that the tactic ultimately failed as the occupation continues over a year later.

"They were expecting that the threat of arrest was going to stop the land back movement or stop the support of it like it was some kind of fad," said Wilson.

"You can't deter people's beliefs and you can deter people's good will with colonial laws."

There are still 16 individuals facing charges that remain before the court.