Akwesasne Mohawk Warriors vow to storm Border Post

By David Gonczol, Canwest News Service,
May 30, 2009





AKWESASNE, Ont. - Mohawk Warriors from the Akwesasne reserve near Cornwall, Ont. say they will storm a Canada Border Services Agency post on Monday and shut down the international border crossing unless their political leaders receive a commitment from the federal government not to arm border guards at the post, which stands on reserve territory.

The CBSA started arming guards in 2007, and officers at the Akwesasne reserve, which straddles the Ontario-Quebec-New York boundary, are scheduled to begin carrying 9 mm handguns on Monday.

The Mohawks say they don't want armed guards at the post because it would violate their sovereignty and increase the likelihood of violent confrontations.

``We are going to clear them out,'' said Thomas Stacy, a middle-aged former professional wrestler who stood across from the border post with a small group of young men carrying large Mohawk Warrior flags on Saturday.

They kept a low profile Saturday during a peaceful rally organized by the Akwesasne Mohawk Council. About 100 people gathered at the post to demand that the CBSA not arm the guards and that their demand be sent to officials in Ottawa.

``(Sunday) night at 12 o'clock (midnight) we have to have an answer,'' Stacy said.

``If that answer don't come, that's it. Monday is going to be the worst. That's the crackdown. It's going to be over. It's going to be done. No more signing papers, no more negotiations - nothing.''

Stacy said the reserve's political leaders have been in fruitless discussions with the CBSA and federal officials.

``We are not getting anywhere with the government. The government is going to come over here and take over everything,'' he said.

The Mohawk Warriors are a long-standing group that is separate from hereditary chiefs or more modern elected chiefs and councils. Stacy said they have made it clear to the council and to the Akwesasne police that if the government does not back away from its plan, the Warriors will act.

``What we are waiting for is an answer from Ottawa. We don't get that answer action has got to be taken by the people,'' he said.

Brendan White, a spokesman for the First Nation, said the elected leadership is working toward a negotiated settlement and will ``continue to make itself available to have that dialogue with the federal government.''

``We remain hopeful that the federal officials will see the need to address our concerns,'' White said. ``I guess we are in a wait-and-see mode right now. The community is frustrated.''

After Monday, he said, it will be ``in the hands of the community.''

Howard Thompson, chief of the Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs, representing all Mohawks in Canada, said he was worried about ``someone instigating something that would get out of hand.''

``We don't want to have to come and pick up the pieces later,'' he said. ``We would rather do it peacefully and negotiate something, rather than doing some kind of physical demonstration.''

``June 1 isn't the end; it's the beginning for us to continue to working toward not having armed customs officers here.''

...

The council has been told that 18 border guards from the Akwesasne post are receiving weapons training and some of them will be ready to carry them.

The Akwesasne leadership has long warned against the move in letters to federal politicians.

``We seriously consider your government's actions in arming the (CBSA) guards as a direct assault on our sovereignty, which resonates into an act of war against our people,'' wrote Grand Chief Tim Thompson in a 2008 letter to Stockwell Day, public safety minister at the time and now minister for international trade.

Ottawa Citizen with files from Canwest News Service

CAW president says talks intensifying as demands on union pile up

TORONTO — Labour concession talks between General Motors of Canada and the Canadian Auto Workers intensified Monday, several days past a government-imposed deadline, as the union president said demands were getting out of hand.

"We believe we've already made the sacrifices necessary, we believe we're close to our limit," CAW president Ken Lewenza said in an interview.

"At the end of the day, sooner or later, we're not going to be able to go any further and we're close to that."

Teams bargained all through the long weekend aiming to strike a cost-cutting deal that will unlock $6 billion in assistance for the financially-troubled automaker.

Ottawa and the Ontario government allowed the parties to continue talking past Friday's midnight deadline, while also working behind the scenes to broker a deal.

Lewenza had said "tiny steps of progress" were being made, but by Monday afternoon he still saw no signs of an agreement being reached.

Still, he insisted that talks can't break down - making his team feel like they "have a gun pointed to our head" - because otherwise the company will be forced into filing for bankruptcy.

When negotiations resumed early Monday the two master committees met face-to-face before breaking off into smaller groups in an attempt to deal with the most pressing issues.

Pensions, benefits and wages continue to be the main points of contention, he said, especially because he feels the union has already made greater concessions than were asked of Chrysler.

Last month, Chrysler reached a deal with union members that cut the company's labour costs by $19 an hour.

But GM is in an even worse financial position largely due to a ballooning pension deficit.

On Monday Lewenza urged both the governments and the company to stop demanding more, step back and analyzes the contributions CAW has now put on the table.

"We need to conclude these negotiations because our members are on the edge and the economy is on the edge the longer this goes on," he said.

And with talks now heating up between the United Auto Workers and GM's U.S. parent, Lewenza foresees greater pressure on his union, he added.

On account of the Victoria Day holiday, Lewenza said he wasn't expecting any "major decisions" around a deal to be made until Tuesday.

CAW members last ratified a deal with GM in March, less than a year after settling a three-year contract. While it provided the company with about $7 an hour in labour savings, the two governments almost immediately said it didn't do enough to cut costs.

Without a stringent deal, the worst-case scenario for GM would see the company's Canadian assets liquidated.

GM has until the end of May to provide governments in Canada and the United States with a restructuring plan that could include filing for bankruptcy protection.

GM Canada currently employs 7,500 hourly workers at a car plant in Oshawa, a transmission plant in Windsor and an engine plant in St. Catharines. It also operates the GM-Suzuki joint-venture CAMI plant in Ingersoll, also in southern Ontario.

A truck plant in Oshawa closed last Thursday and the Windsor transmission factory will be shut next year.