Blockade dismantled, for now…
“Batchewana First Nation Dismantles Railway Blockade, For Now”
At 8:00am this morning Batchewana First Nation community members began to dismantle the railway blockade, which was erected yesterday in opposition to the HST. The dismantle came after a collective agreement amongst organizers, and community members.
The railway blockade was hosted by Batchewana First Nation to send a message to the Federal and Provincial governments that they will be held accountable for their plans to integrate point of sale tax exemption into the HST framework, come September 1st, 2010.
Batchewana First Nation citizens are not appeased by the tentative agreement, which will require First Nations to pay both portions of the HST from July 1st to September 1st, 2010. Chief Dean Sayers commented that, “ history has not been kind, and Canada does not have a good track record with First Nations agreements, September 1st may never come”.
While the duration of the railway blockade was described, as “indefinite” Batchewana First Nation is confident that the message and intent of the day’s actions were fulfilled. Chief Sayers added, “The blockade was an initiative and directive of our people. It was their voices that encouraged this action, and in turn it was their decision when it would be enough. One day may not seem like a long time but with the help and support we received, it was enough to get our message across.”
Follow up meetings will be held at the Batchewana band office this week for organizers and participants. Points of discussion will include measurable outcomes for reinstating the point of sale tax exemption by the September 2010 deadline. One particular Chief Sayers called for was a meeting between Senior political representatives and representatives of the crown (now Canada) and the Batchewana First Nation leadership in regards to taxation immunity (issues) and a resolution process to historical treaty interpretation differences.
Batchewana First Nation would like thank all of the participants and organizers of the blockade. The support was overwhelming and the unity demonstrated throughout the day was extremely encouraging!
