Bylsma not backing down on ‘all lives matter’ statement

Bylsma not backing down on ‘all lives matter’ statement

West Lincoln mayor violated township council’s code of conduct

• The Standard (St. Catharines)
• 28 Oct 2020
• ALLAN BENNER THE ST. CATHARINES STANDARD

JULIE JOCSAK TORSTAR FILE PHOTO

Protesters gathered at West Lincoln township hall in June following comments from Mayor David Bylsma they described as homophobic and racist. Township council voted to reprimand the mayor and order him to undergo sensitivity training.

Despite being reprimanded by the council he leads and being ordered to undergo sensitivity training, West Lincoln Mayor Dave Bylsma said he continues to believe in statements he made in June, described by complainants as “racist, homophobic and disrespectful of citizens who are not of his ilk.”

“I’m disappointed,” Bylsma said in an interview Tuesday, the morning after township councillors voted to implement most of the recommendations of integrity commissioner Daria Peregoudova from Aird & Berlis LLP.

Peregoudova’s investigation determined the mayor contravened three sections of the township’s code of conduct.

As a result of complaints about comments Bylsma made during a June 11 radio interview with CKTB 610, the integrity commissioner determined the mayor contravened a section of the code that calls for councillors to show respect and equal treatment; as well as a section that prevents harassment or discrimination.

Peregoudova also determined Bylsma contravened his duty to serve constituents in a conscientious and diligent manner by failing to communicate having received a request from Pride Niagara to raise the organization’s flag at township hall during Pride Week.

Although Bylsma was given 90 days to complete sensitivity training, he said he has already completed half that training as a result of Niagara Region’s inclusive municipalities initiative.

Still, he stood by the comments he made that led to the complaints against him in the first place.

“I mean, I thought I understood all lives matter to be an inclusive broad term, and I guess it has a connotation that I don’t understand anymore,” he said. “I’ll leave it at that.”

That statement, often used to criticize the Black Lives Matter movement, has itself been criticized for failing to recognize systemic racism and implying that all lives are equally at risk when statistics show they are not.

But Bylsma said: “If I truly believe that all lives matter, there’s no issue is there?”

“If you’re alive, you matter,” he added. “You can’t get much simpler than that.”

When concerns about failing to recognize systemic racism were pointed out to him, Bylsma said “if all lives matter, wouldn’t that matter to me as well?”

“I’m telling you that’s the truth — all lives matter,” he added. “If that’s now considered pejora

tive speech or loaded speech, then I guess the media, they’ve captured something.”

Township councillors also voted to carry on with developing a new flag-raising policy, to post a previous apology from the mayor on West Lincoln’s website and social media sites, and subject the mayor to exercising improved diligence with respect to the management of electronic communications and requests.

Ward 3 Smithville Coun. Cheryl Ganann, who chaired Monday night’s meeting, said only one recommendation from the integrity commissioner was not implemented; It called for sensitivity training for all members of council.

“If, as a council, we opted to do it at some time in the future, we didn’t want it connected to this decision,” Ganann said. “No one was objecting to having such training, but we didn’t want that connected to the integrity commissioner report because those things were directed at Mayor Bylsma.”

“My hope is coming out of this is that this will be the end of that, and we can just get back to being West Lincoln. We have a wonderful community,” she said.

Ward 2 Gainsborough Coun. Harold Jonker was alone in opposing the motion to implement the integrity commissioner’s recommendations against Bylsma.

“I don’t support what council did. I actually agree with the mayor that all lives matter,” he said.

Jonker called it “mind-boggling” to say Bylsma needs sensitivity training.

“He’s a very caring person … He’s a man that cares about his community, cares about his family, cares about where things are going.”

Although Pride Niagara chair Enzo Dedivitiis called Bylsma’s response to council’s decision “really unfortunate,” he said he hasn’t given up hope that the mayor may yet understand the concerns.

“People make mistakes and part of evolving is learning. As long as we together are learning and changing in a positive direction, that’s what being an ally is.”

Saleh Waziruddin from the Niagara Region Anti Racism Coalition said he, too, was pleased with council’s decision.

“Everybody can benefit from education,” he said. “We definitely hope the mayor benefits from it, but that other people are also open to undergoing the same type of training.”

Haldimand mayor feels undermined by St. Catharines “leftist agenda” (The Niagara Independent)

(https://niagaraindependent.ca/haldimand-mayor-feels-undermined-by-st-catharines-leftist-agenda/)

Haldimand mayor feels undermined by St. Catharines “leftist agenda”

by Don Rickers

October 27, 2020 

Protestors in Caledonia set tires on fire in protest of a housing development.

Renaissance polymath Leonardo de Vinci once aphorized “the greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions.”

Let’s give the benefit of the doubt to the City of St. Catharines’ Anti-Racism Advisory Committee, and City Council. Perhaps their motive was simply to be instructively helpful to the citizens of Haldimand County, suggesting the fashion in which the Indigenous blockades at an urban development construction site in Caledonia should be handled. Communication, not confrontation. Talk, not tasers.

Mayor Walter Sendzik and his Council have talked a lot about support for First Nations. In fact, they have a Memorandum of Understanding (MoE) with the Niagara Native Centre, and commence every council meeting with a statement acknowledging the land occupied by the City is the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois, or Six Nations) and Anishinaabe (Ojibway and Mississauga) tribes, and that our “standard of living is directly related to the resources and friendship of Indigenous peoples.”

At the opening of the Oct. 19 video-conferenced council meeting, Sendzik put his cards on the table, stating that “it’s important for communities like St. Catharines to articulate the importance of working with our Indigenous brothers and sisters, and getting to a place of better understanding, whether it be out on the East Coast as it relates to the lobster fishery, or in Caledonia. The use of force, and the use of violence and aggression, is never a good tool towards reconciliation.”

What came next was a recommendation put forward by the City’s Anti-Racism Advisory Committee, which was presented by Coucillor Greg Miller and endorsed unanimously by Council. The resolution was sent to the Haldimand County mayor and council, Haldimand Police Services Board, and Premier Doug Ford, urging that “police not be used to escalate the conflict, and instead use nation-to-nation negotiations and meaningful consultations to settle all claims.”

Haldimand mayor Ken Hewitt responded with an email to Sendzik, in which he said he felt undermined by the “offside” and “leftist” resolution, which “assumes that racism is driving the efforts by (me) and Council, the police, and the courts”… as they “attempt to resolve the illegal occupation” by the protestors.

Such are the pitfalls of dispensing unsolicited advice.

Saleh Waziruddin, Chair of the Anti-Racism Advisory Committee, asserted that the reason the Haldimand Police Services Board was included in the resolution was because a communiqué from the Board referred to the Caledonia protesters as “terrorists.” Waziruddin considered that rhetoric to represent a “dangerous escalation”, and referenced the Ipperwash Crisis 25 years ago in which native protestor Dudley George was killed by an OPP officer.

“There are residents in St. Catharines, and people who work in the City, who are at Caledonia out of solidarity with the protestors, and they could be vulnerable to police violence,” said Waiziruddin as a further explanation of his committee’s interest in the Caledonia dispute. He also noted that a St.Catharines-based Indigenous journalist, Karl Dockstader, had been arrested at the site. “Haldimand is right next door, and it would be wrong for St. Catharines to do nothing,” insisted Waziruddin.

Asked if he felt that the blockades in Caledonia, and similar Indigenous actions earlier this year such as the rolling blockades on Highway 401 near London and Kingston, and on the Via Rail tracks near Belleville, should be allowed to proceed unencumbered, Waziruddin responded, “It’s not in our committee’s mandate to take a position like that. But many people in Hamilton support the (Caledonia) protesters, despite the inconvenience of the blockades.”

Sendzik’s response to Hewitt (a three-term mayor in Haldimand County) via email acknowledged that “the motion would have been better if discussed within a time frame that would have permitted more understanding of the situation.” He insisted that the spirit of the motion was pure, and not tied to a leftist agenda.

When asked for comment, Mayor Sendzik’s office referred The Niagara Independent to Councillor Greg Miller who brought the motion to council. Miller did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.

Hewitt suggested that the more appropriate and respectful action for St. Catharines Council would have been to defer a vote on the motion until he and Sendzik could have had a conversation. He questioned whether, if First Nations protestors had taken over Montebello Park, local government would have been so tolerant.

With regard to the arrest of Karl Dockstader, Hewitt commented “this individual is playing a bit of a game with the public at large by saying that he was there reporting. He was actually there playing lacrosse, participating in activities with protestors on site. If you’re a reporter, if you’re there performing a function, that’s fair.  But if you’re involved beyond your duties, then you should be charged just the same as anyone else. Did it ever occur to ask why no other journalist that’s been at that site has been arrested?”

Hewitt believes that the mainstream media continues to portray the people at the blockades as peaceful protesters. “I’m not afraid to say what’s really going on, and what’s going on here is a lot less than peaceful. Through experience, they know how far to push. At what point do we take a measured approach? At what point do laws apply?,” said Hewitt.

“To those who believe that we’ve stolen this land (from Indigenous peoples), that all of this land is theirs, that we’re all squatters, I say ‘you lead the charge’…. show me that you really mean that and go over to Six Nations and say ‘here’s the title of my property, because I stole it from you’. Yeah, well….you know it’s not going to happen.”

Ontario Superior Judge R. John Harper ruled last Thursday to ban all barricades in Haldimand County, and limit access to the housing development in question. Clashes between barricade defenders and the OPP occurred several hours later, as the police moved to enforce the court injunction. Protestors accused the OPP of using rubber bullets and tasers, while the police responded that several cruisers were heavily damaged as the protest grew more violent, and the police used “appropriate, non-lethal force in response.”

Foxgate paid $4 million to purchase the property in 2016 from private owners. The land has been in private ownership since 1853. The claim being advanced by the protesters at Caledonia is that prior to 1853, the Crown should not have allowed the land to come under private ownership.

The deal to purchase the land was signed by Foxgate with the elected council of Six Nations. The protestors are claiming that there was not enough community consultation and that the Six Nations elected council doesn’t have a legitimate mandate to speak for Six Nations band members.

Foxgate gave $352,000 in cash and transferred 42 acres of land to Six Nations as part of an accommodation agreement.

Don Rickers

Don Rickers’ career in education spanned over three decades, and included stints as a teacher, student recruiter, coach, boarding school housemaster, enrollment management director, and headmaster. He has travelled extensively and visited hundreds of schools around the globe, and served for almost ten years on the governing committee of the Association of Boarding Schools based in Washington, DC. Now a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists, his freelance articles have been featured in newspapers, blogs, and educational journals. A former national team lacrosse player, he holds a masters degree from Brock University, and is a member of the board of directors of the South Niagara Rowing Club. He resides in Fonthill.

Haldimand mayor accuses St. Catharines city council of ‘leftist agenda’ in Indigenous land dispute (St. Catharines Standard)

(https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news/niagara-region/2020/10/22/haldimand-mayor-accuses-st-catharines-city-council-of-leftist-agenda-in-indigenous-land-dispute.html)

Haldimand mayor accuses St. Catharines city council of ‘leftist agenda’ in Indigenous land dispute

Motion to support negotiations over police action called ‘plain and simple wrong’

By Karena WalterStandard Reporter

Thu., Oct. 22, 2020timer3 min. read

The mayor of Haldimand County is accusing St. Catharines city council of jumping on “a leftist agenda” that is “more damaging than helpful” after councillors asked that police not be used to escalate conflict in an Indigenous land dispute in that community.

St. Catharines council unanimously passed a motion Monday night on the recommendation of its anti-racism advisory committee, asking officials in Niagara’s neighbouring community to continue to negotiate rather than call in police at 1492 Land Back Lane.

“My frustrations are with your motion that undermines a situation that directly affects us here in Haldimand,” Mayor Ken Hewitt wrote in an email to St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik Wednesday night.

“Too (sic) simply jump on a leftist agenda and assume that racism is what is driving mine, the OPP, and our courts as we attempt to resolve this illegal occupation of validly owned land by Losani is plain and simple wrong.”

But Sendzik defended the council motion in an email back to Hewitt, obtained by the One Dish, One Mic CKTB radio program and posted on Twitter.

“This isn’t a leftist agenda,” Sendzik wrote. “The action in the motion states that police force not be used to escalate the conflict and to focus on nation to nation negotiations to settle the land claims. That was the spirit of the motion and one that we should all should (sic) support.”

The issue involves property south of Caledonia that was slated for a residential development and has been occupied by Indigenous land defenders since July.

The city’s anti-racism advisory committee passed a resolution on Oct. 7 recommending St. Catharines council send a message to the Ontario and Haldimand County governments and the Haldimand County Police Services Board asking that police not be used to escalate the conflict and that meaningful consultations be used to settle all claims.

Merritton Coun. Greg Miller, who moved the motion Monday night, said Thursday that at the end of the day council was suggesting that instead of having police action there continue to be a nation to nation negotiation and discussion.

“Emotions are pretty high around this issue, but I feel pretty safe saying an email like that from Ken Hewitt doesn’t help,” Miller said.

“What we wanted to see, and I think what our anti-racism committee wanted to see, is to take some of the emotion out and have a discussion and equitable negotiation and, unfortunately, when you refer to the occupation as illegal, that’s just stoking the flames and I think that’s really unfortunate.”

Hewitt wrote in his email to Sendzik, which he asked to be shared with the rest of council, that the St. Catharines motion “does not serve the 200 or so innocent home buyers who are patiently waiting for their dream home to be built.”

Hewitt added that contractors are waiting to earn the incomes they deserve and the community wants to see the “constant sources of intimidation and threats of violence” come to an end.

“You see what you may hear or read about on mainstream or social media is not fully capturing what is happening here on the ground,” Hewitt wrote.

“Before I would support a motion that directly affects another community in the Province I would take the time (to) gainfully appreciate all sides of the equation prior to succumbing to some one sided agenda that is more damaging than helpful.”

Sendzik responded in his letter that members of St. Catharines council and the community have become more interested in the land dispute with the arrest by the OPP of a local journalist, referring to Karl Dockstader of One Dish, One Mic who was charged after reporting from the camp.

Sendzik added that the city has a memorandum of understanding with the Niagara Native Centre and it is a cornerstone of how the city is walking down the path of Truth and Reconciliation.

“Two members of the leadership at the NNC have been arrested by the OPP related to land dispute (one being the journalist) and in the context of what is happening in Canada recently (and its troubled past with First Nations, Metis and Inuit) it is clear that WE — the collective we — have a long way to go towards both understanding and building new ways to address issues that have been framed for generations against First Nations.”

Karena Walter is a St. Catharines-based reporter, primarily covering city hall for the Standard. Reach her via email: karena.walter@niagaradailies.com

St. Catharines council supports negotiations over police action at 1492 Land Back Lane (St. Catharines Standard)

(https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news/council/2020/10/19/st-catharines-council-supports-negotiations-over-police-action-at-1492-land-back-lane.html) 

City weighs into neighbouring county’s Indigenous land dispute

By Karena WalterStandard Reporter

Tue., Oct. 20, 2020

St. Catharines city council is asking that police not be used to escalate the conflict at 1492 Land Back Lane, south of Caledonia, at the recommendation of its anti-racism advisory committee.

The parcel of land slated for a residential development in Niagara’s neighbour, Haldimand County, has been occupied by Indigenous land defenders since July.

The anti-racism committee passed a resolution Oct. 7 recommending St. Catharines council send a message to its government neighbours asking them to choose negotiations with land defenders over police action.

“What I’m asking us to do is support our anti-racism advisory committee who feel it’s important for the city to show leadership and support of the Indigenous community and First Nations communities, not just in St. Catharines but throughout Ontario and throughout Canada,” said Merritton Coun. Greg Miller, who brought the motion to send a message forward before council Monday night.

Councillors waived the notice of motion requirement so they could deal with the anti-racism committee’s recommendation immediately.

Miller said the issue is complex but there was an urgency because the committee felt council should weigh in on the matter before an Oct. 22 injunction hearing, at which time it’s believed Ontario Provincial Police may move in to remove people occupying the site.

Council unanimously voted to support sending a message to the Ontario and Haldimand County governments and the Haldimand County police services board requesting police not be used to escalate the conflict and instead, use nation-to-nation negotiations and meaningful consultations to settle all claims.

Saleh Waziruddin, chair of the anti-racism committee, told members during the Oct. 7 meeting there is an escalating situation in a neighbouring community where the mayor, council and police services board have advocated police action.

He noted that can be a dangerous escalation when looking at history and the Ipperwash crisis, during which Indigenous protester Dudley George was shot and killed by police 25 years ago.

Waziruddin said there is a local connection to Land Back Lane with the arrest of Indigenous journalist Karl Dockstader, who was covering the land dispute.

But he said it goes beyond that.

“It’s not just about the St. Catharines connection — the mayor has already made a statement in support of that journalist — but it’s also about St. Catharines’ role as a municipality with a dangerous situation next door and not doing anything about it,” Waziruddin said.

Dockstader, co-host of One Dish, One Mic on St. Catharines CKTB 610AM, was charged with criminal mischief in September after reporting from a camp at the land dispute. The arrest was strongly condemned by the Canadian Association of Journalists and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression.

While the motion had the full support of all councillors, a couple questioned whether the anti-racism committee was overstepping its mandate by dealing with issues taking place outside of the city and region.

City clerk Bonnie Nistico-Dunk said that was a question she would be looking at when she does a review of council committees and meets with their chairs.

The anti-racism committee also recommended city council request Niagara Region council and the Niagara Regional Police services board support the recommendation. That was struck from the motion Monday night because those bodies are not meeting before Oct. 22.

Karena Walter is a St. Catharines-based reporter, primarily covering cityhHall for the Standard. Reach her via email: karena.walter@niagaradailies.com