BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
Your Data Your Rights
After demands for a meeting with government officials went unheeded, a group of Oka residents pledging solidarity with Kanesatake whistleblowers are taking a step closer to enacting checkpoints to stop dump trucks carrying potentially contaminated soil from entering the territory.
Other types of traffic would be allowed to pass, the group has said.
“I think it’s a unique occasion to show we’re hand in hand in protecting the people and the environment,” said Julie Tremblay-Cloutier, Oka resident and spokesperson of the group.
On the morning of September 8, concerned residents will assemble in Oka village alongside Kanehsata’kehró:non at 9 a.m. followed by open-air training at 9:30 a.m.
“That first part is really where we say hey, we’re here, and we’re showing off that we are here to do something and we are in solidarity,” said Tremblay-Cloutier.
The group had sought meetings with Quebec public safety minister François Bonnardel and his federal counterpart Dominic LeBlanc, but these efforts have sputtered.
“We really hope that from there we are taken seriously, and we can have that talk with the minister,” said Tremblay-Cloutier, who emphasized the group still prefers not to escalate to blocking the road.
A handful of Kanehsata’kehró:non are already registered, she said. She urges as many people as possible to attend, even to bring their families, emphasizing no one who goes to the training is obligated to participate in potential road blocks. Instead, the group’s current focus is on sending a message.
“We’re at that point where people know better, people want to do things right. People are way more aware, here especially in Oka, of what Indigenous people have been living the past 100 years,” said Tremblay-Cloutier. “I think it could be a very, very special day.”
While there are many fewer dump trucks bringing landfill of unknown quality into Kanesatake than there were at the peak, when hundreds of trucks per day were entering the territory, there has been a recent uptick in activity.
“They’re coming in from other ways. It really hasn’t stopped. That is confirmed,” said Tremblay-Cloutier. “I understand that the SQ has been sending some signals, and that was really nice. But as we can see it’s not enough.”
She passed 10 dump trucks on a recent drive, she added.
Yet, despite acknowledging that the number of trucks is on the rise again after a sharp decline before the construction holiday, Oka mayor Pascal Quevillon has condemned the Oka group’s effort as reckless, echoing his comments to The Pines Reporter when the prospect of road blocks was announced earlier this summer.
“I reiterate my disagreement with blocking the road and putting citizens at risk,” wrote Quevillon on his Facebook page, attaching screenshots of a recent La Presse article alleging ties between former G&R Recycling co-owner Roberto Scoppa and organized crime.
“It is not the role of citizens but rather of the competent authorities to do their job,” wrote Quevillon, who did not return a request for comment for this article by press-time.
He wrote in his post he is in contact with the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake (MCK) and other officials about the problem.
However, MCK chief Serge Otsi Simon said he is unaware of engagement from the mayor to Council on this issue. MCK grand chief Victor Bonspille, meanwhile, did not return a request for comment.
“The mayor, he’s actually showing his real colours,” said Simon. “He’s showing the situation in Kanesatake actually suits his political agenda. If we keep on acting the way we are now, he’s got a good reason to pressure the governments not to repatriate the lands we’re owed under treaty.”
He said the mayor ought to be telling the regional county municipality to pressure the provincial and federal governments to provide better resources to Kanesatake to manage its own security affairs, including local policing, a local fire department, and environmental officers.
“Until that happens, we’ll just keep going around in circles,” said Simon, who believes the Council’s recent efforts around lawmaking are part of the solution.
Simon has also noticed a recent increase in trucks, which he noted are now often unmarked – many trucks were previously branded by the construction firm Nexus – coming in using different roads.
A firm location for the checkpoint training has yet to be announced.
The Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) is a federally funded program to add coverage in under-covered areas or on under-covered issues. This content is created and submitted by participating publishers and is not edited. Access can also be gained by registering and logging in at: https://lji-ijl.ca.
You can support trusted and verified news content like this.
FIPA’s news monitor subscribers, donors and funders help make these available to everyone rather than behind a paywall. We appreciate every contribution because it makes a difference.
If you found this article interesting and useful, please consider contributing here.
