TORONTO – Ontario Aboriginal Affairs Minister Michael Bryant is slamming the federal government for not moving quickly enough to settle an aboriginal land-claim dispute in southern Ontario.
He says Ottawa should “accelerate” a resolution to the dispute in Caledonia, which erupted two years ago when Six Nations protesters blockaded roads and a rail line.
Bryant suggested the federal government exacerbated tensions in the town near Hamilton when Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney recently called on the province to charge native activists with extortion.
Bryant says the Conservatives need to stop hesitating and move on with a solution.
He called on Ottawa yesterday to put a deadline to the talks in Caledonia, where aboriginals have been staging a land claim-related occupation for about two years.
But Bryant wouldn’t say when a deadline should be set, saying that should be up to Ottawa.
