7
WEDNESDAY, February 20, 2013
To vote or not to vote people supported the confederacy council. There were sheets of paper in the stores and restaurants I remember. I noticed there weren’t many signatures on the sheets, so perhaps that’s the reason the petition fizzled out and was never heard of again. Then I see Wes Elliot presented a transition plan to the confederacy council in preparation for the demise of the Indian Act. Elliot expects once the Indian Act is gone the elected council will be gone and the confederacy chiefs will be taking over the
Clans and Clan Mothers are an integral part of the traditional system. So people are not even given the opportunity for input. We know, as evidenced by the lack of any financial accounting from the HDI to the community, that the confederacy chiefs believe they aren’t obligated to account to the people. Even more disturbing is the confederacy council will not represent the whole community. According to their Eight Points of Jurisdiction position paper the confederacy chiefs would exclude the diversity of people and beliefs in our community. In the position
paper it says: “Nor do we want to exclude any groups or individuals as long as they agree to live by the principles of the Great Law and to follow the path as laid out for us by the Peacemaker”. What the confederacy chiefs are saying is that they will only represent and work for the people who believe as they do and who follow the traditional ways and attend longhouse. This selective governance was unacceptable in 1924 and should be unacceptable today. The elected council on the other hand doesn’t just work with and support the people who voted in the
election process; the chief and council represent every person who is a member of Six Nations no matter what their beliefs and lifestyle and religious choices. So people need to think about what kind of government they want and what government works best for our community. For certain, and speaking only for myself and not council, our community would not survive if the elected council only met once a month or put issues under the pillow for months and sometimes years. Councilor Helen Miller
NOTICE OF FINAL PUBLIC MEETINGS to be held by Prowind Inc. regarding a Proposal to Engage in a Renewable Energy Project
Project Name: Gunn’s Hill Wind Farm Project Location: Township of Norwich and City of Woodstock, Oxford County, Ontario Dated at Hamilton this the 15th of February, 2013 Prowind Inc. is planning to engage in a renewable energy project in respect of which the issuance of a Renewable Energy Approval (REA) is required. The distribution of this Notice of Final Public Meeting, and the project itself are subject to the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act (Act) Part V.0.1 and Ontario Regulation 359/09 (Regulation). This notice is being distributed in accordance with section 15 of the Regulation prior to an application being submitted and assessed for completeness by the Ministry of the Environment. This project is being proposed in accordance with the requirements of the Act and Regulation. The Final Public Meetings are being held to provide information on the proposed project and gather feedback. The Public Meetings will be an open house format. Meeting Dates and Locations: Date: Time: Location:
Tuesday, April 23, 2013 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm Oxford Centre Hall, 505386 Middletown Rd, Oxford Centre
Date: Time: Location:
Wednesday, April 24, 2013 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm Quality Inn & Suites, Vansittart Room 580 Bruin Blvd, Woodstock
Project Description: Pursuant to the Act and Regulation, the facility, in respect of which the project is to be engaged in, is considered to be a Wind Energy Facility, Class 4. If approved, this facility would have a total maximum nameplate capacity of 25 MW. The project location is shown on the map below. Documents for Public Inspection: The draft Project Description Report titled Gunn’s Hill Wind Farm Project Description Report – Draft describes the facility as a ten-turbine wind farm on agricultural land, with each turbine producing 2.5 MW of electricity for a total energy output of 25 MW. A written copy of the Draft Project Description Report was made available for public inspection on September 7, 2012 at: •
D
OA
City of Woodstock
GE
LETO MIDD IN WN L E
1 40
YR WA
E
CE
LA
RID
NUE
E LLO AV PATTU
LIN WN
R IVE
3 AY 40 HIGHW
LETO MIDD
NA D
WAY
AY 403 HIGHW
R OXFO
Township of Norwich
NT RE
D CE
R OAD
OLD S
TAG E
LETO MIDD IN E WN L
HO RN
RO A D
Legend
RO A
D
LL RO
A FIREH
LETO MIDD
>
OAD RG R
Turbine
AD
>
>
E
>
5m Access Roads
>
LIN WN
>
Blade Swept Area
Overhead Cable
59 WAY
INE AR L
Substation/O&M Building Laydown Area
Existing Roads Municipal Boundaries
>
HIGH
Buried Cables
CED
Phone: (905) 528-1747 Fax: (866) 203 6516 Email: info@prowind.ca Website: www.prowind.ca
E RCE
ABU
Prowind Canada Inc. 226 ½ James St. N., Unit A Hamilton, ON, L8R 2L3
AY HW
COMM
DRIVE
DRIVE NTCLAIR
JULIA
EP
S KEYE
SWE
Project Contacts and Information: To learn more about the project proposal or for general communications, please contact:
G HI
ON HL AT
MO
RO A D
Y LINE GR EENL
Further the applicant has prepared supporting documents as per Ontario Regulation 359/09. Written copies of the draft supporting documents will also be made available for public inspection on February 21, 2013 at the above noted locations.
ET
INSON
PARK
AD RO AY DS IVE LIN DR ON US
•
RE PAVEY ST
G FER
•
Woodstock Public Library, 445 Hunter St, Woodstock Norwich Public Library, 10 Tidey St, Norwich Download at www.prowind.ca ET TR E LE S FINK
There is a group of women led by Terri Lyn Brant who plan to ask people to sign a card stating their support for the confederacy council as the government of Six Nations and to refuse to vote in the elected system as well as make other affirmations. The intention Ms. Brant said recently is to get 2000 people over the age of 18 to sign unto the card. Presumably if the group gets 2000 people to take the card this would show more support for the confederacy council then for the elected council, given that we know the three-year election only garners anywhere from 1000 – 1500 votes. But there is a significant difference between Ms. Brant’s process and the three-year election process. The elected council elections give every eligible voter 18 years old and over the opportunity to vote in the advance poll and in the election poll whereas Ms. Brant’s process will be selective in recruiting people to sign onto their card. At least that’s the way it sounds. What Ms. Brant’s process won’t take into account is how many people don’t support the confederacy council as the government. In order to be fair Ms. Brant would have to give every person 18 years and over or the eligible voters the opportunity to sign unto their card or not to sign on. Only then could the group truly determine who the people support. Then too there are people who may support the confederacy council but not necessarily support the confederacy council as the government of Six Nations. According to reports when Ms. Brant presented her card idea to the confederacy council the Cayuga and Onondaga chiefs rejected the card and the idea but not so with Mohawk Chief Allan McNaughton. Chief McNaughton said the Mohawks supported the card. “We think it’s pretty good…and they should get them out there,” he said. My first thought was at what point did the Mohawks agree? I certainly didn’t agree and I don’t recall any Mohawk Clan meetings being advertised or called. Furthermore, all the Mohawks I’ve talked to since reading about this card either didn’t agree or didn’t know about the card. So who exactly makes up the “We” Chief McNaughton referenced? Ms. Brant claims there hasn’t been a petition asking who supports the confederacy council since 1923. I beg to differ. I think it was last summer Hazel Hill worked on and circulated a petition asking if
reins. But the confederacy chiefs have never said they want to take over the governance of Six Nations. Last I heard the confederacy chiefs only wanted the “exclusive” governance of the Eight Points of Jurisdiction. Six Nations is an $80 million operation with over 700 employees making up several departments necessary to run our community. So this would mean the confederacy council would most certainly have to change the way it does business. We know the confederacy council doesn’t consult with the people even though the
TEKAWENNAKE
´
CURR
IES RO
AD
> >
0
0.5
1 Kilometers
>
1.5
2
> S GU NN
H ILL R
OA D