Teens trash 21 Quebec provincial police cruisers

Teens trash 21 Quebec provincial police cruisers

The Canadian Press
July 23, 2008

The damage caused to the police vehicles was about $5,000
Imacom, Charles-Antoine Auger

SHERBROOKE, Que. — Two teens were nabbed by police after they managed to trash 21 Quebec provincial police cars in a parking lot early Wednesday.

Sherbrooke police driving by the lot around 1:30 a.m. spotted the 13-year-olds, who smashed windows and mirrors on the cruisers, ripped off windshield wipers and slashed tires. They also tried to burn one car.

Damages are estimated at between $5,000 and $10,000.

The cruisers were parked behind a company which was slated to install new equipment in them.

The teens were charged Wednesday with breaking and entering and mischief.

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Disturbance at Renous prison

Renous prison under partial lockdown
Inmates locked up following seven-hour incident at maximum-security prison located near Miramichi

By Yvon Gauvin
Times & Transcript staff [New Brunswick]
Published Saturday July 19th, 2008

RENOUS – The Atlantic Institution in Renous was in a partial lockdown situation yesterday after a seven-hour disturbance in Unit 1 of the maximum-security prison late Thursday night.

The disturbance began at about 10:30 p.m. and ended at about 5:30 a.m. yesterday when the 60 inmates returned to their cells.

The prison incident response team was involved in efforts to diffuse the tense situation.

The inmates will remain in their cells on a 24-hour basis until prison officials complete their investigation and deem it safe to resume normal operations at the unit.

No one was hurt but there was damage to the unit, including damage to lights and cell door windows, said Correctional Service of Canada spokeswoman Natalie Arsenault yesterday.

Prison officials were assessing the damages yesterday, she said.

The officials weren’t saying what sparked the incident or if there were any demands from inmates after they refused to return to their cells for evening lock up.

Lockdowns of this type are necessary to ensure the safety of inmates and staff, said Arsenault.

The prison houses 230 inmates.

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Kanehsatake Mohawks barricaded Quebec highway following police intervention

Kanesatake Mohawks barricaded Quebec highway following police intervention

The Canadian Press
July 26, 2008

Kanesatake, Que. — Kanesatake Mohawks barricaded a Quebec highway early Saturday following an intervention by the Quebec provincial police.

Police say 12 to 15 individuals blocked Highway 344 near the town of Oka by dragging trees into the road and setting them on fire.

Police contacted the Mohawk band council, who convinced the individuals to end the blockade.

The road was cleared by Quebec Transport Ministry employees by 10 a.m..

Two police vehicles were damaged during the incident.

Charges are expected to be laid against a number of individuals involved in the barricade.

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Two more arrests at Tsawwassen power protest

One man arrested at Tsawwassen power protest
Crews installing last seven of 19-tower, transmission-line project

Frank Luba, The Province [British Columbia]
Published: Friday, July 25, 2008

A protester was arrested yesterday for allegedly breaching a court order prohibiting interference with a $275-million, high-powered transmission-line project in Tsawwassen.

“When the police came to tell us we should move back, this gentleman was just asking where the line was, where he should not stand,” said resident Yvonne Bennett, who was among 20 or so protesters at the site.

“The officer told him he was under arrest.

“We feel it’s unacceptable. We have the right as Canadians to be here.”

The man was released and not charged. Const. Paul Eisenzimmer said the investigation is continuing.

Residents who are opposed to the project say it presents health and safety risks.

Two other protesters are to appear in B.C. Supreme Court on Aug. 1.

The first, a Vancouver man, is alleged to have interfered with the project by sitting on a pole stub — a support for a transmission tower — and ripping out survey stakes.

The second, a Delta man, is alleged to have used a large mirror to reflect light at two workers in a bucket truck almost 20 metres in the air.

B.C. Transmission Corp. spokeswoman Thoren Hudyma said workers on the project have been verbally threatened, and had bags of dog feces thrown at them and hung off equipment.

“We’re hoping that people will show some respect for the court process,” said Hudyma.

“We hope people in the community will allow our workers to do their job safely.”

The Tsawwassen portion of the line from the Lower Mainland to Vancouver Island is the last part of the project. Twelve of the 19 towers in Tsawwassen have been finished. The line is supposed to be operating in October.

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10 Windows of an RBC on Coast Salish Territories (Vancouver) Smashed

10 Windows of an RBC on Coast Salish Territories (Vancouver) Smashed

[Posted by Some Toads on July 24, 2008, to friendsofgrassynarrows.com]

On the night of July 23, we joyfully smashed out 10 windows of the RBC at First and Commercial. It should be painfully obvious why we did this. It is a bank. Death to the market and the systems of repression!

Some Toads

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Coast Salish Territories (Vancouver): Another Kiewit Truck Swallowed By Fire

Coast Salish Territories (Vancouver): Another Kiewit Truck Swallowed By Fire

[Posted by Anon on July 23, 2008, to friendsofgrassynarrows.com]

in the early morning of tuesday july 22nd 2008 a truck belonging to peter kiewit and sons parked off of victoria drive was lit on fire. kiewit is making a(nd) killing off of the development of the sea to sky highway. this highway development, along with the new high speed train line linking the airport to downtown, and the construction of new powerlines through tsawwassen communities, is paving the way for an intensification of development, resource extraction, tourism, ecological devastation and repression. progress is a weapon used by the rich to impose the resulting misery of their projects upon our lives. this action was done in solidarity with people attacking capitalist projects everywhere, from six nations and their battles in ontario to the people who made “deep cuts” in the new powerline poles and threatened developers with crowbars in tsawwassen. we are at war and our promise to developers and the pigs that protect them, their projects, and world is simple: as long as you build alienation and exploitation into our lives and territory we will not hesitate to consume your nightmares with our fire!

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Trio charged with arson in Abbotsford condo blaze

Trio charged with arson in Abbotsford condo blaze

By Rochelle Baker – Abbotsford News [British Columbia]
Published: July 22, 2008

Three suspects have been arrested and charged with arson in connection to the fire that reduced a section of Abbotsford condo complex to ashes last Tuesday.

Danielle Toplass, Jason Read and Angela Arkesteyn-Vogler are each facing three counts of arson for the blaze that destroyed a four-storey building under construction at The Crossing real estate development in the 33500 block of Marshall Road.

The three were arrested sometime over the weekend by Abbotsford Police.

The fire also badly charred a family home immediately next to the development, leaving a single dad and his three kids homeless.

Damage from the fire is estimated to be in the millions of dollars.

Flames from the blaze shot more than 30 metres into the night sky and could be seen by residents all over the city.

Radiant heat of the fire was so intense it cracked windows of the Gateway professional building along Marshall Road.

The Tempo condominium complex opposite on Holland Avenue also suffered damage to its windows and doors.

Trees, telephone and hydro poles, and shrubbery along the Marshall just west of McCallum were completely scorched.

Residents from surrounding apartment buildings, homes and businesses were evacuated – some until the early hours of the morning.

More than 100 firefighters from all seven of the city’s firehalls were called out.

Mission and Chilliwack fire departments were put on alert to cover the area.

No residents were hurt in the blaze, but four firefighters suffered injuries.

The only thing remaining of the structure was the charred concrete block elevator shaft rising up from blackened beams.

One- and two-bedroom units at The Crossing were being pre-sold and advertised on the Internet, ranging from $160,000 to close to $278,000.

The complex was advertised to be ready by fall. Phase one and two of the project were already sold out.

As many as 1,300 other area residents lost telephone service after the fire burned two cable lines.

The three suspects are scheduled to next appear in Abbotsford provincial court July 24.

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RBC Smashed in Vancouver

RBC Smashed in Vancouver

[Posted by nobody on July 22, 2008, to friendsofgrassynarrows.com]

On July 21st, A Royal Bank Of Canada on Broadway, in Vancouver, was attacked. It had its four ATMS smashed out.

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Anti-2010 campaign escalating?

Violent protests rattle city

By BOB MACKIN, 24 HOURS [Vancouver, British Columbia]
July 22, 2008

What do bank windows, “Welcome to Vancouver” signs and a construction truck have in common?

They are objects damaged or destroyed by rocks, paint or fire in an escalating campaign by anonymous anti-Olympics vandals. They chronicle their attacks and encourage more via blogs named No2010, MostlyWater, InfoShop, Save Feral Human Habitat and Friends of Grassy Narrows.

“There are people protesting the Olympics legally and peacefully, and there are people that are protesting it illegally and violently,” said Simon Fraser University communications professor Richard Smith, who says a blog is the modern version of a handbill. “All of them want to get their message out.”

Politically charged crimes against property are not new. The Bible claimed Jesus Christ drove moneychangers from a temple by overturning their tables. American colonists trespassed on British ships in 1773’s Boston Tea Party and dumped cargo overboard in a tax revolt that led to the American Revolution. The Squamish Five, an offshoot of Vancouver’s punk rock scene, began with petty vandalism. Members then bombed a power station, military parts factory and porn video shops before they were arrested in 1983.

The anti-2010 vandalism messages frequently refer to the 2010 Games as a “corporate circus” on “stolen native land.” A boycott or cancellation of the Games is urged, but so is an indigenous peoples’ convergence on Vancouver in 2010.

The blog entries don’t include photos or video clips, meaning the culprits are either “lo-tech” or just wary of being caught, according to Smith.

“Whether there has been surveillance video taken or not, I wouldn’t be able to publicly divulge,” said RBC spokesman John Groves, who wouldn’t disclose measures employed to safeguard branches.

None of the blog-publicized acts has led to arrests and charges. Leo Knight, a former policeman and vice-president of Paladin Security, said that doesn’t mean police are unaware of the culprits, or “toads,” as he calls them. Surveillance, he said, is costly and time-consuming work, and police have many cases involving organized crime that rank higher in priority.

ATTACK DATES

Anti-2010 vandalism incidents reported anonymously on blogs

2007:

– March 6: Vancouver city hall Olympic flag stolen. Native Warrior Society claims responsibility the next day.

– Aug. 19: Windows smashed at Bell Canada Enterprises building, Bank Street, Ottawa.

– Sept. 29: Windows smashed at Royal Bank of Canada, Hastings & Nanaimo, Vancouver.

– Dec. 8: Pieces of pavement hurled through windows of RBC, Commercial & 1st, Vancouver.

– Dec. 9: Stone thrown through the window of RBC, Hastings & Nanaimo, Vancouver.

– Dec. 24: Windows smashed at RBC, Cook Street, Victoria.

2008:

– Jan. 27: Bricks thrown through windows of RBC, Elgin Street, Ottawa.

– Feb. 12: Bricks thrown through windows of RBC, Bank & 1st, Ottawa.

– Feb. 12: Windows smashed at Delta Hotel, Guelph, Ont.

– March 1: Windows smashed at RBC, Elgin Street, Ottawa.

– Feb. 26: Three Welcome to Vancouver signs paint bombed.

– March 5: Windows smashed with ice block at RBC, Bank & 1st, Ottawa.

– May 7: Kiewit construction truck arson at a Vancouver residence.

– May 12/13: Windows smashed at RBC, Broadway & Yukon, Vancouver.

– May 31: Toilets plugged with cement in three McDonald’s restaurants, Victoria

– June 25: At least 13 cars damaged by fire and explosion, West York Chev-Olds, Toronto.

——————————————————————————————————————

Anti-2010 campaign escalating?

By BOB MACKIN, 24 HOURS
July 22, 2008

Are radical Olympics foes upping the ante in their campaign of vandalism against Vancouver 2010 sponsors?

More than a dozen vehicles at the West York Chevrolet dealership in Toronto were damaged by a suspicious fire and explosion in the wee hours of June 25. An anonymous July 3 posting on the friendsofgrassynarrows.com blog claimed responsibility.

It mentioned General Motors’ corporate downsizing but concluded with: “We did this because GM is an official sponsor of the 2010 Olympic Games. Fuck the Olympics!”

Toronto Fire Services Capt. Mike Strapko was not aware of the blog posting when contacted by 24 hours. A call to the Office of the Fire Marshal was not returned.

The Toronto incident came seven weeks after a Peter Kiewit Sons Co. construction truck was torched on May 7 at a private residence in Vancouver.

The newer-model yellow pickup truck with Kiewit’s logo on the driver’s side door was taken to the Vancouver Police impound lot under the Cambie Bridge’s south end. The windshield and entire front end – including the engine – were destroyed by fire.

VPD Const. Tim Fanning said a second vehicle was also damaged. He said there are no suspects.

The May 9 posting on the mostlywater.org blog said the motive for the arson was Kiewit’s contract to expand the Sea-to-Sky highway, “the main artery for the Olympics.”

The unknown author misspelled both Kiewit and Harriet Nahanee, the late Squamish Nation protester jailed for blocking Kiewit crews attempting to raze West Vancouver’s Eagleridge Bluffs in 2006.

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Six Nations take aim at Brantford hotel project

Natives take aim at hotel project
‘They can work today, but that’s it’

Posted By SUSAN GAMBLE, EXPOSITOR STAFF
Brantford Expositor [Ontario]
July 19, 2008

Native protesters in the city’s north end moved down the road Friday morning.

They set up a large teepee at the edge of the Hampton Inn hotel site on Fen Ridge Court after successfully halting construction of the nearby Kingspan Insulation warehouse and headquarters.

“They can work today,” said one man about the construction on the six-storey hotel, “but that’s it. They were told by our chiefs a week and a half ago to stop and yet they continue to build.”

Workers on the Hampton site were pouring concrete and finished the day without incident.

About a dozen protesters continue to monitor the area, joined at times by others bearing coffee and fast food.

“We are 100 per cent backed by our people,” said one when asked about how much support for their action could be found on Six Nations.

Meanwhile, there are rumbles of concern among city councillors that Kingspan officials are re-examining plans to build in the city. There’s talk the Irish firm plans to pull out if the protesters are still around the site on Monday.

City Mayor Mike Hancock declined to speculate.

“I have no information on what Kingspan’s intentions are,” he said Friday afternoon.

Both projects are included in a temporary injunction granted to city to stop native protests from holding up development.

On Friday, natives at the Fen Ridge construction site were joined by Dawn Smith who, along with Janie Jamieson, started the protest more than two years ago that took over Caledonia’s Douglas Creek Estates.

“We sat down (to talk) with people for more than two months before making a move,” Smith said. “You might see just two people here or 200 people here but when the natives need to come together in unity, they will come.”

But there are cracks. Some Six Nations members have never publicly embraced the route of protest over negotiation.

David General, former band council chief, said he’s been fielding phone calls from people who are upset at the ongoing protests.

He tells them to take their concerns to the current council but he can’t help but express his feelings about where the occupation is leading.

“Support for the protest is not universal on the reserve,” General said.

“There’s no disputing there are outstanding issues of land claims and I think 100 per cent of Six Nations would support resolving them but people are trying to thwart development in order to hurry up the claims talks and it’s not going to work.”

“SETTLE THINGS”

General said he supports negotiations, which are on a summer break, but has made it plain he doesn’t support the Confederacy chiefs who have been given a lead mandate at the table.

“We have Ontario’s attention and Canada’s attention and the city’s attention: now turn it over to someone with the skills to settle things.”

Hancock has also been exposed to both sides of the debate through phone calls from natives and non-natives who decry the protesters and support them.

“People are upset about what’s going on and feel it’s bad for our relationship. I’m concerned about it. It certainly won’t make our relationship better.”

Six Nations community activist Lisa VanEvery showed up for protest July 7 but can’t see herself blocking a development on an ongoing basis.

“I don’t want Brantford to be another Caledonia, but the sit-in protest is a strategy that some people are using. I understand why they’re doing it because it’s the only way people are listening.”

That’s a common theme among natives: many don’t like the protest but they acknowledge that it’s the first technique that’s shown real results as far as stopping the ongoing development on land they consider to be theirs.

Historian and university professor Keith Jamieson said natives have tried negotiation, court actions and information sessions.

“The only thing that seems to have an impact is if we inconvenience others,” he said.

“I don’t necessarily agree with in-your- face protests, but they’re coming from the fact our people feel like no one is respecting us.”

Jamieson likened the situation to sitting at the negotiation table while someone is building a fence and erecting a shed in your backyard.

“It’s antagonistic.”

He’s calling for more creative thinking to end the impasse.

“I kind of like the developers’ proposal because at least it came at things from a different angle.”

On Fen Ridge Court, protesters said Friday they are angry about what they call intimidation tactics by a couple of teens the previous night. Two young men in a red truck turned into the court and burned rubber marks in the circle.

“When the truck started backing toward us,” said one man, “we jumped up and grabbed rocks. We’re not going to stand for it. Anyone caught doing these things here will be made an example of.”

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