"Tensions boiled over again this week in an aboriginal land dispute that for months has bitterly divided the Hamilton-area town of Caledonia.

Police broke up fistfights and shoving matches Monday between natives and non-natives at a roadblock on Highway 6, the main route into the community. Later, vandalism at a power transformer plunged much of the town into darkness, leading Caledonia town council to declare a state of emergency. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured. Cooler heads prevailed yesterday as natives removed a barricade from the road.

But the violence may well be a foreshadowing of the more serious trouble that lies ahead unless government and native leaders bring a sense of urgency to resolving this dispute. This issue has dragged on far too long. After the 1990 native blockade in Oka, Que., and the 1995 shooting of native Dudley George at Ontario's Ipperwash Provincial Park, Canadians know how quickly such situations can degenerate."

Get the Story:
Editorial: No time to waste in Caledonia clash (The Toronto Star 5/24)

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