Caledonia: A summer of discontent ahead ?

Much like the Taliban, I'm suspecting that the Natives occupying Douglas Creek are gearing up for an all-out spring/summer offensive.

With the profits flowing from those ever-popular contraband cigarettes (you know, the ones that come in baggies), one has to wonder where all of this money is being funnelled. Hopefully, not to add to the cache of weapons. Do those people who choose to smoke the cheap "Indian brands" know just where their money is going ? I'm betting 75% don't.

OPP commissioner Julian Fantino stated last week that the force needs to hire additional officers to deal with the crisis. "We just can't sustain this . . . There's got to be a resolution," Fantino said. "When you think about some 5,000 police officers rotating through (Caledonia) over the last year -- 480,000 hours of police officer work that should have gone elsewhere -- and all that time there's this negotiation stuff that appears, to me at least, to be going nowhere."

Never mind that these hours could have been spent catching diddlers,crack dealers or any other variety of "undesirables", those 480k hours add up to a whole lot of dough, money that could have been spent on health care or education.

Fantino is critical of the federal government for not getting involved in the crisis, I think his position is justified. Indian Affairs is clearly a federal responsibility, and the Conservatives have been MIA. In fact, Fantino claims he has not been in contact with any federal officials regarding the crisis. I expect better leadership than that, from both parties.

It's time the Feds move in and relieve Dalton and Julian of the crisis. It's clear they lack the intestinal fortitude and leadership skills to get this done.

Before someone dies