Caledonia land dispute

The current Grand River land dispute came to wide attention in Canada in 2006 when the Six Nations formally reactivated the 1995 litigation against Canada and Ontario. On that date, protesters from the Six Nations of the Grand River began a demonstration to raise awareness about First Nation land claims in Ontario, Canada. They highlighted their claim to a parcel of land in Caledonia, Ontario, a community within the single-tier municipality of Haldimand County, roughly 20 kilometres southwest of Hamilton. Soon after this demonstration, the demonstrators took control of the disputed land.

The land at the centre of the dispute in Caledonia covers 40 hectares, which Henco Industries Ltd. planned to develop as a residential subdivision to be known as the Douglas Creek Estates. It is part of the 385,000-hectare plot of land originally known as the Haldimand Tract, which was granted in 1784 by the British Crown-in-Council to the Six Nations of the Grand River for their use in settlement. Henco argues that the Six Nations surrendered their rights to the land in 1841 and Henco later purchased it from the Canadian Crown. The Six Nations, however, maintain that their title to the land was never relinquished, as their chiefs protested at the time and sent a petition to the government arguing against the terms.

During the continuing dispute, on June 16, 2006, the provincial government announced it had bought the disputed tract from the developer and would hold it in trust until negotiations settled the claim. Protests during the years included blockade of roads and rail lines, damage to a power station resulting in an area blackout and more than $1 million in repairs, and low levels of violence from both sides, as well as isolated, more serious attacks. The government halted negotiations at times because of public danger from protesters' actions, such as blocking public roads.

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Wikipedia