A local First Nations’ activist says he was charged with causing a disturbance after being arrested at Midland’s Butter Tart Festival.
Johnny Hawke, who is a member of Beausoleil First Nation (BFN) member, says he was peacefully protesting the province’s Bill 5 and Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop's decision to support it at Neezhoday Park Saturday when he was approached by Southern Georgian Bay OPP officers.
“I set up at this specific space strategically because our peoples are being killed by this settler society,” Hawke says, adding that “government policies that permit Industry to come and contaminate our lands and leave us with with crumbs where we can’t even have clean water, where our people suffer from mercury poisoning from these economic agreements.”
Hawke, who notes that he was detained for two hours and released with a promise to appear in court at a later date, says he was expressing his right to freedom of speech and received support from those attending the festival while sharing information on how he feels the bill would impede on First Nations’ treaty rights, civil liberties and environment protection laws.
“(Mayor) Bill Gordon stopped by to say he didn’t have any problems with me and my banner and informed me he instructed event organizers and police to leave me be if there were any issues as the space is a Midland park and that I was expressing my right to freedom of speech," says Hawke, who set up at noon Saturday and says there were no issues until about 4 p.m. when he was approached by “event organizer staff” and asked to remove his sign.
Hawke says he refused and then OPP officers arrived.
“I asked the eight officers who came in like a swat team, Who gave this direction to do this?” Hawke says. “They took my property and walked off where I followed them and asked for my banner back and called them out for violating my rights. Then I was arrested for demanding they give my property back.”
Hawke says that Gordon contacted him via social media about the incident.
“The mayor messaged me on Facebook to apologize and to let me know the decision to take my banner did not come from him or his staff,” Hawke says.
Gordon says he met with staff Monday to get an understanding to what had happened.
“Operations staff noticed that Johnny had draped his sign over the town's parkette sign and was seated beneath it,” Gordon tells MidlandToday.
“Operations staff asked him to remove it to which he is reported to have told them that the only way it would get removed was if he was arrested.”
From there, Gordon says the workers called their supervisors and event organizations to relay the situation.
“I know Johnny and walked over from the MCC (Midland Cultural Centre) to speak with him,” Gordon says. “ He was not causing a disturbance and I advised him that he was free to peacefully protest and that the town would not ask OPP to have him removed as long as everything remained peaceful.”
Gordon says Hawke told him he wouldn’t cause a fuss unless his sign was taken down.
“I spoke to the OPP on scene and advised them of that position,” Gordon says. “We all agreed that this was the appropriate approach at the time and I left it in their capable hands. Public order is entirely in their jurisdiction.”
When he arrived back at the cultural centre a short time later to participate in the butter tart judging, Gordon says he received another call indicating that OPP “command staff” had told officers to remove the sign, “likely due to the inflammatory language on it.”
Gordon says he tried to reach Hawke via cellphone and on social media to advise him that the circumstances were changing and outside of his ability to control.
Later that night, Gordon says Hawke replied to him on social media recounting his arrest.
“He relayed to me that he was told by the OPP that the town had directed them to take his sign and subsequently that he was arrested for causing a disturbance and also charged with mischief,” Gordon recalls.
“I corrected his assertion that neither the town nor I had changed our previous position that I had communicated to him about being free to peacefully protest at our parkette.
“I also committed to confirming that belief with staff today and to reach out to the OPP to confirm that we had not given any direction asking for them to remove Johnny or his sign from our property.”
MidlandToday attempted to get a comment from police about the situation, but didn't receive a response by press-time.
Hawke says he plans to file a human rights complaint about the OPP’s actions with the province’s human rights tribunal, which he also contacted about the force last July following an incident with Tiny Township Coun. Kelly Helowka.
Gordon says he felt it was important for Hawke to know that he had not deceived him when he last spoke to him.
“I support Charter-protected rights to peaceful protest and leave the enforcement of laws to our policing partners,” Gordon says.
“In this case, while we initially approached him about the impromptu protest, our decision was to leave it alone unless/until it devolved into disturbing our festival attendees. That seemingly never happened until, as predicted, his sign was removed and his behaviour changed.
“This incident was unfortunate but beyond the town's control and I wanted to make sure that Johnny, and now the broader public, knows that the town was not responsible for the decision to clear him off the parkette and that we support people's rights to peaceful assembly and protest, with the usual limitations that apply to us all.”
Located between St. Paul's United Church and the Midland Public Library, the parkette where the incident took place honours BFN elder Andrew Mixemong, who was brutally murdered in 2012 by two local men outside a downtown Midland deli. ‘Neezhoday’ means “two hearts” in the Anishinaabe language.
Hawke also says he was disappointed that there wasn't any First Nations’ inclusion and/or representation at the Midland event.
“Simcoe County occupies Upper Canada Treaties 5, 16 and 18 between our Chippewa Tri Council and the Crown where there are outstanding issues where we have never been properly compensated,” he says.
“There is also nothing in this area visibly that celebrates our Anishinaabe presence except for our ongoing genocide.”
