Mr. McGuinty Please Respond Petition : [ powered by iPetitions.com ]

#	Name	Comments
51	Anonymous
52	Kim McCrory
53	David Gill	The time has come to make Justice come true.
54	Josephine Akindolire
55	Dorothy Krawetz	It is time to treat native peoples fairly.
56	Beth Hayward
57	Alex Comolli	The conduct of your Ontario government has been deplorable with regard to its response to this serious dispute. The treatment of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation people, their leaders, supporters and representatives has been shameful and unjust. I demand you take action immediately to rectify the wrongs which have been committed. Agree to the aforementioned terms outlined in this petition and reaffirm your commitment to building a clean and sustainable province free of predjudice and injustice.
58	Richard Tyssen
59	Hugh Jenney
60	B. A. Bentley
61	Stephanie Harper
62	Paritosh Kumar
63	Mr & Mrs Robertson	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8597628158 www.zeitgeistmovie.com Endgames now.
64	Uschi Erne
65	Peter Ormond	Nuclear is a loser. From mining catastrophes including Elliot Lake, to reliability, start-up delays, construction costs, performance, and then the nuclear waste embarrassment that we create for thousands of future generations. Change the mining act now. This is the 21st century. Peter
66	Nina Lewis
67	Gary Ridge
68	Dorit Naaman
69	Vera Kettnaker
70	John Eastcott
71	Susan Markanen
72	Anonymous
73	Peter Spasov	It is a shame that we have political prisoners.
74	Anonymous
75	David Fiske	It is ending badly with the government not getting involved.
76	Brett Foster
77	Anne Godlewska
78	Kelly Cordick
79	Genevieve Dumas
80	Susannah Cole
81	Sara Kelly	Free Bob Lovelace and drop the fines imposed on him and on the other representatives of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation (AAFN). It is disgraceful that the Government of Ontario has not engaged in meaningful discussion with AAFN. When will you recognize your responsibility to come to the table on natural resource management and environmental issues with first nations prior to decision-making? How is it that corporate interests in land - which ultimately belongs to all of us and to none of us at the same time - take precident over the responsibilities and rights of Canadian citizens to safeguard land and participate in decision-making around appropriate use? Why is it that you choose to mistreated individuals and whole communities in order to further financial goals and, in this case, a misguided agenda to promote nuclear, rather than alternative energies, for producing power. I am a mother. I am a citizen of Ontario. I do enjoy the benefits of living in a prosperous province BUT I do not want these "benefits" at the expense of my childrens' future ability to also live in a province and country where there is clean air, water, soil, and healthy and abundant plants and animals. I also do not want, nor do I want my children, to live where segments of our population are not equal citizens. Where history and our current actions contribute to continually marginalizing and subjugating anyone - including aboriginal peoples in Ontario and Canada. I know that decision-making is complex with many competing priorities all clamoring for top priority. In the case of Ardoch First Nation's stand against Uranium exploration on their traditional lands prior to the Government of Ontario actually consulting with AAFN, I think that the Government of Ontario is in the wrong. Please right the wrong now! Free Bob Lovelace. Drop the fines against him and his colleagues! Sit at the table with AAFN. Put prosperity (social, environmental, and economic) of future Ontarians ahead of today's eonomically-driven agenda. Sara Kelly
82	Anonymous
83	Constance Adamson
84	Karen Dubinsky
85	Laura Cameron	FYI....this news release from the Amnesty International website was posted yesterday: http://www.amnesty.ca/resource_centre/news/ 18 February 2008 Canada: Algonquin leader faces jail time while Ontario government ignores the law Amnesty International expressed its concern today over the sentencing of Ardoch Algonquin First Nation negotiator Bob Lovelace to six months in jail and a fine of $25,000 for his role in a protest over uranium exploration on disputed land in eastern Ontario. The Ontario government has licensed Frontenac Ventures to carry out exploratory drilling on land that is part of a 25-year-old Algonquin land claim. The Ardoch Algonquin and Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nations have said that they were not even notified about the plans before trees were cut and blasting began. On June 29, 2007, members of the Ardoch Algonquin and Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nations moved to block Frontenac’s access to the site. The occupation ended after the province entered into talks about possible consultation processes, but these talks broke down earlier this month and the blockade was resumed.. On February 15, Lovelace and Ardoch co-chief Paula Sherman were convicted of contempt of court for failing to obey two injunctions against the occupation. While Sherman was able to reach an agreement to avoid jail time if she stays away from the protest, Lovelace has said he cannot make the same commitment. A number of Algonquin supporters are also expected to be brought to trial in March accused of violating the same injunctions. “The situation defies justice,” says Craig Benjamin, Amnesty International Canada’s Campaigner for the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples. “Indigenous leaders and their supporters are facing stiff punishments for doing what they feel is necessary to protect rights that may one day be upheld in court or in the land claims process. Meanwhile the provincial government is ignoring its own legal obligations without any accountability.” Canadian courts have clearly established that whenever the rights of Indigenous peoples may be affected, governments have a legal duty to ensure that there must always be meaningful consultation to identify and accommodate Indigenous concerns. Depending on the potential impacts, courts have found that this legal duty may include other more stringent measures “to avoid irreparable harm”, including in some cases agreeing to proceed only with the consent of the affected peoples. Shortly before the blockade began last summer, a high level provincial inquiry into Indigenous land rights disputes in Ontario concluded that “the single biggest source of frustration, distrust, and ill- feeling among Aboriginal people in Ontario is our failure to deal in a just and expeditious way with breaches of treaty and other legal obligations to First Nations.” The Ipperwash Inquiry report went on to recommend that provincial laws, policies and practices must be reformed to ensure that they are consistent with the government’s legal obligations toward Indigenous peoples, including the duty of consultation, accommodation and consent. The fact that provincial mining laws and policies are out of step with the constitutional duty of meaningful consultation is acknowledged in a January 2007 discussion paper issued by the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines. Despite this, the province continues to allow companies to stake claims and initiate exploration with little or no consideration of Indigenous interests. In addition to the conflict over uranium mining in eastern Ontario, leaders from the Kitchenuhmaykoosib First Nation in northern Ontario are awaiting sentencing for contempt of court after continuing to oppose drilling activities in the face of an injunction. In the initial ruling in that case, the court sharply criticized the Ontario government for not having “heard or comprehended” repeated court affirmation of the duty of meaningful consultation and accommodation. Amnesty International is calling on the province to work with Indigenous peoples to undertake immediate reform of provincial laws and policies that fail to respect and uphold the duty of meaningful consultation, accommodation and consent. The province must also take urgent measures to address conflicts arising from its past failures to uphold that duty including by: * committing to a negotiated resolution of the dispute; * entering those negotiations in good faith without prejudging or limiting in advance the form and extent of accommodation required to respect and protect the rights of the Algonquin people; and * taking measures in collaboration with the Algonquin people to ensure that their rights are not harmed while such negotiations are under way. In the event of an appeal, Amnesty International urges the province to ensure the court is made fully aware of the underlying rights issues at stake, including the province's constitutional duty of consultation, accommodation and consent. **************************** For more information, please contact: Craig Benjamin, Campaigner for the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Amnesty International Canada 613-744-7667 cbenjami@amnesty.ca
86	owen maguire	qui bono?
87	Samantha King
88	Roberta Lamb
89	Douglas Kennedy	All who are impacted by thes developments shall be consulted. We all have a stake in the land.
90	Professor Robert Shenton
91	Anonymous
92	Elizabeth Hanson	As a resident of Eastern Ontario and a Queen's colleague of Bob Lovelace, currently jailed in relation to this matter I am particularly dismayed at the manifest injustice of this situation.
93	Cathy Stalkie
94	Allison Goebel	I strongly object to the government's failure to deal justly with the issue of Ardoch Algonquins.
95	Dr. Abigail B. Bakan
96	Heather Heron	another example of the government not following it's own regulations eg: consulting with natives and using a big heavy stick to beat it's citizens again
97	David Finlay	Bob Lovelace is a Gentlemen. When we put gentlemen in jail for exercising their beliefs in a non violent manner our government is wrong. I support Bob, he is a great role model for all real citizens.
98	Leda Raptis
99	Elizabeth Greene	This is the sanest, fairest way to redress a terrible miscarriage of justice and the best possible way to proceed from here. All my support.
100	Heather DeLisle