A plan to remove a blockade on a major road near Hamilton Monday morning is "on hold," says a spokeswoman for Six Nations protesters in Caledonia, Ont.
Protesters say the Caledonia subdivision sits on land their ancestors never signed away. (CBC)
INDEPTH: Caledonia dispute blockade
Janie Jamieson said the protesters are staying put because a small group of non-aboriginal area residents is now preventing vehicles driven by Six Nations members from getting to the original roadblock.
Part of the original Six Nations roadblock came down as planned early Monday, but some aboriginal protesters continued to block traffic after non-aboriginal protesters prevented Six Nations members from passing through their ranks.
FROM MARCH 22, 2006: Native occupiers stay at Ontario site as deadline passes
"We thought everything was going to happen today, but we've got a delay and we're going to work it out," David Ramsay, Ontario's minister responsible for aboriginal affairs, said Monday during an interview with CBC News.
"You get incidents out there that upset people and minds get changed," he said. "That's unfortunate."
The Six Nations protesters have been occupying the site of a new subdivision, saying they never signed away the rights to a large parcel of land in the area.
The second blockade began Friday night, as part of a weekly demonstration by members of the community frustrated about the barricade that has been blocking Highway 6 in the small southern Ontario community for weeks.
Provincial police attempting to ease tensions have separated irate drivers from about eight residents standing in front of vehicles.
The aboriginal protesters are now attempting to bypass the new blockade by building a road to the occupied construction site.
Former Ontario premier David Peterson was appointed at the end of April to help resolve the standoff. "It's not a question of counting blame or finding fault, it's a question of finding a solution," he said at the time.