First Nations Shop in U.S. to Protest Ontario Tax

(Sault Ste. Marie, U.S./Canadian border) The Ontario Provincial government has decided to increase the sales tax under a scheme called harmonization, ostensibly to sneak it in as something pleasant. Therefore, a harmonized sales tax (HST) is being imposed rather than the "bend over tax" or "brace for impact tax," names which were presumably rejected immediately as being too descriptive. In any event, political leaders seem to believe citizens that will be less opposed if they think the tax is harmonious.

Unfortunately, blowing smoke at First Nations people hasn't worked.

Garden River and Batchewana First Nations citizens have generated action plans that will complement the First Nation's demands for the Crown Government to discontinue the neglect and erosion of the living treaty relationship that is being perpetuated through the implementation of the HST. [...]

The current issue is the imposed HST which represents a breach of a legal contract between the owners of this land and the visitors to this land, otherwise referred to as treaty obligations.

The Canadian government has dismissed the reality that one sovereign nation cannot tax another.

Local First Nations councils approved a shopping venture with transportation provided to the United States for Monday, December 21. [...]

Chief Dean Sayers made the following statement on behalf of both councils: "We as a people are sovereign and hence are neither Canada's Indians nor are we the United States' Indians.

Canada has decided to implement an oppressive policy on us namely the HST, and we see this as a further erosion of our historic Nation to Nation legally binding relationship.

We as a people have decided to recommend to our people to spend their money in the United States where we continue to have our original relationship recognized as per our historic treaty relationship.

"We call on the 10,000 plus native people in the Sault Ste. Marie area and the 220,000 First Nations people across the province to join with us in solidarity for this momentous occasion. We call on you to spend your millions of Christmas dollars in the United States."

Consequently, a convoy of Ontario Province First Nation citizens gathered Monday in a convoy of cars, buses and trucks more than a mile-long and traveled south to a Michigan Wal-Mart to do their Christmas shopping. Loaded with purchases, the vehicles in the convoy slowly inched toward the Canadian border crossing later in the day. All traffic was then stopped by Canada Customs agents.

A school bus with Chief Sayers on board arrived at the bridge plaza just in time for him to witness a confrontation between an elder and a Canada Customs official.

The customs agent, Chief Sayers says, was telling her that she had to go inside the plaza with her receipts and that she might have to pay duty on her purchases.

He told her that, if she didn't comply, her vehicle could be seized.

As Sayers recounts the story, the elder told him that asking her to do that was a violation of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. [...]

Chief Sayers then walked into the bridge plaza building at about 3:25 p.m., telling the Batchewana and Garden River citizens already there that they were shutting down the bridge.

They followed him to the bus, where he gathered more citizens.

When people waiting in their cars in the convey saw fellow citizens joining hands and walking out across all four lanes of traffic, they left their vehicles and joined the line.

In all, more than 50 people held hands for almost an hour and a half, illuminated by headlights of vehicles that were lined up all the way over the bridge, almost to the U.S. Customs plaza, the chief was later told. [...]

Sayers says he was told by Canadian border crossing officials that they had been directed by their superiors to inspect whatever vehicles they felt it necessary to inspect and to charge duty on all goods coming into the country where appropriate.

"We are not Canadian citizens," Chief Sayers said. "Nor are we citizens of the United States. We are a sovereign nation and your attempts to tax us or charge us duty are illegal under your own laws."

Ultimately, the Canadian border agents relented and allowed the First Nations' citizens to go on their way without paying duty and without charges being filed against them. First Nations' chiefs plan on more strategies to draw attention to their rights under the Jay Treaty which assures freedom to travel throughout North America without molestation or harassment.