So over the past few weeks I have noticed that if you are female or in Canada and a Native the laws of the land seem to be different for you. Let me explain if you are a hot woman who molests a male who is below the age of consent you get lots of publicity and no time in jail. In fact you get off totally free without a criminal record as if nothing happened. If this occurred and a man was involved and it was with an underaged female everyone would be up in arms. Society would be outraged and would call for the law to be very heavy handed with the man. At one time not so long ago women caught in this predicament were treated to long jail sentences by the system. So what has changed that this is no longer a crime if you are a woman.

On the news over past few days their have been reports of two native blockades, one is an occupation of some land in Caledonia, Ontario which started seven weeks ago. The second was a blockade of the main rail line connecting Eastern and Western Canada. The railway blockade was in support of the first blockade. The blockade in Caledonia concerns a land claim filed in 1999 concerning a piece of land which the natives claim was sold improperly in 1841. So the natives are resorting to a blockade to push their demands. While I find it disagreeable to see the law broken I understand and the only reason it was on the news was the fact the authorities tried to move in and enforce the law causing the situation to become more tense. An agreement to negotiate the land claim has been signed by all parties. So I guess the natives are a step closer to resolution. As I said they may have broken the law but they have stood up for 7 weeks and waited to get to the negotiating table.

What really bugs me is the second blockade which was done in support of the Caledonia blockade. The authorities had to negotiate and then wait till late on Friday night before the blockade was removed and the trains could roll again. To make matters worse this rail line is the main East/West line and all trains including freight and passenger were at a stand still. CN Rail which is the owner of the rail line will lose money and they are not part of this dispute. This was an unlawful occupation of private property which affects Via Rail passengers and CN Rail and the users of their transport services. Even though this was unlawful the authorities can do nothing or the natives will escalate the situation even though they are breaking the law.

Why is it that certain groups are able to flaunt or outright break the law and the rest of society are expected to follow the laws of the land. An example of this is a counter demonstration was held at the Caledonia native blockade by local citizens who are tired of having their road blocked. Police got inbetween the two groups and arrests were made during the counter demonstration. Some of the local citizens were arrested during this demonstration but no natives were arrested. So again my question is the law fair? (By the way this is my rant and these are rhetorical questions!)

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