Tensions are rising again in Kanesatake, Quebec, as four police cars were set on fire in an early Friday morning blaze. It happened on a day when embattled Grand Chief James Gabriel was supposed to meet with dissident band councilors.
The burning police cars were found at 4 a.m. with rags in the tailpipes a can of gasoline nearby. A window at the police station was also broken.
The community has been restless since January, when Gabriel tried to crack down on organized crime by bringing in aboriginal police officers.
In the same month Gabriel's house was burned down and he had been living outside of the community ever since. No one has been charged in connection with that fire.
Gabriel expressed his anger that this most recent fire occurred on a date when the band councilors were scheduled to talk.
"There's elements in the community that don't want that [the meeting] to happen and want anarchy to continue," he told CFCF News.
Until now Ottawa has been reluctant to get involved, but on Friday announced that Denis Coderre, the minister responsible for Métis and Non-Status Indians, will oversee the file.
Quebec's Public securities minister, Jacques Chagnon, expressed his doubt in resolving the crisis anytime soon. "We have some people who object to any agreement between the chiefs in Kanesatake," he said. "I hope the chiefs will meet anyway."
In response to the escalating tensions, the Assembly of First Nations is sending a mediator to sit down with the two sides, but there is disagreement about what the two sides even want to talk about.
James Gabriel wants the mediation to help determine the elections dates, while opposition Chief Steven Bonspille wants the mediator to end the policing crisis.
There are about 1,200 residents in Kanesatake, which is located west of Montreal.
In 1990 a dispute between Kanesatake's residents, and the nearby town of Oka over the expansion of a golf course, attracted national attention. One police officer died in the standoff and the army was eventually called in to resolve the conflict.
