CCAMU - The Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium

16th August 2007

Mr. John Kittle
Community Coalition against Uranium Mining

Dear Mr. Kittle,

The Ontario Landowners’ Association shares your concerns about the intrusive actions against private Landowners that are permitted by Ontario’s Mining Act. This piece of legislation – along with the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act and the Provincial Policy Statement on Land Use – is inconsistent with concepts of freedom that should exist in a modern democracy. Any notions of the rights to own use and enjoy property are absent from the legislation that I have just referred to.

The position of the Ontario Landowners’ Association respecting property rights is quite simple:

1. Land use restrictions/expropriations must not be arbitrary. Landowners must receive fair notice of land-use changes concerning their property.

2. In those cases when a Landowner objects to the restriction/expropriation, the issue must be referred to the courts to determine that the proposed action was necessary for the public good, and if that was satisfied, dissenting landowners must have the right to appeal the decision to an appellate court.

3. Landowners must be entitled to full and timely compensation, best determined by a peer tribunal,

4. Entry onto private property by government agencies must only take place under three circumstances:

(a) with the Landowner’s informed consent
(b) under the authority of a search warrant obtained by satisfying a Justice that a reasonable and probable belief existed that an offence was occurring, and a warrant was necessary to gain entry,
(c) exigent circumstances; in other words grounds existed to obtain a warrant but to delay would have likely (i) jeopardized life, (ii) caused property damage (iii) resulted in the destruction of evidence.

It is quite apparent that the activities you refer to breach several of these conditions. You therefore have the support of The Ontario Landowners’ Association for the actions you may undertake to counter these government-sanctioned intrusions onto private land.

Should you require any assistance or information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours truly,

Jack MacLaren,
Ontario Landowners’ Association, President

Jamie MacMaster
Ontario Landowners’ Association, Vice-President

Letter of Support Glengarry Landowners' Association '
	GLENGARRY LANDOWNERS’ ASSOCIATION 19230 Highway 43, Box 936 North Glengarry, ON, K0C 1A0 613 525-3275
16th August 2007 Mr. John Kittle Community Coalition against Uranium Mining Dear Mr. Kittle, The Ontario Landowners’ Association shares your concerns about the intrusive actions against private Landowners that are permitted by Ontario’s Mining Act. This piece of legislation – along with the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act and the Provincial Policy Statement on Land Use – is inconsistent with concepts of freedom that should exist in a modern democracy. Any notions of the rights to own use and enjoy property are absent from the legislation that I have just referred to. The position of the Ontario Landowners’ Association respecting property rights is quite simple: 1. Land use restrictions/expropriations must not be arbitrary. Landowners must receive fair notice of land-use changes concerning their property. 2. In those cases when a Landowner objects to the restriction/expropriation, the issue must be referred to the courts to determine that the proposed action was necessary for the public good, and if that was satisfied, dissenting landowners must have the right to appeal the decision to an appellate court. 3. Landowners must be entitled to full and timely compensation, best determined by a peer tribunal, 4. Entry onto private property by government agencies must only take place under three circumstances: (a) with the Landowner’s informed consent (b) under the authority of a search warrant obtained by satisfying a Justice that a reasonable and probable belief existed that an offence was occurring, and a warrant was necessary to gain entry, (c) exigent circumstances; in other words grounds existed to obtain a warrant but to delay would have likely (i) jeopardized life, (ii) caused property damage (iii) resulted in the destruction of evidence. It is quite apparent that the activities you refer to breach several of these conditions. You therefore have the support of The Ontario Landowners’ Association for the actions you may undertake to counter these government-sanctioned intrusions onto private land. Should you require any assistance or information, please do not hesitate to contact us. Yours truly, Jack MacLaren, Ontario Landowners’ Association, President Jamie MacMaster Ontario Landowners’ Association, Vice-President