Caledonia Players: Tom Keefer & CUPE 3903

RELATED: June 05/10: ‘CUPE extremists supporting Muslim extremists supporting Native extremists.’

UPDATED July 27/10 — Links to key references can be found at the bottom. More source docs will be uploaded as time allows. In the meantime, bonafide journalists can contact Mark Vandermaas for supporting docs: info@voiceofcanada.ca.

CUPE 3903 leader Tom Keefer first became known to CANACE due to his June 23/09 attempt to orchestrate a vicious smear campaign, with help from numerous other groups, to falsely link CANACE founders and Doug Fleming to neo-nazis and white supremacists. We subsequently learned, from his own words videotaped at a Cayuga protest, that he and CUPE and 0ther groups have been supporting the DCE occupation ever since the April 20/06 failed OPP raid.

Tom Keefer in Caledonia , Brantford and Concordia University

These are the key facts which have been verified thus far. Information came from Keefer’s own oral and written statements (including a key Nov 15/09 report he wrote for CUPE 3903), media reports of OPP testimony at the Brown-Chatwell trial, internet pages, court documents and newsletters published by Concordia University, and extensive email interaction with Mr. Keefer himself:

Tom Keefer & CUPE in Caledonia

1. SUPPORTING ORGANIZED CRIME – Mohawk Warriors: Keefer and his associates have been supporting native militants in Caledonia ever since shortly after the failed OPP raid of April 20/06 on the occupied Douglas Creek Estates – when police were attacked with weapons that included axes, clubs, socks filled with rocks and a chainsaw when they tried to enforce a court order to remove the occupiers.

According to the OPP, DCE was controlled by the Mohawk Warriors which they considered to be the equivalent of the Hell’s Angels crime gang.

2. SUPPORTING ORGANIZED CRIME – HMF: Keefer and CUPE are “working closely” with the Haudenosaunee Men’s Fire which a Superior Court judge stated was engaged in Extortion, Intimidation, Nuisance, Trespass and Inducing Breach of Contract. The judge also stated that the HMF launched an angry racial attack vs. the owner of the property in nearby Hagersville. He also stated they were subject to the rule of law like everyone else.

3. CALEDONIA BY-PASS BLOCKADE Keefer writes that members of CUPE 3903 were “present on the barricades” when native militants from Six Nations blockaded the  Highway 6 by-pass in Caledonia in April 2008 in order to force the OPP into backing away from enforcing the law against Shawn Brant’s Mohawks in Deseronto. Members also contributed financially to this illegal action, and helped make a 5 minute video which was posted on YouTube. It is believed to be Tom Keefer who is conducting the interview with the leader of the blockade. CANACE founder Gary McHale attempted to file a private prosecution for Terrorism under the Criminal Code of Canada, but was informed that the laying of the charge required consent from the Attorney General of Ontario.

4. UNION SUPPORT FOR ORGANIZED CRIME: Keefer and CUPE 3903 work with many different unions who financially assist their work in supporting the HMF militants including locals from CAW, OPSEU, CUPE, and USW.

5. WORKING WITH ANARCHIST GROUPS: Keefer & CUPE work with several anarchist groups, including Freedonia and the Toronto Chapter of the Anarchist Black Cross Federation. He claims that Freedonia donated $3,000 to CUPE 3903, and that $1,000 of it was in turn funnelled to Jim Windle, reporter with Tekawenakke News on Six Nations, and head of TRUE, (Two Row Understanding through Education). Windle and the Teka published several pieces after Keefer’s June 23/09 Cayuga protest against the Caledonia Militia which tried to link and/or compare CANACE founders and Doug Fleming to white supremacist groups who they claim would like to exterminate native people. On July 14/10 the Tekawennake published the first of two ‘clarifications’ and op-ed series related to these stories which make it clear the paper had NO evidence that Mark Vandermaas (VoC), Gary McHale, Merlyn Kinrade and Doug Fleming were associated with white supremacist groups:

• Tekawennake News op-ed series, July 14-21/10: Healing Two Communities [PDF, 7p] (complete series)

The anarchist group Freedonia, whose money found its way to Windle/TRUE, also made a direct grant to the group Caledonia Friends.

Freedonia also made a direct grant to a radical, left wing community newsletter in Toronto. One of the key writers was an invited speaker at Keefer’s June 23/09 Cayuga protest, and wrote an article claiming that the organizer of the Caledonia Militia was a white supremacist.  The organization’s MySpace page provides a list of its “heroes” which include: Mao; Marx; Lenin; Che Gueverra; Fidel Castro; Malcom X; The Black Panther Party and Hugo Chavez. The page author’s occupation is listed as “Full Time Revolutionary. ‘Friends’  include: ‘Free Palestine’ (whose background image is a bunch of AK47s with a logo showing Che Guevera under the slogan”Palestina LIBRE”; ‘Revolutionary Love’ (with a background of handguns) who also admires Mao Tse Tung, Che and the Black Panthers); and a page devoted to freeing Leonard Peltier, who was convicted of murdering two FBI agents during a 1975 shootout at a U.S. Indian reservation.

6. WORKING WITH ANTI-ISRAEL GROUPS: Another group working with Keefer in Caledonia and Brantford is the Christian Peacemaker Teams, an international organization that takes sides with those engaged in violent resistance against states they deem to be oppressing indigenous people which is why they support the radical native groups in Caledonia/Brantford. They show no concern whatsoever for the innocent civilian victims of this resistance, whether they are in Caledonia or in the Middle-East. For example, the CPT does NOT promote peace by advocating  for the victims of Hamas suicide bombers or missiles, they claim to be concerned about protecting Palestinians from the Israel Defence Forces trying to stop the terror. The CPT’s FAQ page for their Palestine mission actually downplays the genocidal Hamas Charter which has been condemned by the United Nations for its commitment to jihad in order to destroy Israel.

Q5. Are all Hamas Muslims suicide bombers?

Hamas is a religious renewal movement in Islam that was initially supported by Israel as a way to balance Fatah. Hamas also has major social service programs in the refugee camps. There is a small military wing of Hamas.

The Hamas charter rejects all peaceful solutions and makes it clear that the goal that the goal is Jewish genocide. Tom Keefer responded to my CPT criticism by saying, “Last time I checked, Hamas was the democratically elected government of the Palestinians and the CPT tends to promote peaceful dialogue with all parties […] I take it you are aware that Israel has been condemned…by the UN as well?” Personal experience in Caledonia with CPT members is that their idea of “peaceful dialogue” about the role of native militants in causing the suffering of Caledonia’s victims (whom they support) is to obfuscate and downplay the facts in the same manner as their dissembling with respect to Hamas.

Tom Keefer & CUPE in Brantford

7. TAMIL TIGER SYMPATHIZERS SUPPORT NATIVE MILITANTS: The Canadian government has designated the Tamil Tigers as a terrorist organization. On June 23/09, at the Keefer/CUPE-organized protest in Cayuga, several supporters were seen wearing Tamil Tiger t-shirts, a fact that was warmly acknowledged by one of Keefer’s invited speakers to whom he turned over the microphone. This is an excerpt from the transcript of the man’s remarks recorded on video by Mark Vandermaas (emphasis by VoC):

[…] I’m here because…we’re talking about First Nations rights here. We’re talking about, you know, Iroquois rights. We’re talking about land claims. We’re talking about a lot of different things. But, we’re here…one of the things we all should be talking about is solidarity. Solidarity amongst not only First Nations people but solidarity with every oppressed people all across the planet. We have…what I’m talking about…I see a couple of people here, over here, with Tamil Tigers T-shirt over there, and there’s a lot of different people on the whole planet who are being oppressed, who are having their lands taken away from them. […]

8. ECONOMIC WARFARE: In a document entitled Declaring the Exception Keefer laid out a plan showing how economic warfare against Brantford could force the government to grant natives (presumably to the HMF and the Mohawk Warriors) an area which would not be subject to Canadian law.

Tom Keefer & CUPE role in damaging the economy of Haldimand & Brant (Haldimand Tract)

9. $2B ECONOMIC DAMAGE: Keefer claims the people he and CUPE 3903 supports have caused $2B in damage to the Haldimand Tract economy and expects it is “likely to intensifyover the coming months and years.”

Tom Keefer at Concordia University in Montreal

10. CLOSE TO THE VIOLENCE: Between November 03-04, 1999, while a student at Concordia University in Montreal, Keefer participated in protests during which protesters pushed through a police line and two police officers were injured. He and another man, Frederick Stom were arrested for refusing to stop using a megaphone. Keefer claims he had nothing to do with the violence, and that the charge of Mischief laid against him was dismissed by a judge. VoiceofCanada was contacted by Mr. Stom who provided a link to a  2005 Le Devoir story about court decisions related to noise bylaws. The story indicates that both Stom and Keefer were acquitted of the Mischief charges because the courts held the by-laws were un-constitutional. See also, Mr. Stom’s comment below.

• Le Devoir, Jan 13/05: Deux musiciens de rue se plaignent de racisme

11. CLOSE TO THE VIOLENCE, PART 2: In February 2001 Keefer is alleged to have been part of a crowd which overturned tables at a university job fair belonging to CSIS and the Black Watch (Canadian Forces). He denies doing overturning the tables, and says the investigating body did not find him guilty of doing so. We have not been able to verify his statement, so we do not know if he was exonerated, or if the matter was dropped after he was expelled (see next entry below) on August 20/01.

12. EXPELLED OVER ALLEGED DEATH THREATS: Keefer was expelled from Concordia University in 2001 along with another student Laith Marouf over allegations that he uttered death threats against the guards who were trying to arrest Marouf who had spray-painted anti-Israel slogans on a wall. This was during a climate of intense anti-Israel hostility by Muslim students which was supported by the Concordia Student Union on which Keefer served between 1999-2001 as Vice President Communications.

Keefer claimed he was again being targeted for charges by the administration. He provided Jeff Parkinson with a copy of a 24 page defence document submitted to Concordia but refused to allow it to be published.

His request to the Superior Court for an injunction against the expulsions was denied. Keefer denied his statements were meant as a threat, but he was allowed to return after apologizing for them. The Board of Governors commended the guards for acting professionally and showing restraint, and noted that although it was allowing both Keefer and Marouf to return it was not condoning their actions:  “…such ban is lifted without condoning the actions of Mr. Keefer or Mr. Marouf; and That the Board of Governors reiterate its support for the Rector and administration in promoting and enforcing zero tolerance for violence, racism, intimidation and verbal threats.”

A photo of Keefer and Marouf with their arms around one another can be found at at this link (scroll down).

Tom Keefer & CUPE vs. CANACE

13. CANACE IS IN THE WAY OF KEEFER’S GOALS: Keefer stated in Declaring the Exception that CANACE is the biggest obstacle to accomplishing its goals of achieving areas free of Canadian law by the militants he supports. This may be the reason he is so desperate to smear its founders with false allegations of racism, and spurious links with the views of neo-nazis and white supremacists. CANACE members and founders have always rejected racism and the concept of supremacy:

• Regional News, Gary McHale column, Nov 04/09: Have you heard of Tom Keefer?
• CANACE principles: We Believe… (never altered since it was published Aug 2007)

References

Note – I will be pleased to supply bonafide journalists with PDFcopies of CUPE docs should URL’s be no longer active or contents of docs appear to be altered.

• VoiceofCanada feature: Caledonia Players
• CUPE 3903 First Nations Solidarity Working Group, Nov 15/09: Tom Keefer report to AGM
• Voortman v. Haudenosaunee Men’s Fire, April 03/09: Judge’s reasons for granting injunction to end Hagersville occupation
• Canada Free Press, March 26/10: Democracy Caledonia Style – Who Will Speak Up?
• Jeff Parkinson, March 21/10: OPP fail to protect residents from radicals (see comments section)
• Regional News, Gary McHale column, Nov 04/09: Have you heard of Tom Keefer?
• VoiceofCanada, June 24/09: CUPE 3903 protests in support of organized crime
• VoiceofCanada, June 24/09: CUPE and criminals work together against Haldimand victims
• Fagstein.com, April 30/09: Welcome, Thomas Keefer Street (scroll down to see photo of Keefer and Marouf)

DISCLOSURE

In order to build on his extensive experience as an activist and founding member of CANACE in opposing and documenting racial policing on behalf of victims in Caledonia since October 2006, Mark Vandermaas left CANACE in February 2010 to independently focus on education and policy research/discussion regarding the adverse impact of present aboriginal policies with the goal of ensuring the lessons learned from the victimization of innocents – both aboriginal and non-aboriginal – during land claim disputes are fully represented in policy debates seeking long-term solutions to healing and reconciliation. Mark maintains a close working relationship with CANACE, and continues to participate in protests on behalf of the victims of racial policing. He continues to endorse CANACE principles respecting protection of the rule of law and human rights.