Ipperwash Crisis
For more details on this topic, see Ipperwash Crisis.During the late 1980s, the Stoney Point First Nation began to pressure the federal and provincial governments to revert ownership of the entire property as per the 1941 expropriation agreement. The adjacent land at Ipperwash Provincial Park was claimed by the Stoney Point First Nation and was reputed to contain a burial ground.
Several protests occurred over the land issue during the late 1980s and early 1990s as the Canadian Forces began to examine and identify surplus property following the end of the Cold War. During the early 1990s, rumours began circulating about the impending move of the 1 RCR based in London to CFB Petawawa, thereby drastically reducing usage of IRTA.
In May 1993, members of the Stoney point First Nation began an occupation of the property, setting up tents on the firing ranges in a bid to pressure the federal government to revert ownership.
All military training at IRTA (by then reduced to local reserve and cadet units) ceased at that time. The military identified IRTA as surplus and agreed to transfer the facility to the Stoney Point First Nation by 1995.
The caretaker staff departed on July 29, 1995 when the Canadian Forces decommissioned the facility. Following the military's departure, native protesters occupying the property became more vocal over the following days and weeks in demanding the ownership be reverted.
The week following Labour Day saw the occupation on IRTA and the adjacent Ipperwash Provincial Park become a flashpoint in First Nation relations with the federal government and the government of Ontario.
The shooting death of Stoney Point First Nation protester Dudley George by the Ontario Provincial Police has come to be known as the Ipperwash Crisis.
The federal government and Stoney Point First Nation reached an agreement on the transfer of the IRTA on June 18, 1998, however the Stoney Point First Nation has yet to reach an agreement with the provincial government on the transfer of Ipperwash Provincial Park.
Most of the World War II era "temporary" buildings on IRTA remain, however some are in use by the Stoney Point First Nation.
Read more about this topic: Camp Ipperwash
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