Extreme fighting event fuels tensions in Quebec

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The chief of the native police in the Mohawk community of Kahnawake,

Que., has been suspended for one month after arresting nine people who

took part in an extreme fighting event held on the reserve south of

Montreal on Friday, April 26.

The match, illegal under Canada's Criminal Code, was fully endorsed by

the local Mohawk band council. Kahnawake Grand Chief Joe Norton said

peacekeeper Joseph Montour would be suspended without pay, pending an

investigation into his actions.

The suspension is just the latest episode in the battle over the

staging of the controversial event. The days leading up to the match

saw unsuccessful attempts by the provincial government to have the fight

stopped.

The extreme fighting match, a style of no-holds barred combat, was

billed by promoters as "the most brutal event in the history of sport."

Contestants are allowed to use any tactic at their disposal (with the

exception of biting, eye gouging and kicks to the groin) during their

bouts.

Under Section 83 of the Canadian Criminal Code, all prize fights in

Canada which are not sanctioned by a recognized athletic body are

illegal. Extreme fighting has been banned in 30 states and provinces in

North America, including Quebec. Extreme fighting does not conform to

the standards of the province's sports safety board.

But Kahnawake leaders to not recognize Quebec's jurisdiction over the

Mohawk people. The leadership set up its own sports commission and

sanctioned the event.

The Quebec government then demanded that the federal government step in

and stop the event, which was to be broadcast to pay-per-view

television. The province argued that the feds were duty-bound by the

criminal code to stop the broadcast of illegal event.

Quebec was granted an injunction to bar the broadcast, but it applied

only to land lines. Promoters got around the injunction by beaming the

event to satellite.

This current wrangling has put added strain on the relationship between

Mohawks and the province which, at best, could be described as

tension-filled.

The two governments have come to loggerheads on an untold number of

occasions, most recently over the Mohawks' right to sell tax-free

cigarettes and gas on-reserve to non-Native consumers. The provincial

government refused to send its own police, the Surete du Quebec, onto

the reserve to stop the extreme fighting competition. They hold back on

such matters over fears of sparking another Oka-style confrontation, a

stand-off between Quebec provincial police (later replaced by the

Canadian military) and Mohawks during the summer of 1990. This dispute

over land lasted 78-days and shone the international spotlight on Canada

and its treatment of Native rights in the country.

The arrest of the competitors by the Mohawks' own peacekeepers shocked

the community and threatens further to drive a stake through the heart

of a policing agreement which recognizes that peacekeepers have the

authority of the law on the reserve.

Suspended peacekeeper Montour has been put in the unenviable position

of being perceived to be on the side of the province and against his own

community. In his own defence, Montour said he could not pick and

choose the laws he enforces and had to enforce the law as it is written.

The men arrested pleaded not guilty to a charge of engaging in a prize

fight and are scheduled to appear in court again at the end of May.

They each face a maximum penalty of six month imprisonment and a $2,000

fine.