Transitional responsibility is the idea that moving from an unjust status quo to an honourable relationship on Haldimand lands must be carefully managed so that:
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Mohawk Loyalist posterity are restored and protected,
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Crown breaches are acknowledged and repaired,
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and everyday residents and small buyers are not used as human shields for Crown liability.
Instead of dividing the world into heroes and villains, transitional responsibility asks: who should bear which burdens during the shift from quiet expropriation to a rights-respecting order on Six Miles Deep?
Key elements include:
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Primary responsibility on the Crown and its institutions – because they confirmed Haldimand, took the oaths, built the tax and land systems, and benefited for generations from ignoring the grant.
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Heightened responsibility for oath-takers with power – such as councillors, planners, engineers, judges, and investors who operate on Haldimand lands after being made aware of the underlying obligations. Their duty is greater than that of someone who merely inherits or purchases a small home.
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Recognizing limited innocence at the bottom – some ordinary homeowners and renters truly had no knowledge or capacity to investigate constitutional history. Transitional responsibility means designing remedies that do not simply crush them while letting higher-level actors walk away untouched.
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Designing forward-looking solutions – such as shifting the financial burden of compensation onto governments and corporations that profited most, restructuring tax flows toward Mohawk institutions, gradually changing planning rules, and creating clear disclosure requirements for future buyers on Six Miles Deep.
In the Six Miles Deep lexicon, transitional responsibility is a counter to fatalism. It rejects the idea that “it’s too late” because too many people now live on the Tract, and it also rejects the idea that everyone there is simply “innocent.” Instead, it offers a way to redistribute obligations and costs in a layered way, so that the path back to honour is realistic, just, and focused on those who had the most knowledge and power while the breach was deepened.
