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But in the terrible news of the shooting of three RCMP officers in Moncton, N.B., two weeks ago, the 66-page decision went almost unnoticed.

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Not only has the Tax Court of Canada ruled that $15,800,000 of their compensation is not taxable, the court ordered the government to pay an additional $576,673 toward their legal costs, ending years of frustrating negotiation and litigation stemming from the alarming 2006 native standoff southwest of Hamilton, Ont.

“It is a complete victory for the taxpayer, and it closes a chapter in their lives that they can, hopefully, put behind them now,” said Geoffrey Shaw, lawyer for brothers John and Don Henning.

The Hennings, operating under their development company name Henco Industries Limited, lost their land and business when the Ontario government refused to intervene in the native occupation of the 600-home subdivision under construction.

Their planned marquee subdivision, Douglas Creek Estates, became ground zero for a violent, volatile and unsettled occupation when protesters from nearby Six Nations reserve took over the site as part of an ongoing land dispute.

With blockades set up by protesters and the Ontario Provincial Police unwilling to enforce court orders to clear the site — or any law or order — on the estate, all construction ceased and the land became a dangerous no man’s land to outsiders.

Demonstrations periodically flared and angry counter protesters from the town of Caledonia sometimes clashed at the estate’s edge. Douglas Creek Estates became home to roaming dogs, uncontrolled fires, confrontations, reports of gunfire and rumours of hidden weapons caches.