Samantha Craggs
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Belleville Intelligencer
Local News - It will be nearly Christmas before the criminal charges against Mohawk protester Shawn Brant are back before court here.
Brant's attorney, Toronto-based social justice lawyer Peter Rosenthal, appeared on Brant's behalf Tuesday morning. A preliminary hearing was set for Dec. 20 and 21.
Brant, a well-known protester from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory and spokesman for a group that has inhabited a privately-owned Deseronto-area quarry since March, is charged with mischief, disobeying a court order and breach of recognizance. The charges stem from a 30-hour blockade of a Canadian National rail line, the main corridor between Toronto and Montreal, on April 20. The group is pushing for the suspension of the quarry's licence because it is located on land currently subject to land claim negotiations.
The warrant was issued for Brant's arrest five days after the blockade. Brant surrendered himself to Napanee OPP May 3. None of the charges have been proven in court.
The Crown is pursuing the charges against Brant as indictable offenses, which come with a harsher penalty than summary offenses.
Brant, who did not appear with Rosenthal Tuesday morning, is currently out on bail on the condition he not block thoroughfares or participate in any unlawful protests. With June 29 proclaimed as a national aboriginal day of action, Brant has said protesters will blockade the town of Deseronto, Highway 401 or the CN rail line again. It is not known if Brant himself will take part, which would place him in violation of his bail conditions.
Judge Geoff Griffin alluded to that scenario during Rosenthal's appearance.
"We may be seeing you next week," Griffin said. "Time will tell, right?"
Brant appeared on CBC TV's The National last week, doing an interview from the quarry with Peter Mansbridge. Rosenthal said the appearance did not constitute a breach of Brant's bail conditions.
Brant said in an interview Tuesday that if he does break his bail conditions on June 29 not to incite, encourage, plan or participate in illegal protests, it will be a testament to the desperation of the cause and the poor conditions of First Nations communities.
"That has to speak to our commitment of the day," he said. "We're offering up our freedom and our lives. My freedom is a small price to pay if it helps someone else get ahead."
Following Rosenthal's appearance in court, he was approached by a local lawyer who offered her services pro bono, or free-of-charge. Rosenthal said she was not the first lawyer to offer help, although it was the first from the Belleville area.
Rosenthal and two fellow Toronto social justice lawyers, Howard Morton and Mike Leitold, are representing Brant, his wife Tara Green and Jason Maracle in a civil suit filed by CN regarding the April 20 protest and a similar one the year before. CN is suing for damages incurred during the rail line's closure.
No upcoming dates have been scheduled for that case, Rosenthal said. In the meantime, the court injunction secured by CN continues which explicitly states that its railways not be blocked.
Rosenthal and his team are still investigating filing a countersuit against CN for what Rosenthal says are longtime injustices against First Nations people.
They are also investigating whether the rail crossing is on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory.
"CN described it as being on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, and we agree with that," he said.