Friday, July 06, 2007
Kingston Whig-Standard
Local News - Canadian National is slapping another lawsuit on Mohawk protester Shawn Brant for blocking its main Toronto-to-Montreal rail line.
Brant is being sued again — making two active civil suits from the corporation — in relation to parking an old school bus across its rail line during the June 29 national aboriginal day of action, CN spokesman Mark Hallman confirmed the suit today.
CN is suing for financial damages incurred when rail traffic was cancelled June 29, Hallman said. The amount has not been specified, although CN has said that $103 million worth of freight is carried on the line during an average 24-hour period. CN halted freight operations and embargoed all traffic that day after hearing native protesters had erected an illegal blockade near Marysville, said a statement released that day.
CN also sued Brant — along with Jason Maracle, Tara Green, “John Doe, Jane Doe and persons unknown” — for a 30-hour blockade of the rail line April 20, and another blockade a year earlier. Also included in the recent lawsuit are "John Doe, Jane Doe and persons unknown."
Hallman stressed the lawsuit was “related specifically to the actions of June 29. We enjoy very positive relations with First Nations.”
No dates have been set for the suit, nor have the allegations been proven in court.