Samantha Craggs
Kingston Whig-Standard
Saturday, July 07, 2007 - 00:00
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 an old school bus being parked across its rail line during the June 29 national aboriginal day of action, CN spokesman Mark Hallman confirmed yesterday.
CN is suing for financial damages incurred when rail traffic was cancelled on 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. It halted operations for "the safety of its employees and operations," it said. CN obtained a court injunction in late April forbidding the blocking of its rail lines.
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. The new lawsuit also includes "John Doe, Jane Doe and persons unknown."
Including "John Doe, Jane Doe and persons unknown" is common in civil suits where other parties may eventually be included, Rosenthal said.
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. A statement of defence has not been filed, said Peter Rosenthal, the Toronto-based social justice lawyer representing Brant in both civil suits.
"I really don't understand what they're trying to achieve," Rosenthal said.
"Given the history of the way railroads disrupting the lives of First Nations people, you'd think they would have a better understanding."
Brant also faces criminal charges of mischief and breach of recognizance related to both the April 20 blockade and the day of action. So far, he remains the lone criminal defendant in either incident.
But that is not for lack of trying, said Const. Jackie Perry of Napanee OPP.
Investigation into charging others is "definitely ongoing" from both the April 20 and June 29 incidents, said Perry.
"Identification is an issue," she said. "A lot of them have had face masks and bandannas over their faces. But the investigation is definitely ongoing."
The April 20 blockade was to protest the operation of a gravel quarry on land currently subject to negotiations between the federal government and the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte. A group inhabiting the quarry since March, which has included Brant, is demanding the quarry's operating licence be revoked.
The national aboriginal day of action June 29 was to bring attention to problems in First Nations communities including poor water quality, high youth suicide rates, poverty, and what native leaders are calling underfunding.