Robert Lovelace will spend the next six months in Lindsay.
The Ardoch Algonquin First Nation (AAFN) spokesperson, who is also an Aboriginal Affairs counsellor at Fleming College, was sentenced to six months in jail for protesting exploration of a uranium mine on the land of Ardoch, last week in Kingston.
Lovelace was originally sent to the Quinte Correctional Facility in Napanee, however, he was later moved to the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay.
Despite being moved to Lindsay, a rally was held in the Quinte area Saturday to protest the sentence. Lovelace's lawyer Chris Reid was in attendance.
"There are about 300 to 400 people," he told The Lindsay Post. "There are lots of signs with pictures of Bob that say 'political prisoner' and lots of messages for Dalton McGuinty."
While Lovelace sits in the Lindsay jail, Reid said they can appeal the decision. However, he has little faith in the court system to change the outcome.
"The courts are not going to solve this," he said. "Unless Dalton McGuinty is willing to stand up to the mining companies . . . Ontario will have to build more jails to hold these political prisoners."
Reid added that there are a number of other Native people who are in a similar situation as Lovelace.
Reid is not sure whether or not any rallies will be held in Lindsay in the future. He said there is also the prospect of holding a rally at McGuinty's office.
The Ardoch community that Lovelace is associated with is angered by the mining exploration on their land.
The mining began even though there was no consultation with the government or the mining company.
Paula Sherman was given the same sentence as Lovelace, however, she decided to pay a $15,000 fine rather than serving the jail time. A jail sentence would have cost her custody of her three children.
Sherman is a chief of the AAFN and a professor in the Native Studies Department at Trent University. Don Cumming, a spokesperson for Trent, said the university is standing behind Sherman.
"There is really zero impact on her role as a teacher," he said. "She's not a risk to students or the university community."
The community of Ardoch was also fined $10,000.
A 'Free Bob Lovelace' group has been established on facebook.com