About 60 Six Nations supporters gathered in front of the courthouse while the proceedings took place. A half-dozen police officers monitored the area in front of the building.
Detlor, seeking a two-week adjournment, said he only received notice of the city's motion late Thursday. He said the city has had at least a month to enact its strategy of passing a bylaw banning protests and seeking an injunction.
"It's a matter of fairness, putting a matter before the court and getting a fair hearing," Detlor said of why he asked for the adjournment.
constitutional questions
The city's move to seek an injunction raises constitutional questions that need to be addressed, Detlor said.
"In a way, it's asking me to put my Charter right of freedom of speech on hold," he told the court. "It's asking me not to practice law."
During a later media scrum, Detlor called the city's position "illegal" and "contrary to human rights."
Asking Taylor to delay proceedings for only "a short period of time," municipal lawyer Neal Smitheman said dealing with the motion before the court was a matter of urgency.
He said tensions are escalating in the city due to Six Nations protesters demanding payments from local developers and shutting down building sites.
"The concern I have is that this is a critical problem for the City of Brantford - it's an emergency," Smitheman said. "It's threatening the very life of the city, the financial life of the city."
Clive Garlow, named as a defendant in the city's notice of motion, told Taylor that Brantford had not clearly demonstrated it owns the lands subject to Six Nations protests.
don't own land
"I have to question the right of Brantford in the first place to initiate this action," Garlow told the court. "If they don't own the land, how can they issue an injunction against us?"
Outside court, Montour likened the city's legal action to "a kick in the face." She and her husband, Floyd Montour promised to continue protests at local development sites next week.
"We'll be back on the front line Monday morning," Floyd said.
Detlor, standing beside the Montours, said nothing should prevent peaceful, legitimate protests.
"There's nothing standing in the way for people excercizing the rights they enjoy under treaties or the Charter of Rights," he said, promising to take concerns about the city's legal action to the United Nations.
Detlor said the city's request to call in the army to deal with potential civil disturbances - a part of the motion before the court on Friday - shows how effective local native protests have been. But he said there is no threat of imminent riots or physical confrontation, as Brantford suggests in legal documents.
"There's no foundation for that position," Detlor said. "When you look around you today, there's no indication the City of Brantford is going to crumble off the face of the Earth."
racist bylaw
Hazel Hill, named as a defendant in the city's motion, said natives and non-natives should be concerned about the city's legal action.
"It's a very racist bylaw they're trying to exact," Hill said. "They're assuming the outcome of (government) negotiations by continuing with development."
Butch Thomas, a Confederacy Seneca sub-chief, said the Six Nations issue is for the federal and provincial governments to solve, not the city through its legal action. He said Brantford politicians are taking their direction from developers and showing "complete disregard" for the native community.
"Brantford wants to become their own little country," Thomas said.
"They've completely ignored us - all for the dollar.
"What about the land lost? They don't care what the natives lose, it's all what they lose."
negotiating table
Thomas, who sits at the negotiating table with federal and provincial government representatives, said Six Nations protests will stop when development does.
"Development on our land doesn't help in the least," Thomas said. "Development has to stop and protests will stop. Then, we can get down to reaching a resolution.
"Bylaws and injunctions really only stoke the flames."
The city's legal action, including posting signs to keep the Haudenosaunee off local development sites, will have ramifications, Thomas said.
"They're utterly racist to our minority native population," he said. "I liken that to somebody going parachuting and packing their parachute on the way down, because they haven't thought about the repercussions."