Paul Legall
The
Notices will be posted in local newspapers in a last-ditch attempt to reach natives facing contempt of court charges for allegedly breaching an interim injunction prohibiting demonstrations at
Neal Smitheman, a lawyer for the city of
Smitheman added the notices, which would appear on publication dates in the next two weeks, would constitute a form of substitute service for protesters that the authorities haven't able to reach in person or who had been avoiding service.
Superior Court Justice Harrison Arrell included his suggestion in an order that would name five of eight protesters who allegedly demonstrated and disrupted work at certain sites in
The persons named in the notices will also be sent materials relating to the charges through a courier service and, in one case, through the accused's criminal lawyer.
Smitheman said there is an "urgency" in getting the contempt proceedings started in court because demonstrations are still going on and the city of
He had originally argued that the judge should issue arrest warrants for the protesters in an effort to force them to appear in court. He said the Six Nations police, who were given a list of the protesters facing contempt charges, haven't been very co-operative in tracking them down and there was no reason to expect they'd be any more helpful in the future.
The judge agreed it was important to get the proceedings going but he said he was reluctant to issue arrest warrants at this stage.
In issuing his order, he was mindful of the fact that local newspapers have no obligation to run such notices. He asked the parties to return to the court on Sept. 5 to determine whether the substitute service had been successful.
He also agreed with a suggestion that a lawyer be appointed as "a friend of the court" to protect the rights of the persons facing contempt charges and issued an invitation to the attorney general of Canada to join Brantford's application for a permanent injunction.