TORONTO – The lawyer for a group of Tyendinaga Mohawk protesters says disrupting railway traffic through blockades can be justified as a way to bring attention to aboriginal issues.
Lawyer Peter Rosenthal was in a Toronto court today arguing motions in a lawsuit CN Rail launched against protester Shawn Brant and others.
Some Tyendinaga Mohawks blockaded the busy Toronto-Montreal corridor of the CN Rail line in eastern Ontario in April and June of 2007.
CN has sued Brant and others for defying a court injunction during the blockades, and the protesters have countersued.
CN wants the court to strike portions from the protesters’ statement of defence and counterclaim that the company says are irrelevant to the case, including statements about First Nations people living in poverty.
None of the allegations have been proven in court, and the judge has reserved his decision.
