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September
2003
Newsletter
Threats,
Rally, Pickets, Camping and Court
Campout on the July 4-6 weekend.
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It's
been a busy summer. On the weekend of July 4-6 about 60
people camped out in the greenspace at the west end of Greenhill
Avenue, an area that the City had slated for construction
as early as July 14.
The
first attempt at this didn't occur until August 5. It was
preceded by a threatening letter sent by the City by email
(and in some cases by personal delivery) to about 25 people,
selected apparently because some email addresses fell into
the hands of the City.
The
letter said the recipients "may be one of those
persons or … may know such persons" who are
about to break the law. It goes on to state: "We
also want to inform you that the City will seek damages
and other appropriate legal remedies from those responsible
for the City incurring damages and costs arising from unlawful
behaviour."
The
damages are described as in excess of $3.4 million, plus
court costs, and the letter notes that "costs may
be enforced against a person owning property by the judgement
being registered against title with the consequence that
if the judgement is not paid the property can be ordered
sold to pay the judgement."
The remainder of the letter is devoted to a description
of charges that the City threatened to pursue, including
the following:
- Intentional
Interference with Contractual Relations and Economic Interests
- Inducing
Breach of Contract
- Illegal
Conspiracy to Injure
- Tort
of Intimidation
- Trespass
- Common Law Liability
- Mischief
(Criminal offence)
- Intimidation
(Criminal offence)
- Acts
prohibited under various City by-laws
The
letter was roundly condemned in media coverage across the
province. The Spectator editorially called it "much
too heavy-handed". As a result of persistent questions
by Councillors Braden and Horwath, City staff were forced
to admit that the letter had been not even been drafted
by the Acting City Solicitor who signed her name to it,
but had been the work of "outside legal counsel".
It was also revealed that the letter was approved by a staff
committee of three individuals. Larry DiIanni attacked Braden
and supported the letter, apparently reflecting the views
of the other pro-expressway councillors who offered no criticism
of the threatening letter.
Rally
for the Valley on August 4th.
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The
August 4 Rally for the Valley was attended by over 600 people,
despite the threats, the middle of the summer holiday weekend
timing, and barely two weeks notice.
It was introduced by Al Loft speaking on behalf of the Haundensaunee,
and also featured a fiery speech by mayoralty candidate
David Christopherson. A number of individuals set up camp
that evening, beginning a ten-night stay.
Earlier
in the day, experts engaged by Friends of Red Hill
confirmed the presence of nesting migratory birds in the
proposed construction zone. The federal Migratory Birds
Convention Act forbids disturbance of nesting migratory
birds. The police, the City and federal authorities were
notified. This eventually led to a City consultant visiting
the area and confirming that birds were still nesting on
the site at late as August 21. They would certainly have
been disturbed if the City had been able to carry out its
plans to start construction on August 5, but that was not
to be. Instead, protestors blocked the City's plans and
saved the City from violating another federal law.
Before
7 am the following morning, over 100 people had established
picket lines at the end of Albright Road and Greenhill Avenue.
Attempts by Dufferin Construction to bring their vehicles
into the valley were resolutely turned back that morning
and on both subsequent mornings.
The
peaceful resistance dominated local media and resulted in
extensive coverage of the expressway issue in the Globe
and Mail, Toronto Star, Eye Magazine, Now Magazine and the
Toronto Sun, as well as newspapers located on the Six Nations
reserve and radio stations in Brantford. Members of the
Showstoppers and/or Friends of Red Hill were interviewed
on CBC Radio Noon twice, the Current (CBC national) twice,
CBC Newsworld (national), and CBC television news, as well
as CFTO-TV and CITY-TV, and other provincial media.
The
Showstoppers invited the City to discuss the outstanding
issues, resulting in meetings on August 6 and 8 between
representatives of Showstoppers, Friends of Red Hill, the
Haundenosaunee Confederacy, the Red Hill Neighbourhood Association
and the City. Then the process was arbitrarily stopped by
a gag order issued by the City on its staff and councillors
when City lawyers began legal proceedings to obtain an injunction.
As of September 10, it is clear that the City has spent
tens of thousands of dollars on this effort. It has also
declared that it intends to force protestors to pay these
bills.
The
first court hearing on the injunction application took place
on August 15 and resulted in a temporary agreement to stop
both protests and attempts to start construction. There
was also an opportunity granted for others to voluntarily
intervene as defendants. Six individuals chose to do so
— Andrew Loucks, Rae Mitchell, John Milton, Gord Pullar,
Dr. Jim Quinn and Heather Wilson. They were accepted on
August 21 and given seven days to gather and submit written
affidavit evidence. This was followed by cross-examination,
and the preparation and submission of a written "factum"
laying out their legal arguments.
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Defendants
Gord Pullar, left, and Jim Quinn, talk with Friends
of the Red Hill Valley Lynda Lukasik and Don McLean
during a break in court case on September 5th. Photo
by John Rennison, the Hamilton Spectator.
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The
day after this was due, the six appeared in court on September
5. They defended themselves, while the City put seven lawyers
and legal staff into the all-day courtroom session. The
hearings concluded on September 8.
Despite the September 12 decision approving the injunction,
the delays won by the courageous actions of hundreds of
individuals will likely be sufficient to prevent the City
from doing any major destruction in the valley before the
November 10 elections. The continuing efforts of the Haudenosaunee
will likely guarantee this.
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