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Aug15,
2003
COURT INJUNCTION BLOCKS PROTEST AND CONSTRUCTION
An
interim injunction was put in force this afternoon that
forbids Showstoppers and others from picketing, camping
and other forms of protest in the area of the proposed expressway
construction site near Greenhill Avenue and Albright Road.
However, the injunction also forbids the City from engaging
in construction activity (except for a fence to protect
the safety of students attending Elizabeth Bagshaw School).
The interim injunction will remain in force until the next
court date in the first week of September. It was agreed
upon by lawyers for both the City and the two individuals
who were named as defendents in the City’s injunction
motion issued earlier this week.
The
decision means that construction originally scheduled to
start on July 14 will not take place before September at
the earliest. It has also required that the Park-nic planned
for Sunday be relocated from the Greenhill grass area (see
notice below).
Violations
of the interim injunction may result in contempt of court
charges with the possibility of heavy fines and/or imprisonment.
The court also agreed to receive new motions up until Tuesday,
August 19 from anyone wishing to become a Party to the injunction
case, or wishing to be an intervenor.
While
the court action means a further delay in the efforts of
the City to begin construction, the citizens named in the
court action, and any who choose to become Parties to the
action, could be forced to pay for a substantial portion
of the City’s legal costs. Those costs are obviously
already quite substantial, as evidenced by the several hundred
pages of material of legal documents which were served on
the two citizens earlier this week. The City has hired very
expensive outside lawyers to prepare and press their injunction
attempts. In the past, the Council supporters of the expressway
have spent more than $4.5 million of taxpayers money on
lawyers and lobbyists in court action against the federal
environmental assessment of the expressway.
The
court injunction follows unsuccessful efforts by the City
to convince the Hamilton police department to charge the
hundreds of residents who have maintained picket lines at
Greenhill Avenue and Albright Road since the early morning
of August 5 as well as the individuals who have camped continuously
in the designated “construction zone” since that
time. A celebration of those successes is planned for Sunday
as described below.
Representatives
of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy who established a Roundhouse
and a sacred fire earlier this week in the natural area
threatened by the Greenhill construction plans, remain on
the site. The band council of the Six Nations on the Grand
subsequently issued a letter calling on the City to stop
construction.
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Kids!
Bring
your parents to the
Red Hill Valley
Family Parc-nic
this Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00
pm
There will be music, art, games, and fun for all.
Guided tours of the valley will be offered both
on foot and by bicycle. This is a great opportunity
to meet your neighbours in the community for some
family fun and to celebrate the Red Hill Valley.
What
to bring:
- Food for potluck lunch (including plates and utensils)
- Outdoor games (soccer balls, badminton, frisbees,
etc.)
- Bicycles
- Musical instruments (there will be a sound system
set-up)
- Lawn chairs and folding tables
Where:
Albright Road, between Red Hill School and Elizabeth
Bagshaw School (just west of Mount Albion Rd.)
When: This Sunday, August 16 from 1:00 pm
to 5:00 pm
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