The Midland Mirror recently reported that, “Protesters charged in relation to recent events at Site 41 will have to wait another two months before getting their day in court. Seventeen people face charges – including mischief – for an alleged blockade outside the gates of the controversial landfill this summer. The accused individuals appeared in court on Oct. 8. Their cases were remanded until Dec. 3.”
On September 18, the Council of Canadians wrote Ontario’s attorney general requesting that all charges be dropped against these individuals.
Maude Barlow wrote, “The Council of Canadians is respectfully asking that the Crown also consider the extenuating circumstances which led to these law abiding and deeply respected people being arrested. If real justice is to be served, these unjust charges need to be dropped.”
As noted in the Barrie Advance, attorney general spokesperson Brendan Crawley replied to this request by saying, “As with all prosecutions before the courts, the Crown will make all decisions on the prosecution in accordance with the Crown policy manual. Whatever the Crown decides to do will be done on the record, in open court, at the appropriate time.”
The Midland Mirror article is at http://www.midlandmirror.com/midlandmirror/article/147276. The Barrie Advance article is at http://www.barrieadvance.com/barrieadvance/article/145605. The Council of Canadians letter to the attorney general and accompanying media release is at http://canadians.org/media/water/2009/18-Sept-09.html.
