SARNIA, Ont. – A First Nations protester is facing a bill of more than $16,000 after being ordered to pay damages to CN Rail over a rail blockade in southwestern Ontario last winter as part of “Idle No More” protests.
An Ontario Superior Court judge ordered 51-year-old Ron Plain of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation to pay the damages in a decision released Tuesday.
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Plain was accused of ignoring a court injunction to stop his involvement in a 13-day blockade of the railway near Sarnia, Ont., in support of a hunger protest by Chief Theresa Spence of Attawapiskat First Nation.
CN Rail had asked for damages of $50,000 as financial compensation for the blockade, which the company said it would commit to its aboriginal scholarship program.
Plain’s lawyer asked that damages be limited $1,000, saying that Plain had persuaded the protesters to end the blockade on Jan. 2.
A campaign to raise money for Plain’s legal fees on the website Indiegogo brought in under $5,000, about half of his fundraising goal.
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