[IPSM] Blockade of eastern Ontario rail line ends; protesters warn of further actions

[samir at resist.ca]

from the mainstream press this morning...

-s

***


Blockade of eastern Ont. rail line ends; protesters warn of further actions

Allison Jones
CP

Saturday, April 21, 2007

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html?id=22bd2a5c-19c2-4c00-bba8-bff160a1aa87

A key organizer of an aboriginal blockade, which paralyzed passenger and
freight rail traffic on the busy Toronto-Montreal corridor, is warning
that the protest that ended early Saturday is just the beginning in a
series of “escalating” actions.

“We’ve identified targets as part of this campaign, one being the railway,
one being provincial highways and one being the town (of Deseronto)
itself,” said Shawn Brant.

“The disruption on the CN line was a first in a series of economic
disruptions, the first in a campaign.” he said. “The campaign calls for an
ever escalating degree.”

The next target has already been chosen and plans to finalize the next
action are in the works, said Brant, who commented Saturday morning at the
site of contention in the dispute – a gravel quarry that the Mohawks of
the Bay of Quinte say is their land.

Though the protesters originally said they would stay at the railway
blockade for 48 hours, it ended peacefully after about 30 hours at 6 a.m.
Saturday, after a sleepless night of negotiations with provincial police
and other officials.

Protesters said they chose to end it early over fears of a violent
conclusion.

A court injunction ordered the protesters and the dilapidated school bus
off the tracks with arrests warned as a consequence, but the order was
never enforced by police.

No arrests have been made at this point, said Ontario Provincial Police
Sgt. Kristine Rae.
“We’re pleased that it was a peaceful resolution.”

Friday also marked the one-year anniversary of a police raid on another
aboriginal occupation – in the southwestern Ontario town of Caledonia,
which has been marred by violence in the past.

Aboriginal groups have warned that a lack of political will to settle that
claim had protesters considering further standoffs in Ontario.

The protesters in Deseronto want the province to revoke a licence that
allows gravel to be trucked away from the quarry, operated by Thurlow
Aggregates.

On Saturday, the protesters offered no apologies to commuters and
businesses who were inconvenienced by the blockade. Thousands of rail
passengers were sent scrambling onto buses to reach their destinations
while CN Rail shut down all its operations.

“I don’t think they should expect an apology,” said Brant, who suggested
the blockade was prompted by government inaction on the Mohawk’s land
claim.

CN Rail reported the tracks reopened Saturday morning at around 10:15 a.m.

VIA Rail said it was expecting normal operations to resume late Saturday
afternoon or evening, once freight congestion had cleared.

“Even though we are very happy to announce that we are resuming our
operations this afternoon, at the same time our customers that will be
travelling with us are being advised that they should anticipate delays
between two and three hours on their total trip time,” said spokeswoman
Catherine Kaloutsky.

Jim Prentice, the federal Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern
Development, had warned the protesters to “abandon” their blockade because
it could jeopardize ongoing negotiations concerning the land tract.

The federal government has appointed a land-claims negotiator to try to
resolve the long-running dispute, but Brant has complained talks have been
moving too slowly.

The protesters initially set up barricades at the gravel quarry for a day
in November, and again in January. A third barricade went up last month,
and the group warned at the time that the demonstration might be expanded
to the town of Deseronto itself.

Condominiums are planned using gravel from the quarry for an area known as
the Culbertson Land Tract, which is on a section of land given to the Six
Nations in 1793. The Mohawks contend they never relinquished any part of
it.