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Canadian PM Trudeau says rail blockades have to end Canadian PM Trudeau says rail blockades have to end
(about 1 hour later)
TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday the barricades blocking rail service in Canada have to come down now and court injunctions must be obeyed. TORONTO — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday indigenous barricades that are blocking rail service across Canada and hurting the economy have to come down now.
Demonstrators have set up blockades in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec in solidarity with opponents of the Coastal GasLink pipeline project that crosses the traditional territory of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation in northwestern British Columbia. Trudeau said that court injunctions must be obeyed and that the situation is unacceptable and untenable and every attempt at dialogue has been made over the last two weeks.
Some hereditary chiefs in the Wet’suwet’en First Nation oppose the natural gas pipeline through their traditional territory, though it has received approval from elected band councils. Demonstrators have set up blockades in British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta and Quebec in solidarity with opponents of the Coastal GasLink pipeline project that crosses the traditional territory of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation in northwestern British Columbia. Some hereditary chiefs in the Wet’suwet’en First Nation oppose the natural gas pipeline, though it has received approval from elected band councils.
Trudeau said the situation is unacceptable and untenable and every attempt at dialogue has been made over the last two weeks. He noted some people can’t get to work and others have lost their jobs. He said there’s no point making the same overtures to indigenous leaders if they aren’t accepted. Trudeau said some people can’t get to work and others have lost their jobs. He said there is no point making the same overtures to indigenous leaders if they aren’t accepted.
“We can’t have dialogue when only one party is coming to the table,” Trudeau said. “The onus is on them.”“We can’t have dialogue when only one party is coming to the table,” Trudeau said. “The onus is on them.”
Via Rail, Canada’s passenger train service, said this week it is temporarily laying off 1,000 employees due to the continued halt in service on CN Rail’s tracks in eastern Canada caused by railway blockades protesting a British Columbia pipeline. CN Rail also announced 450 temporary layoffs. Via Rail, Canada’s passenger train service, said this week it is temporarily laying off 1,000 employees due to the continued halt in service on CN Rail’s tracks in eastern Canada caused by the blockades. CN Rail also announced 450 temporary layoffs.
The crisis is stranding an estimated $425 million Canadian (US$340 million) in goods every day, according to the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters trade group. Quebec Premier Francois Legault said Friday that the disruption is costing the province about $100 million Canadian (US$75 million) a day. The crisis is daily stranding goods worth an an estimated 425 million Canadian dollars ($340 million), according to the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters trade group.
Trudeau has made reconciliation with Canada’s First Nations a priority for his government. Trudeau said the army won’t be called in, saying troops aren’t used against Canadian citizens. He said removing the barricades must be done peacefully.
“We are waiting for Indigenous leadership to show that it understands,” he said “Police have a job to do, but how they do that, when they do that, no politician gets to say,” he said.
He said the army won’t be called in, saying you don’t use the army against Canadian citizens. He said must be done peacefully. The prime minister said officials have feared from the start that the situation could get worse and spent the last two weeks showing good faith in an effort to resolve the dispute. He said it would be lamentable if there was violence when the barricades are taken down, but added that Canadians cannot continue to suffer as a result of the rail shut down.
“Police have a job to do but how they do that, when they do that, no politician gets to say,” he said. Trudeau has made reconciliation with Canada’s First Nations a priority for his government but the blockades could risk public support.
The prime minister said they have feared from the start that situation could get worse and spent the last two weeks showing good faith in an effort to resolve it. He said it would be lamentable if there was violence when the barricades are taken down, but said Canadians cannot continue to suffer as a result of the rail shut down. “We are waiting for Indigenous leadership to show that it understands,” he said.
Trudeau met with his top Cabinet ministers on Friday. His office said Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Carolyn Bennett and Minister of Indigenous Services Marc Miller discussed their ongoing outreach to Indigenous leaders across the country. His office noted repeated offers to meet with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs to address immediate and long-term issues have not yet been accepted. Trudeau met with his top Cabinet ministers Friday. Repeated offers to have ministers meet with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs to address their issues have not been accepted, Trudeau’s office said.
The rail blockades have led to backlogs at Canada’s three biggest ports, prompting some shippers to take their business elsewhere as cargo piles up. Atlantic Container Line (ACL), a major U.S. shipping line, is diverting from the Port of Halifax in favour of U.S. harbors. The company, which typically berths two ships a week, is now docking in New York and Baltimore to run cargo inland on American railroads, chief executive Andrew Abbott said. One of the traditional chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en Nation said his people are willing to engage in talks, but not until the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in British Columbia have left traditional Wet’suwet’en territory entirely and Coastal GasLink, the pipeline company, ceases work in the area.
In Montreal, some 4,000 containers sit immobilized on the docks and Prairie bulk products like grain can no longer reach the port. Until their demands are met, the barricade in Ontario erected by the Mohawks at Tyendinaga will not come down, said Kanenhariyo, who also goes by Seth LaFort, of the Mohawks of Tyendinaga.
The number of ships waiting at anchor to enter Vancouver-area terminals has more than doubled to 50 due to the clogged transportation system, though no vessels are opting for U.S. ports as a result, said Vancouver Fraser Port Authority spokeswoman Melanie Nadeau. Hereditary Chief Woos, also known as Frank Alec, took issue with Trudeau’s comments that the blockades are causing trouble for Canadians, suggesting the Wet’suwet’en are facing injustice.
The rail shutdown is also disrupting other sectors. Superior Propane, Canada’s largest supplier of the fuel, said the situation is getting dire as it begins to ration distribution in Atlantic Canada over concerns that hospitals, nursing homes and households could run out. “There is a difference between inconvenience and injustice — total difference. Don’t confuse one with the other,” he said.
The blockades also hinder west-to-east flow of household items from produce to plywood, Band-Aids and canola oil, and raise the cost of others, said Retail Council of Canada spokesman Karl Littler. Quebec Premier Francois Legault said the disruption is costing the province about 100 million Canadian dollars ($75 million) a day.
The broader impact on the economy may only amount to a hit of 0.2 percentage points to quarterly GDP growth, said RBC economist Nathan Janzen — likely in the tens of millions of dollars. But the ripple effects are being felt “acutely’’ by some in the rail and manufacturing sectors. The blockades have led to backlogs at Canada’s three biggest ports, prompting some shippers to take their business to the U.S. as cargo piles up.
In Montreal, some 4,000 containers sit immobilized on the docks and Prairie bulk products like grain can no longer reach the port. The number of ships waiting at anchor to enter Vancouver-area terminals has more than doubled to 50 due to the clogged transportation system, though no vessels are opting for U.S. ports as a result, said Vancouver Fraser Port Authority spokeswoman Melanie Nadeau.
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.