BURLINGTON, Vt - Protesters targeted a meeting of New England governors and Eastern Canadian premiers Monday, an event co-hosted by Premier Jean Charest and Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin.
The unrest began when around 500 environmental activists and Innu First Nations groups greeted the leaders upon their arrival at Burlington City Hall in Vermont Sunday for the 36th annual meeting, which began Monday. Protests continued Monday.
There were tense moments, as police fired pepper balls and rubber sting ball pellets to protect two officers from protesters blocking buses for conference participants.
There were no serious injuries and no word of arrests.
Activists were expressing their dissatisfaction with Charest's controversial Plan Nord, a 25-year social and environmental project to be carried out in Quebec’s north.
“In my community, some of us are against the Plan Nord. Others are for it, but with certain conditions, and still others are in favour. The premier should have spoken to us all,” said Innu spokesperson Elyse Vollant, who walked a 900-kilometre distance from Sept-Iles to Montreal in the spring as part of a protest against the plan.
Charest, however, said he came to an agreement with the Cree nation last week.
“Grand projects are never received unanimously, we knew that. But the Plan Nord is a plan for economic growth and job creation in a world that lacks that,” he said.
What remains to be seen is whether the premier will be around to realize the completion of the Plan Nord, since Quebec voters will likely soon be sent to the polls in what is expected to be an unpredictable race.
First Nations people living in the Plan Nord territory said while they don't usually vote in provincial elections, but this time their message will be clear come voting day.
Meantime, protesters marched through downtown Burlington to also express their disagreement with government policies on the environment, immigration, refugees and the economy.
Some also expressed opposition to Hydro Quebec’s plan to pass transmission lines throughout the northeast of the United States.
“Our demand for electricity is destroying indigenous cultures,” said Will Bennington of environmental group Red Clover Climate Justice. “It's destroyed indigenous cultures in Vermont, it's destroyed indigenous cultures in Canada and we need to drastically reduce our demand for energy.”
The protesters performed what they described as a human oil spill in Battery Park to denounce the possibility of Canadian oil sands being sent through Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
“Our residents, just like Canadian residents, are interested in low cost, and low costs with as low as possible a carbon emission, so I think this is a great area for us to work together on it,” said Connecticut governor Dannel Patrick Malloy
Topics discussed at the meetings include last year's floods near Lake Champlain.
Charest has previously discussed the issue of the floods with governors and premiers and a report will be published soon.
The conference also included talks on strategies for developing renewable energy, the potential for electric vehicles, and keeping cross border traffic flowing in the post-9-11 age of heightened security.
With files from The Canadian Press
