Protestors block railway near Montreal in solidarity with Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs
Quebec protestors erected a blockade Saturday morning across a strip of Canadian National (CN) rail south of Montreal in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs in the midst of an ongoing standoff with the RCMP and a major oil and gas company in B.C.
The protestors described themselves in a Saturday press release as non-Indigenous "settler allies who stand in solidarity with Indigenous peoples who are defending their territories from colonial violence and industrial destruction."
The protest began at 9:30 a.m. in Saint-Lambert, Que., a city on Montreal's South Shore. It was one of several protest actions in recent weeks -- a trend which will continue "for as long as the RCMP remains on the territory of the Wet’suwet’en and the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline continues” said one of the blockade participants, Marianne Côté, in the release.
CTV reached Côté while she was still on the tracks. She says spirits were high as the protest grew to a group of around 60 people. Signage and debris had been placed on the tracks, and a metal drum had been fashioned into a make-shift fireplace.
She said protesters saw several trains approach the blockade, stop, and hit reverse. CN said in a statement it was aware of the blockade, but did not specify whether it was disrupting service.
The Wet'suwet’en hereditary chiefs, who are the traditional leaders of the territory are standing in opposition of a pipeline being built by Coastal Gaslink, despite it being approved by the elected council. In November, Mounties in northern B.C. said they were enforcing an injunction barring protests from blocking an access road used by Coastal GasLink pipeline workers. Several people were arrested, including two journalists.
The 670-kilometre pipeline will transport natural gas from Northern B.C. Coastal Gaslink says construction is more than halfway done. Kahnawake, the Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) community also on Montreal's South Shore, held a rolling blockade in late-November on a prominant stretch of highway.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.