CALEDONIA, Ont. -- Protesters calling for action on missing and murdered aboriginal women closed stretches of two highways in Ontario for a time Saturday.
Provincial police say demonstrators blocked part of Highway 6 between Caledonia and Hagersville and at the Skyway Bridge on Highway 49 connecting Tyendinaga Territory and Prince Edward County.
The demonstration was part of a national day of vigils, with people across the country calling for an inquiry into Canada’s murdered and missing aboriginal women and girls.
Organizers say people gathered at more than 200 locations across the country Saturday, to demand action from the government.
A vigil for missing and murdered aboriginal women began at 6 p.m. Saturday at Parc Emilie-Gamelin in Montreal, with hundreds of people gathering in the rain and marching through the streets in support of the cause.
According to an RCMP report released earlier this year, since 1980, more than 1,000 aboriginal females have been victims of homicide, many of which remain unsolved.
Six Nations Men's Fire, which is organizing the planned two-day Highway 6 closure, is calling on the federal government to hold an inquest into the matter.
OPP say their objective is to maintain the safe flow of traffic and, when delays occur, get traffic flowing again in the safest manner possible.
Police say they are working with protest groups to let demonstrators safely and peacefully exercise their right to protest while minimizing the impact on the travelling public when possible.
This is the ninth year a national day of vigils has been organized in Canada.
-- with files from CTV News
