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usaf-vet

(6,093 posts)
Wed Feb 12, 2020, 04:58 PM Feb 2020

Canada: thousands of travelers affected as Indigenous-led rail blockade continues

Source: The Guardian

Thousands of travelers in Canada have been affected and billions of dollars worth of freight traffic delayed as an Indigenous-led blockade of critical rail lines continues to cripple the country’s train network.


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Via Rail, the crown corporation that operates much of Canada’s commuter rail service, announced on Wednesday that trains on the Toronto-Montreal and Toronto-Ottawa routes would be halted until at least Friday. More than 150 passenger trains have been cancelled since the blockade began, forcing an estimated 24,000 people to find alternate travel routes.

Canadian National Railway, which owns the tracks, warned it “will be forced to shut down significant parts” of its vast Canadian network, which moves oil, grain and forestry products to markets in Asia and the United States, unless a resolution is reached.

For the past week, Tyendinaga Mohawk protesters in Ontario have defied a court injunction and blocked railway tracks in support Wet’suwet’en activists in British Columbia who are locked in a standoff over a multibillion-dollar natural gas pipeline that would cross through their traditional territory.



Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/12/canada-protests-indigenous-rail-blockade

6 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Canada: thousands of travelers affected as Indigenous-led rail blockade continues (Original Post) usaf-vet Feb 2020 OP
This is good news as far as I can see pandr32 Feb 2020 #1
I knew someone from the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. He totally applegrove Feb 2020 #2
Good news indeed! Magoo48 Feb 2020 #3
Agreed pandr32 Feb 2020 #4
Good. ...nt 2naSalit Feb 2020 #5
Jeopardizing our environmentally-friendly public transit options isn't going to help, though Hiawatha Pete Feb 2020 #6

pandr32

(11,446 posts)
1. This is good news as far as I can see
Wed Feb 12, 2020, 05:06 PM
Feb 2020

The planned pipeline in B.C. would endanger critical coastal areas. Potential (likely) damage would be catastrophic and there is no longer a need for this since green energy options abound. Problem is that the world militaries would have to replace their expensive fleets of oil and gas guzzlers.
Mohawks are not to be messed with. They have faced down government and industry threats before.

applegrove

(118,012 posts)
2. I knew someone from the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. He totally
Wed Feb 12, 2020, 05:22 PM
Feb 2020

could see his connection through ancestors to my Tibetan bosses. He was an interconnector for sure. And appreciated it when i did not make him pay taxes.

Hiawatha Pete

(1,767 posts)
6. Jeopardizing our environmentally-friendly public transit options isn't going to help, though
Wed Feb 12, 2020, 08:17 PM
Feb 2020

As a Canadian I'm going to chime in here:

First, regarding the pipeline blockade in BC, the First Nations (FN) are right to stand against the incursion into their land by the RCMP. I hope the Federal gov't reconsiders it's lapse in judgement in pushing this short-sighted pipeline project through.

That being said, as for the Mohawk First Nations blockade in Ontario, why aren't they blocking the roads (Highway 401) if they want to maximize their impact? Why is it just rail?

I don't care much about the freight disruption, but VIA Rail (the national passenger rail service provider) has nothing whatsoever to do with the pipeline.

Tens of thousands of passengers left stranded so far - with VIA losing millions of dollars in revenue.

Hard to believe if a Conservative gov't gets elected federally, that the first thing they won't do is cut VIA Rail's funding saying it lost too much money - leaving thousands more stranded for good, including those unable to drive or who can't fly because of medical reasons.

The Con's did it before (not that I've ever voted for them): https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/03/17/via_rail_cuts_strand_smalltown_travellers.html

Thank goodness we have a Liberal government, at least for now.

I just don't see how jeopardizing the future of our environmentally friendly public transit options is going to help in this case. In an ideal world there would be a separate line for passengers than freight, one that does not go through any FN territory.

But oh yeah, that's right, lots of the brave, online-only-weekend-warrior climate/civil rights "advocates" up here in Montreal/Toronto/Vancouver suburbia don't care and are content to keep driving their SUV's instead of taking the train.

Keep burning more gas. That'll help with the climate and fossil fuel dependency and in no way will affect the economic "case" for yet more pipelines.
And damned be those that actually ARE trying to help by using public transit.

As the saying goes - lay down with dogs, expect to catch fleas.

Happy scratching, hockey dads and soccer moms!


Pete

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