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 countrys train network.
'Reaper of death': scientists discover new dinosaur species related to T rex
Read more
Via Rail, the crown corporation that operates much of Canadas 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 Wetsuweten 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
pandr32
(11,446 posts)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)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.
Magoo48
(4,659 posts)Leave fossil fuel in the ground.
2naSalit
(86,048 posts)Hiawatha Pete
(1,767 posts)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