Just wonder people's thoughts on this.
Mohawks ready to block 401, CN mainline
Shawn Brant said Monday that Mohawk protesters consider Ontario Highway 401 and the Canadian National Railway main line to be “credible targets.”
Photograph by : Peter Redman/CanWest News Service
Jack Spearman, CanWest News Service
Published: Monday, June 25, 2007
OTTAWA — A critical highway and rail line which moves tens of thousands of people daily around Central Canada will be subject to a blockade on Friday, says a spokesman for protesters from the Tyendinaga Mohawk reserve in eastern Ontario.
Shawn Brant said Monday that protesters consider Ontario Highway 401 and the Canadian National Railway main line that runs between Toronto and Montreal to be “credible targets,” and that his group’s activities are part of the national day of action called for by the Assembly of First Nations.
Other reports suggested protesters may also try to block access to the nearby town of Deseronto — located on Lake Ontario’s Bay of Quinte midway between Kingston and Belleville
As to details of the timing of blockades, Brant was coy. But he did say the day of action begins at midnight and ends at midnight.
“Our intention is to fill the mandate for the full day,” he said, noting the actions of blockaders will depend on the reaction of police. “If they intervene, we’ll be making decisions on the ground.”
This is not the first time Tyendinaga protesters have resorted to blockades.
In April, Brant’s group blocked a CN_line between Toronto and Montreal for two days with a burned-out school bus to protest the slowness of negotiations over 400 hectares of privately held land the protesters say was never surrendered by the band.
CN is suing Brant and others for stalling millions of dollars worth of freight shipments and diverting thousands of train passengers.
The Bay of Quinte Mohawk Nation, to which the protesters belong, is also named —although the band council made clear at the time it did not endorse the action.
Brant said his group’s latest planned action is not sanctioned by the band’s elected leadership.
They, he added, cannot openly side with protesters lest the federal government retaliate by withholding funding for band programs.
“I understand and appreciate the band’s position,”_he said.
Assembly of First Nations national chief Phil Fontaine has warned the public his people are angry and exasperated at the snail’s pace at which land claims are handled in Canada.
In a bid to keep tempers on an even keel during Friday’s nation-wide protests, Fontaine and interim RCMP commissioner Beverly Busson on June 20 signed a protocol setting out ground rules for dealing with any crisis that may emerge — including the provision for a joint AFN/RCMP response team.
"The only way we can get the government to act in a responsible and appropriate way is to reach out to Canadians and we are trying to do it in the most respectful and peaceful way possible. That is what June 29 is about,” Fontaine said.
Mohawks ready to block 401, CN mainline
Shawn Brant said Monday that Mohawk protesters consider Ontario Highway 401 and the Canadian National Railway main line to be “credible targets.”
Photograph by : Peter Redman/CanWest News Service
Jack Spearman, CanWest News Service
Published: Monday, June 25, 2007
OTTAWA — A critical highway and rail line which moves tens of thousands of people daily around Central Canada will be subject to a blockade on Friday, says a spokesman for protesters from the Tyendinaga Mohawk reserve in eastern Ontario.
Shawn Brant said Monday that protesters consider Ontario Highway 401 and the Canadian National Railway main line that runs between Toronto and Montreal to be “credible targets,” and that his group’s activities are part of the national day of action called for by the Assembly of First Nations.
Other reports suggested protesters may also try to block access to the nearby town of Deseronto — located on Lake Ontario’s Bay of Quinte midway between Kingston and Belleville
As to details of the timing of blockades, Brant was coy. But he did say the day of action begins at midnight and ends at midnight.
“Our intention is to fill the mandate for the full day,” he said, noting the actions of blockaders will depend on the reaction of police. “If they intervene, we’ll be making decisions on the ground.”
This is not the first time Tyendinaga protesters have resorted to blockades.
In April, Brant’s group blocked a CN_line between Toronto and Montreal for two days with a burned-out school bus to protest the slowness of negotiations over 400 hectares of privately held land the protesters say was never surrendered by the band.
CN is suing Brant and others for stalling millions of dollars worth of freight shipments and diverting thousands of train passengers.
The Bay of Quinte Mohawk Nation, to which the protesters belong, is also named —although the band council made clear at the time it did not endorse the action.
Brant said his group’s latest planned action is not sanctioned by the band’s elected leadership.
They, he added, cannot openly side with protesters lest the federal government retaliate by withholding funding for band programs.
“I understand and appreciate the band’s position,”_he said.
Assembly of First Nations national chief Phil Fontaine has warned the public his people are angry and exasperated at the snail’s pace at which land claims are handled in Canada.
In a bid to keep tempers on an even keel during Friday’s nation-wide protests, Fontaine and interim RCMP commissioner Beverly Busson on June 20 signed a protocol setting out ground rules for dealing with any crisis that may emerge — including the provision for a joint AFN/RCMP response team.
"The only way we can get the government to act in a responsible and appropriate way is to reach out to Canadians and we are trying to do it in the most respectful and peaceful way possible. That is what June 29 is about,” Fontaine said.
