Native protesters end CN railway blockade

CTV.ca News Staff

Mohawk protesters have ended their blockade along one of Canada's busiest rail corridors that ground train traffic between Toronto and Montreal to a halt on Friday.

The move comes hours after a court injunction was granted, compelling the protesters to remove the obstruction along the CN rail tracks near Marysville, Ont. -- about 200 kilometres east of Toronto.

The injunction cleared the way for CN freight and Via Rail trains to pass unimpeded, after a simmering land-claim standoff in Caledonia in southwestern Ontario sparked the sympathy protest.

But police never had to enforce the court order.

CTV's Kathy Tomlinson reports that the protesters were encouraged by ongoing discussions between natives and police in Caledonia.

And late Friday night, they removed two old school buses they laid on the tracks. CN cars started to roll again after an inspector deemed the crossing was safe.

VIA Rail said all passenger trains running between Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal were expected to be back on their normal schedule by Saturday morning.

The sympathy protest began before dawn, when several dozen Mohawks from the
Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory near the town of Marysville, east of Belleville, Ont., lit bonfires on either side of the track.

They lit the fires along the tracks and laid down the school buses to show support for natives maintaining barricades at a housing development -- about 350 kilometres away in Caledonia, south of Hamilton, Ont., which they say sits on native land.

Ontario Provincial Police told CTV News that no arrests were made in connection with the protest, which managed to cause major commuter chaos and frustration on Friday.

VIA Rail trains operating between Toronto and Kingston, Ont. in both directions had to be replaced by chartered buses. Rail routes between Ottawa and Montreal weren't affected.

It's not clear when VIA Rail will resume operation along the route. In a statement issued earlier Friday, VIA said it was not accepting new bookings for travel Friday or through the weekend on the affected routes.

CN says it obtained the injunction this afternoon from the Ontario Superior Court, ordering the protesters to remove their blockade at the tracks near Marysville.

CN argued the rail line is an essential link in its transcontinental network, and maintained it was not involved in the ongoing dispute.

In a statement, the company said: "CN is in no way involved with the dispute ... that apparently triggered this illegal action at Marysville, two hundred miles distant from the Caledonia controversy.

"(CN) should not be expected to suffer any harm due to a matter with which it has no involvement or interest whatsoever."

Tyendinaga Mohawk spokesman Shawn Brant said earlier the Mohawks would remain at the bonfires "until proper, dignified and respectful talks" are held to resolve the battle.

Talks continue

Meanwhile, talks between federal, provincial and native officials -- aimed at restarting negotiations in a bid to end the main standoff in Caledonia -- continue.

Liberal Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said a mediator is involved, and that his government remains hopeful they will be able to bring the protest to a peaceful resolution.

He said the important thing for all the parties involved to do is to continue discussions and to "allow cooler heads to prevail."

But a day of relative calm saw spikes of anger in some protesters Friday.

At one point there was a false rumour that the OPP were about to descend on the Caledonia barricades and try to remove the protesters.

CTV's Kathy Tomlinson said many of the occupiers pulled kerchiefs over their faces, while some picked up sticks and filled socks with rocks. They said they were prepared to "engage" -- but in the end, nothing happened.

Just a day before, a police raid on the Caledonia construction site resulted in the arrests of 16 protesters.

After the arrests, hundreds of members of the nearby Six Nations reserve scrambled to the scene to take up their defence of land they say was stolen from them more than two centuries ago.

On Thursday night, a busload of supporters from other reserves in the province arrived and through the night more arrived at a tent city resembling a makeshift refugee camp.

Truckloads of gravel and barricades blocked the main road into the site -- a 40-hectare tract where some 250 homes are slated for construction.

Protesters also burned a small foot bridge, saying they were trying to stop police from using it.

Occupation

Since Feb. 28, dozens of Six Nations members have occupied the Douglas Creek Estates housing project in the quiet suburban community of Caledonia.

The protesters argue that the site was part of a large land grant back in 1784, but the provincial and federal governments insist the land was surrendered in 1841 to help build a highway.

An Ontario Superior Court judge ordered the protesters to leave last month, but they ignored the order.

Police then staged a pre-dawn raid Thursday morning, two days after talks to end the dispute broke down.

Ontario Provincial Police Deputy Commissioner Maurice Pilon described the clashes as "very difficult for all involved," but insisted his officers "showed tremendous restraint," adding that two officers sustained injuries during the confrontation.

"Our focus is to try and find a peaceful resolution ...violence is not the answer," he told a news briefing in Cayuga, Ont., Thursday.

Earlier, protester Hazel Hill told CTV that she had struggled with up to five police officers.

"People were pepper sprayed ... another man was shot in the back with a Taser and we were told more police officers would be coming back," Hill said.

The dispute is eerily reminiscent of the 1995 clash at Ipperwash Provincial Park, where a police sniper took the life of protester Dudley George, touching off a controversy that continues to this day.

Well aware of the political impact Ipperwash had on the Conservative government of Mike Harris, McGuinty denied Thursday that he knew police were poised to storm the makeshift encampment.

"This police action comes completely independent of me, my office and my government," McGuinty said.

George's brother Sam spoke to reporters Friday afternoon, saying the current standoff reminds him of Ipperwash.

He said government can end the dispute by transferring control and working out a compensation deal for the housing developer.

"I think all governments and decision makers should be stepping forward to resolve this," George said.

Meanwhile, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine said blocking roads and occupying land was not the answer.

"We still believe that the most effective way achieving change is through negotiations," he told reporters.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Thursday he was watching the situation closely.

With reports from CTV's David Akin, Kathy Tomlinson and The Canadian Press