TYENDINAGA, Ont. — The federal Indigenous services minister arrived for a meeting today with representatives of the Mohawk Nation to discuss a rail blockade that has shut down rail services across
The blockade on Tyendinaga Mohawk territory near
Miller requested the meeting to "polish the silver covenant chain," which the Mohawks say refers to one of the original agreements between the First Nation and the Crown.
Similar blockades across the country have cut both passenger and freight rail services, with pressure mounting on the federal government to end them.
An injunction in B.C. was enforced earlier this month by the RCMP to give Coastal GasLink access to a work site for the pipeline, which is part of a
Coastal GasLink has signed agreements with all 20 elected band councils along the pipeline route. However, Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs assert title to a vast 22,000-square-kilometre area and say band councils only have authority over reserve lands.
A growing number of business leaders and industry groups called for government or police intervention in the shutdowns, and federal Conservative Leader
Prime Minister
"We are not the kind of country where politicians get to tell the police what to do in operational matters," Trudeau said in
"We are a country that recognizes the right to protest, but we are a country of the rule of law. And we will ensure that everything is done to resolve this through dialogue and constructive outcomes."
This report by
© 2020 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved., source