Blockade on CN rail line in Edmonton removed, injunction granted

“It’s as simple as that. With those two removals, all of this comes down,” he said.

Conflicts with counter-protesters at the site, however, led Poundmaker and the others to abandon the blockade. They said they wanted to keep it peaceful.

A handful of counter-protesters had turned up at the small camp about noon. One man tried to dismantle a sign and removed a barrel at the site.

“This is the violence. See this is the violence,” said a protester, who had his face covered.

“This is not violence. I am just trying to remove some garbage,” the counter-protester responded.

Guy Simpson, an oilfield worker from Leduc, said he decided to show up at the blockade after seeing it on social media.

“One blockade at a time. I’ll clean it up,” he said.

Simpson and other counter-protesters removed the wooden pallets and other materials that were on the tracks.

CN said in a statement earlier Wednesday that CN police and local police had responded to the blockade and that the company would be taking legal action.

“Train movements are currently stopped,” said the statement.

Alberta Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer said blocking economically critical infrastructure such as rail lines is an offence and would not be tolerated.

“It is my understanding that CN rail is seeking an emergency injunction … which the government of Alberta fully supports,” he said on Twitter.

On Wednesday afternoon, an Edmonton judge granted CN a 30-day injunction applying to all rail lines in Alberta. CN lawyers had argued that the company has nothing to do with the dispute and is being hurt economically by the blockades.

Premier Jason Kenney, who has been critical of the blockades popping up across the country, said he expected police to respect and enforce court orders.

He planned to be on an afternoon conference call with all of Canada’s premiers about the blockades.

“These illegal blockades — there is people losing their jobs, blue-collar people, vulnerable people,” he said in Calgary.

“What is happening here is anarchy.”

The Central GasLink pipeline the hereditary chiefs oppose has already received approval from elected band councils.

Protests began after the RCMP moved in to enforce an injunction to keep hereditary chiefs and their supporters away from pipeline worksites. Blockades by Indigenous people and supporters have shut down a good part of CN’s rail network, suspended most Via Rail passenger service, and temporarily blocked traffic on streets and bridges and at ports in multiple cities.

The Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations, which represents 16 First Nations across Alberta, said in a statement that it supports the hereditary chiefs.

“We call upon law enforcement officials to ensure safety of peaceful land protectors and the railway workers,” said Grand Chief William Morin.

He urged the RCMP to leave Wet’suwet’en territory and asked that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and B.C. Premier John Horgan meet with the Wet’suwet’en “to resolve this in a peaceful manner for all Indigenous Peoples and Canadians.”

In Ottawa, Trudeau said his government is trying to find a resolution. But he also acknowledged the economic impact that the rail blockades are having across the country.

“We know that people are facing shortages. They’re facing disruptions. They’re facing layoffs. That’s unacceptable,” he said. “That’s why we’re going to continue working extremely hard with everyone involved to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 19, 2020

— With files from Colette Derworiz, Bill Graveland in Calgary and Dean Bennett in Edmonton

by Canadian Press

Blockade on CN rail line in Edmonton removed, injunction granted

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