Via Rail says it is cancelling all train service on the Montreal-Toronto and Toronto-Ottawa routes until the end of Thursday due to an anti-pipeline blockade near Belleville, Ont.
Spokesperson Marie-Anna Murat said on Tuesday that Via service is cancelled “in view of the current uncertainty.”
Via has cancelled 157 trains since the blockade began on Thursday, affecting at least 24,500 passengers.
It’s estimated service will resume “at least 36 hours from the time the line is cleared,” Murat said in an email. She said “heavy rail congestion” has been building since last Friday east and west of the blockade on CN tracks in eastern Ontario.
The blockade by the Mohawks of Tyendinaga , along one of Canada’s busiest rail corridors, comes in response to the RCMP’s recent enforcing of a court order in B.C. on Wet’suwet’en camps built to block construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline.
The Mohawks have said they won’t leave until the RCMP have left Wet’suwet’en territory. The RCMP have finished dismantling the Wet’suwet’en camps, but remain in the territory to ensure compliance with the court order.
A First Nations protester stands in front of a transport at the blockade on Tuesday. (Lars Hagberg/Canadian Press)
Ontario Provincial Police, however, said on Tuesday they are preparing to end the blockade.
Calling the situation “dire,” OPP officers told demonstrators to clear the area or face a raid and arrests. The demonstrators who met the officers said they would relay the message to the others.
The demonstrators have not put any obstructions on the tracks but are set up nearby — too close for trains to pass safely. The tracks run just outside the reserve boundary of Tyendinaga within its claimed territory.
Via said it will refund the cancelled trips, but that could take up to 10 days due to the volume of transactions.
Murat urged passengers to contact CN about “any progress” on the removal of the blockade. She said passengers will be given details about their trips by email and are urged to go to Via’s website for updated schedules.
Via added it remains hopeful that the situation will be resolved.
Via service continues from Toronto to southwestern Ontario, between Montreal and Ottawa and Montreal and Quebec City.
Rail service was also disrupted in B.C. between Prince Rupert and Prince George by a blockade near New Hazelton.
In eastern Ontario, CN said the shut-down is affecting shipments ranging from propane to feedstock, and has disrupted the only rail link between Eastern and Western Canada and the U.S. Midwest.
The OPP is calling on the demonstrators to abide a court injunction and not jeopardize public safety.
“Our primary goal is always to preserve the peace and maintain a safe environment for everyone. We remain open to dialogue that could lead to a peaceful and safe resolution,” Bill Dickson, spokesperson for the OPP’s East Region, said in an email on Tuesday.
An enforcement officer reads a court injunction to demonstrators on Tuesday. (Lars Hagberg/Canadian Press)
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
