Protesters defy injunction by maintaining St-Lambert blockade – Montreal Gazette

Protesters on the CN train tracks in St-Lambert said Thursday they had no intentions of leaving quietly.

“The government refuses to listen to the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs,” an unnamed spokesperson said in a statement to media on Thursday. “We are fighting against a pipeline on their territory. The rails are blocked until further notice. The protectors of the water and Earth are called upon to block colonial powers on ports, bridges, roads, railways everywhere — now.”

Just before 7 p.m., the street was closed while police escorted a bailiff who delivered an injunction — a court order telling them their action is illegal. While CN had obtained the injunction in the morning, a Radio-Canada report said the document was only in English, so it had to be redrafted and approved by a judge. The street was closed for 15 minutes while the bailiff read the injunction to the protesters and handed out copies that he signed.

Earlier in the day, Quebec Premier François Legault said with an injunction served, it is now up to police to ensure it is respected.

“The injunction was obtained by CN; now, it is the job of police,” he told reporters during a scrum in Mirabel. “Obviously Longueuil police will probably confer with their colleagues from the Sûreté du Québec. It is their job now to enforce the law.”

Despite the court order to leave, the protesters remained on the tracks well into Thursday night. In a statement, CN called the protest illegal, saying there is now a court order to end the blockade.

“We continue to work with local enforcement agencies to enforce the orders,” CN spokesperson Olivier Quenneville said.

Longueuil Police would not answer questions about the protest, saying the operation is being led by CN Police, and they are merely acting in a support role.

Legault had said earlier Thursday that Quebec is ready to move in and dismantle the St-Lambert railroad blockade.

“As soon as the injunction is granted, we will dismantle,” he said

Legault said the government feels having the police move in is legitimate because, unlike Kahnawake, the land in question is not considered Indigenous territory.

“Yes, there is a difference,” Legault said. “It is land that belongs to Quebec, it is not land that belongs to Indigenous Peoples.”

Asked to elaborate on the difference, Legault said: “In Kahnawake, technically it is the Peacekeepers who are responsible for applying the law, it is Indigenous lands,” Legault said. “Yes, there is a difference between the two.”

About 100 people were at the site of the tracks on St-Georges St. right near a rail yard that leads to the Victoria Bridge. They were camped out on the tracks, where a barrel fire and two tents keep them warm on the frigid February day. As of 6:30 p.m., that number had dwindled to about 50 people. Their main mode of communication is the Twitter handle mtlanticolonial, an account that follows a handful of anarchist and anti-capitalist groups. The group did not speak to reporters present and refused to answer questions beyond the prepared statement that they read in both official languages.

Some citizens slowed down to honk in support, while others hurled profanity at the blockade.

Though they’re flying the Iroquois Confederacy flag over the tracks, none have claimed to represent the Mohawks or any Indigenous nation.

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Blockade organizers across Canada have said they’re acting in solidarity with those opposed to the Coastal GasLink pipeline project that crosses the traditional territory of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation near Houston, B.C.

As freight trains idled a few hundred metres from the St-Lambert blockade, police made their presence known Thursday.

CN officers flanked the tracks in their cruisers alongside Longueuil police cars. In a nearby parking lot, Sûreté du Québec officers sat in two unmarked white vans. An SQ bus loaded with tactical gear waited behind a machine shop on St-Georges St.

Around 1 p.m., St-Lambert resident David Skitt engaged a handful of protesters in a terse but polite debate about the blockade.

“You’ve made your point, but you’re blocking billions of dollars of our economy,” he said, as TV news cameras captured the exchange. “Your brothers, your neighbours, your friends will lose their job if this continues. It’s unacceptable!”

Skitt says he supports the underlying grievances that have fuelled Indigenous resistance movements across the country, but believes this latest blockade goes too far.

“Sir, the Supreme Court recognized Wet’suwet’en sovereignty 23 years ago,” one protester said. “The RCMP is illegally occupying their territory.”

Skitt fired back, “Have you been on this Earth 23 years?”

Denis Bisson owns a factory with 20 employees that rely on raw materials brought by rail to do their job. He says the new blockade could force him to lay workers off starting next week.

“That’s 20 families they’re affecting,” said Bisson, standing next to the tracks. “You know, I support a lot of their demands, but this is a great way to alienate the public.”

Legault’s announcement that Quebec would dismantle the St-Lambert blockade follows a week of warnings from the government that its patience is running thin, given the effects the blockades are having on citizens and the economy.

Legault has also been putting pressure on the federal government to take action, calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to set a deadline for the end of negotiations and a lifting of the blockades.

Legault also participated in a conference call Wednesday with Canada’s 12 other premiers and territorial leaders. On Thursday, Legault said while there was no consensus among the premiers on his deadline idea, the group did participate in a conference call with Trudeau later Thursday.

“We are all worried,” Legault said. “We all have significant negative impacts on our economies. … There is a real urgency that this be settled, and particularly in Belleville, Ont.”

The Prime Minister’s Office said Trudeau made it clear on the call that the government is looking at options to end the blockades as quickly as possible and reaching a peaceful and lasting resolution that builds trust and respect among all parties involved.

It said the federal government is working closely with the B.C. government and will continue working closely with all the premiers.

“Prime Minister Trudeau noted the RCMP’s offer to withdraw its operations from Wet’suwet’en territory, and the ongoing offer made by Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Carolyn Bennett to meet with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs while they are in Ontario and Quebec to address both urgent and longer term issues, following the Prime Minister’s letter to them,” the readout of the call says.

The traditional leaders of the B.C. first nation, who oppose a natural-gas pipeline project in their territory, are expected to visit Mohawks at Tyendinaga in Ontario and Kahnawake, south of Montreal. There has been a blockade on the CP train tracks in Kahnawake for more than two weeks.

Via Rail train service partially returned to to the Montreal-Ottawa route on Thursday, but the Montreal-Quebec City route has been shut down until Sat., Feb. 22 and the Montreal-Toronto route is only slated to reopen on Mon., Feb. 24. As of Thursday, 647 trains had been cancelled because of the blockades. More than 117,000 passengers have been affected.

With files from Canadian Press.

pauthier@postmedia.com

jmagder@postmedia.com

ccurtis@postmedia.com

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