Ten protesters have been charged by Ontario Provincial Police officers who moved against the rail blockade near Belleville, Ont. this morning — where protests by the Mohawks of Tyendinaga have crippled passenger and freight train traffic for more than two weeks in solidarity with anti-pipeline protests in northern B.C.
Police and CN Rail had warned protesters to clear their encampments by midnight Sunday. Hours after the deadline passed, provincial police moved in and arrested several protesters. At least one was wrestled to the ground soon after police moved in around 8:15 a.m. ET.
Shortly after 4 p.m., the OPP announced that 10 demonstrators who were given the option of leaving the protest refused, were arrested and now face charges. All were released on conditions.
Journalists covering the protest were forced to move far away from the camp site, but video footage from the protest side showed a short struggle between protesters and police.
WATCH: Police move in on Mohawk rail blockade
The Ontario Provincial Police have begun to remove demonstrators from the camp near Belleville, Ont. Protests by the Mohawks of Tyendinaga have shut down passenger and freight train traffic for more than two weeks. 7:58
Just before the 39-minute mark in the video, which lasts a little over an hour, an Indigenous protester, his face obscured, tells the OPP that he has no intention of leaving.
“You’re on sovereign territory, every single one of you, unceded, every single one of you,” he said. “Your ancestors came here, sick, tired and oppressed. Your ancestors came here wanting a better place and our ancestors took care of them.”
When asked to leave, he refused. “I’ll stand where I want,” he said.
Seconds later on the video, a scuffle breaks out between the man, some of the demonstrators and police. The voice of the cameraman can be heard counting the number of people he said he saw arrested, a number that is difficult to confirm based on the camera angle.
The protest along the Ontario railway corridor began Feb. 6 in support of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs who oppose the construction of the $6-billion Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline, restricting the transport of goods across the country over the past two weeks.
The OPP said in a statement Monday morning that it has a legal responsibility to enforce the injunction CN Rail obtained from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice earlier this month to end the demonstrations, adding that “use of force remains a last resort.”
“We have remained respectful of the ongoing dialogue, including issues of sovereignty between our Indigenous communities and various federal ministers, and have hoped for productive communication leading to a peaceful resolution,” said OPP spokespersonBill Dickson.
Ontario Provincial Police officers face people as protesting in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en Nation hereditary chiefs attempting to halt construction of a natural gas pipeline on their traditional territories, at a rail blockade in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, near Belleville, Ont., on Monday Feb. 24, 2020. (Olivia Stefanovich/CBC)
“Unfortunately, all avenues to successfully negotiate a peaceful resolution have been exhausted and a valid court injunction remains in effect.”
WATCH: Reporter describes how quietly the OPP moved in before arresting protesters
CBC reporter Olivia Stefanovich describes how quietly the OPP moved in before arresting protesters at the blockade. 2:10
Two industrial-sized tow trucks were brought in Monday afternoon to haul away a snow plow that has been part of the the protest site since the blockade began 19 days ago.
CN Rail said its crews are out inspecting the tracks.
“We are also monitoring our network for any further disruptions at this time,” wrote a spokesperson in an email to CBC News.
A second encampment set up by the protesters nearby remains in place, Dickson told the Canadian Press.
A protester throws a wooden pallet on the fire at a second rail blockade in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, near Belleville, Ont., on Monday Feb. 24, 2020, as they protest in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en Nation hereditary chiefs attempting to halt construction of a natural gas pipeline on their traditional territories. (Lars Hagberg/The Canadian Press)
Tires were seen burning in that location Monday morning. By midday, the encampment was still in place and some demonstrators banged drums and chanted while workers from CN, which owns the railway, arrived on site and started inspecting the tracks.
“We condemn the use of force being used … on people who are standing up for human rights and the land and water,” said a statement from the Mohawk people of Tyendinaga. “The rule of law includes human rights and Indigenous rights.”
‘Essential’ for barricades to come down — Blair
The Mohawks of Tyendinaga have said they will remain by the railway until the RCMP withdrew from Wet’suwet’en territory.
Earlier this month, B.C. RCMP enforced a court injunction against those preventing contractors from accessing the construction area for the Coast GasLink project.
On Friday, the RCMP in British Columbia moved its officers out of an outpost on Wet’suwet’en territory to a nearby detachment in the town of Houston. While the RCMP says it won’t stop patrolling the area, the move partially addresses a demand made by the nation’s hereditary chiefs late last week.
WATCH: Ministers react to arrests
Transport Minister Marc Garneau, Government House Leader Pablo Rodriguez and Public Safety Minister Bill Blair react to the arrests in Tyendinaga after a cabinet meeting this morning. 1:17
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau changed his tone on Friday, calling for the barricades to come down.
“We cannot have dialogue when only one party is coming to the table. For this reason, we have no choice but to stop making the same overtures,” he said.
This morning, he met with RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki and key members of his cabinet — Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Transport Marc Garneau, House Leader Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair and Minister of Indigenous Services Marc Miller — to discuss the blockades.
We’re focused on ending the blockades and supporting the Canadians impacted across the country. I called opposition leaders earlier today to give them an update on the situation and the work we’re continuing to do to find a peaceful and lasting resolution.
“These blockades are a dress rehearsal for protests against other projects across Canada,” notes the Conservative media statement.
“Mr. Scheer asked the prime minister to take stronger action before these protests shut down the economy completely.”
The protests prompted both CN and Via Rail to temporarily lay off 1,500 railway workers and disrupted the transport of food, farm products, consumer goods and essential items like chlorine for water treatment and propane for home heating.
OPP officers stand on Highway 49, near the second blockade in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, near Belleville, Ont. on Monday. (Lars Hagberg/the Canadian Press)
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he was concerned about the use of police force and called for more dialogue during a press conference in Ottawa Monday related to pharmacare.
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said Monday the government is committed to its reconciliation agenda, but the rail blockades have had such a negative impact on Canadians that they have to come down.
“The impact of these real disruptions and the barricades is untenable. It can’t continue, it cannot persist. It’s absolutely essential that those barricades come down and that rail service be resumed,” Blair said after the cabinet committee meeting.
Police officers make an arrest during a raid on a Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory camp next to a railway crossing in Tyendinaga, Ont., on Feb. 24, 2020. (Carlos Osorio/Reuters)
“I think the police of jurisdiction are doing their job, and we’ll let them continue doing their job.”
Meanwhile, Quebec’s Transport Department warned that Highway 344 is closed in both directions because Mohawks in Kanesatake, northwest of Montreal, have blocked the highway running through the community in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en chiefs. Highway 344 connects Kanesatake and neighbouring Oka.
The roadblock follows an earlier action in Kahnawake, south of Montreal, where Mohawks unhappy with Monday’s police intervention in Ontario staged a rolling blockade that briefly disrupted traffic heading to a major bridge.
The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake put out a statement condemning the OPP’s actions at Tyendinaga, and Trudeau’s comments Friday.
“The MCK feels strongly that today’s police actions would not have taken place had Prime Minister Trudeau not made his inflammatory statements on Friday, leaving no doubt about his planned course of action,” says the statement.
“We cannot state strongly enough our extreme disappointment in the absolute lack of good faith shown by a prime minister who continually expresses his government’s priority is improving its relationship with Indigenous Peoples. What has happened over the past few days has, in fact, undone progress in building relations with Indigenous Peoples.”
A few hundred protesters angry over the government’s handling of the file are moving through downtown Ottawa today. Ottawa police are expecting traffic disruptions near Parliament Hill and ByWard Market and are asking drivers to avoid the area if possible until further notice.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia‘s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
