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

Published

5 years ago

February 20, 2020

Injunction was served at about 7 p.m. Thursday and Premier François Legault says it’s now the “job of police” to enforce it.

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.

Protesters were served an injunction by a bailiff at the St-Lambert rail blockade on Thursday night at around 7 p.m.

Dave Sidaway /

Montreal Gazette

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.

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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Telus prioritizing ‘most important customers,’ avoiding ‘unprofitable’ offers: CFO

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

Telus Corp. says it is avoiding offering “unprofitable” discounts as fierce competition in the Canadian telecommunications sector shows no sign of slowing down.

The company said Friday it had fewer net new customers during its third quarter compared with the same time last year, as it copes with increasingly “aggressive marketing and promotional pricing” that is prompting more customers to switch providers.

Telus said it added 347,000 net new customers, down around 14.5 per cent compared with last year. The figure includes 130,000 mobile phone subscribers and 34,000 internet customers, down 30,000 and 3,000, respectively, year-over-year.

The company reported its mobile phone churn rate — a metric measuring subscribers who cancelled their services — was 1.09 per cent in the third quarter, up from 1.03 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. That included a postpaid mobile phone churn rate of 0.90 per cent in its latest quarter.

Telus said its focus is on customer retention through its “industry-leading service and network quality, along with successful promotions and bundled offerings.”

“The customers we have are the most important customers we can get,” said chief financial officer Doug French in an interview.

“We’ve, again, just continued to focus on what matters most to our customers, from a product and customer service perspective, while not loading unprofitable customers.”

Meanwhile, Telus reported its net income attributable to common shares more than doubled during its third quarter.

The telecommunications company said it earned $280 million, up 105.9 per cent from the same three-month period in 2023. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 19 cents compared with nine cents a year earlier.

It reported adjusted net income was $413 million, up 10.7 per cent year-over-year from $373 million in the same quarter last year. Operating revenue and other income for the quarter was $5.1 billion, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year.

Mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.85 in the third quarter, a decrease of $2.09 or 3.4 per cent from a year ago. Telus said the drop was attributable to customers signing up for base rate plans with lower prices, along with a decline in overage and roaming revenues.

It said customers are increasingly adopting unlimited data and Canada-U.S. plans which provide higher and more stable ARPU on a monthly basis.

“In a tough operating environment and relative to peers, we view Q3 results that were in line to slightly better than forecast as the best of the bunch,” said RBC analyst Drew McReynolds in a note.

Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi added that “the telecom industry in Canada remains very challenging for all players, however, Telus has been able to face these pressures” and still deliver growth.

The Big 3 telecom providers — which also include Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. — have frequently stressed that the market has grown more competitive in recent years, especially after the closing of Quebecor Inc.’s purchase of Freedom Mobile in April 2023.

Hailed as a fourth national carrier, Quebecor has invested in enhancements to Freedom’s network while offering more affordable plans as part of a set of commitments it was mandated by Ottawa to agree to.

The cost of telephone services in September was down eight per cent compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent inflation report last month.

“I think competition has been and continues to be, I’d say, quite intense in Canada, and we’ve obviously had to just manage our business the way we see fit,” said French.

Asked how long that environment could last, he said that’s out of Telus’ hands.

“What I can control, though, is how we go to market and how we lead with our products,” he said.

“I think the conditions within the market will have to adjust accordingly over time. We’ve continued to focus on digitization, continued to bring our cost structure down to compete, irrespective of the price and the current market conditions.”

Still, Canada’s telecom regulator continues to warn providers about customers facing more charges on their cellphone and internet bills.

On Tuesday, CRTC vice-president of consumer, analytics and strategy Scott Hutton called on providers to ensure they clearly inform their customers of charges such as early cancellation fees.

That followed statements from the regulator in recent weeks cautioning against rising international roaming fees and “surprise” price increases being found on their bills.

Hutton said the CRTC plans to launch public consultations in the coming weeks that will focus “on ensuring that information is clear and consistent, making it easier to compare offers and switch services or providers.”

“The CRTC is concerned with recent trends, which suggest that Canadians may not be benefiting from the full protections of our codes,” he said.

“We will continue to monitor developments and will take further action if our codes are not being followed.”

French said any initiative to boost transparency is a step in the right direction.

“I can’t say we are perfect across the board, but what I can say is we are absolutely taking it under consideration and trying to be the best at communicating with our customers,” he said.

“I think everyone looking in the mirror would say there’s room for improvement.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

Published

2 days ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

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BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

Published

2 days ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

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