Via trains at standstill as talks to end blockades get rolling

TORONTO -- Trains aren’t moving but rhetoric is being rolled out as the anti-pipeline protests that have derailed vital freight movement in eastern Ontario and passenger rail travel across Canada continue.

Meetings are scheduled between Indigenous leaders and federal ministers who are looking to negotiate an end to the rail blockades in Ontario, Quebec and B.C., while premiers and opposition leaders are calling for immediate action to end the disruptions, which have already seen dozens of arrests.

• Read more: PM Trudeau says no quick fix to pipeline protests

The protests began last week after the RCMP enforced a court injunction against Indigenous leaders and their supporters who had been halting construction of the 670-kilometre Coastal GasLink pipeline project, a major piece of a $40-billion LNG Canada liquefied natural gas export project on the B.C. coast, that crosses the traditional territories of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation.

Grand Chief Stewart Philip, president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, said it’s become a flashpoint for a much larger range of issues facing First Nations across the country -- especially for Indigenous youth.

“The time for talk is over, the time for BS is over,” said Phillip.

“They want to see results. It’s not acceptable to have the state and scope of homelessness that exists. It’s not acceptable to be so economically marginalized. It’s not acceptable to live in poverty from birth to death. They’re speaking out.

“They know and understand that it’s their future that’s at stake.”

Indigenous leaders in B.C.'s northwest have invited federal and B.C. politicians to meetings, while following through on a promise to ensure a blockade of CN Rail tracks near New Hazelton, B.C. would come down during talks.

The blockade had been in place since Saturday, preventing shipments to the Port of Prince Rupert. But Indigenous leaders have warned the blockade could go back up if the province doesn't agree to cancel Coastal GasLink's pipeline permit during the scheduled talks.

The Mohawk Nation has been blocking tracks on Tyendinaga Mohawk territory near Belleville, Ont., a critical corridor linking Montreal and Ottawa with Toronto, for the last nine days in support of the Wet'suwet'en opposition to the pipeline, but its members and federal Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller have agreed to meet Saturday morning to discuss issues of concern for both parties.

A court injunction sought by Canadian National Railway has been granted in Ontario that gives the OPP authority to clear the protesters, but as yet no enforcement action has been taken.

CN said Thursday it was starting a progressive shutdown in its eastern freight network due to the blockade, while Via Rail cancelled all service on CN tracks in Canada.

Only two northern Via routes – Sudbury-White River and Churchill-The Pas – will remain open.

In addition to being a major inconvenience to passengers, the disruptions will cause a huge economic hit. The shutdown by CN is largely seen as a move to pressure Ottawa to take action.

While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the rule of law must be followed and federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau says the blockades are "illegal," the federal government has largely taken a hands-off approach, saying enforcing injunctions against protesters is a provincial responsibility.

But Trudeau is increasingly coming under fire to take action as trains sit idle.

In Munich to lobby for a seat on the UN Security Council Friday, the prime minister told reporters that his government is “fully seized” and taking a “whole of government approach” to this issue and is doing all it can to ensure the rule of law is upheld.

“Canadians are worried and we will stay engaged on this issue,” he said.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer came out swinging Friday morning, saying Trudeau must order the RCMP to enforce the rule of law where they have jurisdiction and clear the protesters he says are threatening thousands of jobs.

“These protesters, these activists, may have the luxury of spending days at a time at a blockade but they need to check their privilege. They need to check their privilege and let people whose jobs depend on the railway business, small businesses and farmers do their jobs.”

He accused Trudeau of refusing to call the protests illegal and allowing a small number of activists to hold the economy hostage while being overseas “on a vanity project” to win a UN vote.

If the rule of law is not enforced, said Scheer, the Liberals will be “setting a dangerous precedent that a small few can have a devastating impact on the lives of countless Canadians.”

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister is demanding that Ottawa provide clarity on future resource development applications, saying the rail blockades show there needs to be a better process.

Pallister made the remarks after an anti-pipeline blockade of a major rail line west of Winnipeg came down. Activists have promised that more protests are coming.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault has said it is up to Trudeau to solve the problem.

“One thing is clear: the path to resolution of this issue is through dialogue and seeking to build consensus,” said Garneau during a press conference in Toronto Friday morning.

Garneau says that approach has worked in New Hazelton and he’s optimistic it can lead to resolutions in Quebec and Ontario.

Garneau says the federal government has been in constant talks with rail operators, business leaders and Indigenous protesters and is “committed to working on these matters in a manner consistent with its broader commitments to reconciliation. We also are a country that is a proud democracy that believes in the rule of law.”

There are signs the protests are intensifying.

The B.C. Supreme Court granted an injunction Thursday that authorizes police to arrest and remove people participating in any further blockades at the legislature building in Victoria. Those protests have spread to other government buildings in the city.

Hundreds of people marched in an anti-pipeline protest late Thursday afternoon through downtown Saskatoon and as the New Hazelton blockade was coming down, another was going up near the Pitt River bridge in Coquitlam. As a result, B.C.’s TransLink announced Friday morning that the West Coast Express service will not run, and will be replaced by buses.

"Governments and industry need to understand one fundamental truth: There are no shortcuts in terms of consultation. ... The work has to be undertaken to get to that level where there’s an absolute consensus,” said Phillip.

As the turmoil continues, TC Energy, which is building the $6.2-billion pipeline that will take liquefied natural gas from northeastern B.C. to an export terminal now under construction in Kitimat, is proceeding with work at more than 30 sites.

The economic impact of the rail disruption has yet to be fully felt.

CN says the halt may lead to temporary layoffs for eastern Canadian staff and the Teamsters Union, which represents 16,000 works in the rail industry, warns that 6,000 works could be affected.

CN moves more than $300 billion a year in goods, much of that to the U.S., says Garneau, making it a significant trade issue. It won’t take long for the shutdown to affect a variety of key products, he said, including propane, jet fuel and de-icing chemicals, chlorine for drinking water, agricultural exports, and aluminum and lumber needed in the construction industry.

As the turmoil continues, TC Energy, which is building the $6.2-billion pipeline that will take liquefied natural gas from northeastern B.C. to an export terminal now under construction in Kitimat, is proceeding with work at more than 30 sites.

The economic impact of the rail disruption has yet to be fully felt.

CN says the halt may lead to temporary layoffs for eastern Canadian staff and the Teamsters Union, which represents 16,000 works in the rail industry, warns that 6,000 works could be affected.

CN moves more than $300 billion a year in goods, much of that to the U.S., says Garneau, making it a significant trade issue. It won’t take long for the shutdown to affect a variety of key products, he said, including propane, jet fuel and de-icing chemicals, chlorine for drinking water, agricultural exports, and aluminum and lumber needed in the construction industry.

With files from Solarina Ho