TORONTO -- Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said that 鈥渕odest progress鈥� had been made in discussions surrounding a railway blockade in Tyendinaga Mohawk territory which has shut down rail services across eastern Canada.
Miller was speaking in a scrum outside the Belleville community centre where he had met with representatives of the Mohawk Nation all day Saturday.
Members of the Nation have been taking part in railway blockades in support of the hereditary chiefs of the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n and land defenders currently barring access to their ancestral territory in protest over the controversial Coastal GasLink pipeline project in northern B.C.
Miller said he had opened a dialogue with people who had been standing 鈥渙utside in the cold for eight or nine days,鈥� and that the conversations inside the community centre were conducted 鈥渙penly, frankly and painfully at times.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot more work to be done, and I have a few messages I need to go back to the prime minister with,鈥� Miller said, adding that he would be discussing with his cabinet 鈥渨hat the next steps are.鈥�
Miller reiterated those steps would not be 鈥渆asy,鈥� saying 鈥渢here will be more steps to do to address some underlying issues that have characterized our relationship for longer than I鈥檝e lived.鈥�
鈥淭he people in that room are dedicated to peace鈥here鈥檚 some good people in that room who have sadly gone through this before and too often in this country,鈥� he said.
Miller said that the representatives of the Mohawk Nation he had met with had a message for the prime minister and for Canadians, but 鈥渋t鈥檚 one of peace... we鈥檙e committed to resolve this in peace.鈥�
Expressing concern over the 鈥済rowing tides of bigotry and racism鈥� that Miller said are being levelled against 鈥渁mazing people that have helped us in hard times,鈥� the Indigenous services minister expressed that relationships between Canadians and Indigenous and First Nations people were 鈥渃haracterized by alliances鈥� and that in 鈥渟ome cases we鈥檝e broken our promise to them.鈥�
鈥淭his won鈥檛 get better any time soon without more dialogue and discussion,鈥� he said, declining to answer a question over whether the blockade would be lifted soon.
