TORONTO -- Several people were taken into custody Monday as police moved in and began dismantling a blockade near Belleville, Ont., sparking condemnation from the Mohawk of Tyendinaga.
A stream of police cruisers, vans, unmarked vehicles, and dozens of officers, including some wearing what appeared to be tactical gear were seen flooding the Mohawk blockade shortly after 8:00 a.m. EST. Some demonstrators scuffled with officers before being taken away and an ambulance was seen leaving the area, although it was unclear what kind of injury may have been sustained.
Andrew Brant, a land defender with the Mohawks of Tyendinaga, told 麻豆影视 that he had spoken to someone who was close to the demonstrator injured in the struggle, and alleged that they had been 鈥渉urt by the police.鈥�
He said that more than 10 people had been arrested on Tyendinaga territory so far, calling the situation 鈥渆xhausting.
鈥淚t鈥檚 affecting everybody, really. It鈥檚 affecting peoples鈥� moms, dads, grandparents, children, everything.鈥�
The East Region OPP on Monday that 鈥渁ll demonstrators were given the option of leaving the site or being arrested.鈥�
They added that 10 people were arrested and face multiple charges, and that all have been released on conditions.
While the OPP were descending on Tyendinaga, the RCMP were also seen entering Unist鈥檕t鈥檈n territory in British Columbia, according to a statement from the Mohawk group. Unist鈥檕t鈥檈n is a clan within the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n Nation, which sparked protests across the country after its hereditary chiefs first demonstrated against the construction of a $6.6 billion natural gas pipeline expansion project that would go through their land.
鈥淭his has come at a time when (Indigenous Services) Minister Marc Miller as well as the Mohawk People in Tyendinaga and the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n Hereditary Chiefs were told there would be an announcement at noon today that the RCMP was going to be leaving their territory,鈥� the Mohawk statement said.
The B.C. RCMP, which enforced an injunction on Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n land to allow workers to start construction on the pipeline, said on Friday that it has temporarily closed its mobile office on Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n land, but were still patrolling the area.
The Mohawks of Tyendinaga originally set up camp near the railways nearly three weeks ago in solidarity with the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n hereditary chiefs, and have maintained throughout that they would vacate the railways as soon as they received word from the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n hereditary chiefs that the RCMP were no longer on their territory.
鈥�(The police are) treating us like we鈥檙e some kind of terrorists,鈥� Brant said, 鈥渨hen really all we had was one (requirement), and it was to get out of property that doesn鈥檛 belong to them.鈥�
Molly Wickam, a spokesperson for Gidimt鈥檈n Camp -- one of the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n camps set up during their initial standoff with RCMP -- told 麻豆影视 that they were keeping track of how often RCMP were patrolling their lands.
She alleged that RCMP have continued to harass, arrest and detain Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n people on their own territory even after they moved their main force to Houston, B.C.
While she acknowledged that the big conversations regarding the conflict between RCMP, Coastal GasLink and the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n hereditary chiefs will take time to resolve, she said she didn鈥檛 understand why OPP decided to raid the Mohawk railway camps instead of waiting for the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n requirements to be met, which would lead to the railway blockade dissolving peacefully.
鈥淭he demands that the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n put out in order to sit down and have those conversations? They鈥檙e not big asks,鈥� Wickam said. 鈥淭he asks are that the company, CGL, Coastal GasLink, temporarily halt their construction, which they aren鈥檛 scheduled to do any construction in our territory until spring anyways, and that the RCMP vacate (the area, and cease) harassing and targeting and illegally arresting our people and our supporters and guests on our territory.
鈥淭hose are not huge things to ask in this so-called free country.鈥�
Things settled down in Tyendinaga after the initial flurry of activity and the area turned quiet by late morning, with police seen speaking to a still-large contingent of demonstrators as parts of the barricade were slowly being removed.
A number of OPP were also monitoring a secondary blockade near Highway 49, just east of the main one, where a large fire was lit about an hour after authorities first moved in. Demonstrators there appeared to be digging in with no intention of leaving.
The blockades and protest actions have all been set up beside the tracks, and have at no point been blocking the tracks themselves. However, they are too close to the tracks for trains to safely move through.
Speaking to 麻豆影视 later in the afternoon, Tessica Brant, of the Turtle Clan of Mohawk Nation, said that they 鈥渄on鈥檛 plan on going anywhere anytime soon.鈥�
She said that they were having a 鈥渃elebration鈥� at the protest site, 鈥渂ecause we鈥檝e held our integrity as people, as Indigenous people.
鈥淭his is something that鈥檚 become a human rights issue at this time,鈥� she added.
The Coastal GasLink pipeline had been approved by the government last summer, and has the support of say they have not consented to the project.
Some have tried to reframe the rail blockades as being solely about protesting against pipelines, but Tessica Brant said that the Tyendinaga protest is focused more on the question of Indigenous land rights.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about the land. That wasn鈥檛 their land to be able to occupy,鈥� she said, referring to the B.C. RCMP and Coastal GasLink. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not necessarily about the pipeline itself, it鈥檚 about (the fact that) they didn鈥檛 have the proper permission to enter the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n territory. They didn鈥檛 converse with the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n hereditary chiefs.鈥�
THE IMPACT ON RAIL SERVICE
The Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n supporters had remained at the Tyendinaga barricade despite a midnight deadline issued by the OPP late on Sunday to clear the area.
The demonstration, which has been in place since Feb. 6, shut down freight and passenger rail service going through a major rail corridor. Since the demonstrations began occurring, nearly 1,500 rail workers have been temporarily laid off at Via Rail and CN.
A court injunction was granted to CN Rail on Feb. 7 to remove the Tyendinaga demonstration, but was not enforced as both sides held out for a peaceful resolution. With the blockade still in place, CN Rail announced that they had been forced to shut down all rail service in Eastern Canada by Feb. 13.
Although Via Rail and CN Rail have both pointed to demonstrations across the country in solidarity with Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n hereditary chiefs as the reason for the layoffs, Terence Johnson, president of Transport Action Canada, said last week that this may not be the full truth.
Johnson said that Via Rail had cancelled service on portions of its network that were not affected by protests, and said that the amount of closures and layoffs did not 鈥渁ppear to have been operationally necessary.鈥�
CN also had already announced back in November of 2019 that they would be laying off roughly 1,600 employees as economic growth slowed.
Amid the layoffs and disruptions to rail service, critics have raised concerns about the public and economic impact of the blockades, including risks of a nationwide shortage of chlorine, used to treat municipal drinking water, and propane, used to heat homes and other facilities.
Several hours before the police moved in, the Mohawks said in a statement that they were in communication with Minister Miller and police to find a peaceful resolution. The statement also reiterated that they were still waiting for confirmation that the RCMP had left Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n territory.
In addition to the RCMP leaving their land, the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n hereditary chiefs, some of whom had travelled to Tyendinaga last week to meet with their Mohawk supporters, have also previously said that for further discussions to occur and for the solidarity blockades to come down, Coastal GasLink must also halt their work while talks are ongoing.
Coastal GasLink have already been instructed by the provincial government after the province鈥檚 Environmental Assessment Office said last week that more information was needed from a November report the company had issued. However, the Premier鈥檚 office said in a statement that CGL could still do 鈥減re-construction鈥� activities.
Wickam told 麻豆影视 that they require CGL to not merely halt construction, but 鈥渢o stop any activity on our territory,鈥� so that talks can occur.
Supporters of the railway protests have decried the use of police force to clear blockades instead of addressing land defenders鈥� concerns.
鈥淲e have a situation where instead of restraint, instead of putting the time in to resolve the issue, they go in and make arrests,鈥� said Indigenous rights advocate, Pam Palmater.
鈥淭his is just going to make everything worse.鈥�
Brant told 麻豆影视 that 鈥渄ialogue is 100 per cent critical, and it can be done peacefully.鈥�
But he criticized the narrative that has formed around the protests, which has at times portrayed Indigenous land defenders as withholding resources from Canadians with no examination of their reasoning and the role that the B.C. RCMP鈥檚 actions have played.
鈥�(We) need to stop making this such a frenzy about what the Indigenous people are doing,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd make it more of a frenzy of what the colonial powers are doing across the country when they鈥檙e invading unceded territory.鈥�
BLOCKAGES IN QUEBEC
Meanwhile, hundreds of Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n supporters marched in downtown Ottawa Monday. Traffic into parts of Montreal briefly halted, blocked by convoys moving slowly in solidarity with those detained in Teyendinaga.
鈥淚t seems like as they are taking one blockade down, other ones are forming in different parts of the country. So this is not done by a long shot,鈥� said Sheila North, former Grand Chief of Northern Manitoba.
The OPP said in a statement issued Monday they had been meeting and communicating regularly with various Mohawk representatives to bring about a peaceful resolution.
鈥淯nfortunately, all avenues to successfully negotiate a peaceful resolution have been exhausted and a valid court injunction remains in effect,鈥� the statement said.
鈥淓nforcement of the injunction may include arrest of those who choose not to comply, however, use of force remains a last resort.鈥�
The OPP move followed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau鈥檚 call on Friday to end the blockades.
"The injunctions must be obeyed, and the law must be upheld," Trudeau told reporters on Friday. "Canadians who are feeling the very real impact of these blockades are running out of patience."
Trudeau and high-level cabinet ministers met on Monday as part of the .
鈥淚 believe the reconciliation agenda and the work of addressing and redressing the concerns of the Indigenous people across this country is critically important,鈥� said public safety minister Bill Blair.
鈥淲e remain absolutely committed to that respectful nation to nation discussion, but the rail disruptions are a separate matter. They鈥檙e having a serious effect on innocent Canadians right across the country.鈥�
