GRAND-REMOUS, Que. - Aboriginal protesters removed a barricade on Tuesday that blocked a major Quebec highway for more than 36 hours.
A spokesman for the protesters said the gesture is an act of good faith aimed at kick-starting negotiations with the Quebec government.
"That should encourage the government to reach a good deal with us,'' said Guillaume Carle, chief of the Confederation of Aboriginal People of Canada.
The protesters say the Quebec government reneged on a verbal agreement that ended earlier protests by granting local aboriginals living outside reserves the right to harvest trees.
They set up the blockade Monday morning on Highway 117, north of Ottawa.
The highway was partially reopened late Monday night, the group took down the rest of the blockade Tuesday evening.
Protesters had originally said that the highway would stay closed until they spoke with an official of the provincial Natural Resources Department.
But Public Security Department negotiators said that wouldn't happen as long as the road remained closed.
Despite being short-lived, the blockade received little support from locals.
Jean-Maurice Matte, who heads a regional development group for the area, said in a news release that the Algonquins are peaceful people who didn't have anything to do with the blockade.
Carle is expected to meet with Quebec government officials in Montreal shortly.
A spokesman for newsprint giant Abitibi-Consolidated (TSX:A) says the company is not operating in the area and is not affected by the blockade.
