Indigenous mobilization in Canada: Trudeau calls for dialogue and respect for the law

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, visiting Senegal, called for dialogue and respect for the law on Wednesday, while in Canada an indigenous mobilization against a gas pipeline project in the west of the country has spread in several provinces and disrupts rail transportation.

For several days, protesters, Native Americans and young environmentalists, have gathered across the country, in support of locals who are hostile to this pipeline project in the province of British Columbia. Police have alerted protesters from the Mohawk community near Belleville, Ontario, that they may be arrested. Police are " monitoring the situation " while " attempting to maintain an open dialogue in the hope of ending the protest peacefully, " said Ontario Provincial Police spokesperson Bill Dickson. Protesters block railways, disrupting passenger and freight rail traffic.

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Train connections between Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa have been suspended in all directions since Friday, affecting more than 24,000 passengers, according to public company Via Rail. Canadian National Freight Rail has warned of the “ imminent closure ” of major sections of its network if the roadblocks on its tracks are not lifted. The group annually transports goods estimated at 250 billion Canadian dollars (173 billion euros). The Coastal GasLink project is to transport natural gas from northern British Columbia to the coastal terminal of the LNG Canada consortium, near Kitimat, for export to Asia. Hereditary chiefs from the Wet'suwet'en First Nation oppose this project on the grounds that it crosses their traditional lands while the elected bodies of this same community support it.

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