Tag Archives: Ontario Provincial Police

Manitoba protesters stand with Six Nations, fight promised anti-blockade law

A demonstration along Highway 75 near Morris, Man., lasted roughly 2½ hours on Friday. (Patrick Foucault/Radio-Canada)

More than a dozen people protested along Highway 75 in Morris, Man., Friday afternoon

Demonstrators gathered in Morris, Man., on Friday, standing in solidarity with the 1492 Land Back Lane camp in Ontario and protesting the Manitoba government’s throne speech promise to introduce anti-blockade legislation.

“We’ve come together to protest, to show solidarity with Six Nations in Ontario and Land Back Lane camp,” said Harrison Powder, one of more than a dozen people at the protest on Highway 75 at the south end of Morris.

“Those people have been arrested there … while they’re trying to defend their treaty rights.”

Members from the Haudenosaunee community of Six Nations set up the camp in July on an area of land in Caledonia, Ont., slated to become a subdivision, but which people at the encampment say is stolen, unceded Haudenosaunee territory.

Ontario Provincial Police have arrested demonstrators at the site. On Friday, an Ontario Superior Court judge gave the camp until Oct. 22 to vacate the land before he rules on making an injunction against their presence permanent.

Powder said Friday was a national day of action for communities across Canada to stand in support of the 1492 Land Back Lane camp.

“We’re not the only community [and] we’re not the only groups who are protesting,” he said. “It’s happening across the country right now.”

Demonstration to fight promised anti-blockade law

The demonstration, which lasted roughly 2½ hours, was also a protest of legislation promised by Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative government that would restrict future blockades.

The government announced its intention to bring forward the new law in its throne speech earlier this week, saying the legislation will prevent “illegal protests and blockades,” referring to railway blockades earlier this year.

“There’s no way that this is designed to infringe on anyone’s right to lawful protest,” Premier Brian Pallister said at the time.

But Powder said that’s exactly what the law will do.

“The Charter of Rights guarantees us these rights … in Canada, to be able to protest bills, to express ourselves, to be able to … defend our communities,” he said.

In comments prior to the throne speech Wednesday, Pallister said blockades “take away” the rights of people they impact. Powder said Friday that’s incorrect.

“The most we do is disrupt the public for a few minutes,” he said.

In the case of prolonged blockades like the railway blockades earlier this year, Powder said people fighting government action are sometimes left with no other venue to make their voices heard.

“For us, you know, that’s the only way we get attention sometimes,” he said. “The public won’t pay attention, the politicians don’t pay attention to us, until we do something like blocking the railway. And that’s unfortunate.”

With files from Radio-Canada’s Patrick Foucault

By CBC News · Posted: Oct 09, 2020

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OPP arrest 25th person over Caledonia housing site dispute

A 1492 Land Back sign near Highway 6 in Caledonia. (Aug. 20, 2020)

KITCHENER — The number of people who have been arrested in relation to a demonstration at a residential development in Haldimand County has reached 25.

A 29-year-old from Toronto was arrested and charged on Thursday with disobeying a court order and mischief. They were released and are expected to appear in a Cayuga court at a later date.

The Ontario Provincial Police say this was in relation to a current court injunction in effect at the site, known as McKenzie Meadows, near Caledonia.

The first demonstration arrests were made by OPP on Aug. 5.

The court injunction prohibits anyone from being on the property at 1535 McKenzie Road, also known as 1492 Land Back Lane, or from setting up road blockades in the county.

“The OPP Provincial Liaison Team is engaged in significant collaborative and respectful dialogue aimed at bringing about a peaceful resolution, while ensuring everyone’s safety and preserving their respective rights guaranteed by Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” the OPP said in a news release.

Protesters have said they will remain on the Indigenous land for as long as it takes.

By Chris Thomson – CTV News Kitchener, Published Saturday, October 3, 2020

Police lay charges after arrests at Tyendinaga rail blockade

Ontario Provincial Police officers make an arrest at a rail blockade in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, near Belleville, Ont., on Monday Feb. 24, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

By Ted Raymond – CTVNewsOttawa.ca

OTTAWA — Ontario Provincial Police have announced the charges laid against ten people who were arrested Monday at the rail blockade in Tyendinaga, Ont.

The rail blockade was set up in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs in northern B.C., who oppose a natural gas pipeline project in their territory. Demonstrators in Ontario were demanding the RCMP leave Wet’suwet’en territory.

The arrests came the morning of Feb. 24, about eight hours after a midnight deadline passed calling on demonstrators to end their blockade, which had stymied rail service in the area for 19 days.

Police say they were notified at 8 a.m. ET that the injunction regarding the blockade would be enforced. Police claim they told demonstrators to leave and warned they could be arrested if they did not comply.

Officers and demonstrators scuffled at the blockade briefly before arrests were made. Police say one person was injured and was taken to hospital for treatment. Their injury was described as minor and they have since been released.

All ten people were charged with mischief over $5000 and disobeying a court order, as well as a Railway Safety Act charge of entering land where line work is situated.

Three people are additionally charged with resisting arrest. One person is also facing a charge of obstructing police.

All ten have been released on bail and are due in court in Napanee, Ont. March 24.

Since the arrests, protests have been held across Canada, including in Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Ottawa.

In Tyendinaga, protesters set fire to the tracks at one point.

Later, wooden pallets were ignited next to the tracks.

Police in Ontario say their investigation into the protest activity is ongoing.

“The OPP will continue to engage in dialogue, with a reasoned and tempered approach, and proper use of police discretion,” the police service said in a press release.

Charged are:

  •  Aaron Maracle, 36, of Ottawa, Ont.
  •  Corey Jay Jocko, 33, of Akwesasne, Ont.
  •  Tommy Gill, 34, of Odanak, Que.
  •  Harley Moses David, 31, of Akwesasne, Ont.
  •  Trevor Spencer, 45, of Belleville, Ont.
  •  Harry Joseph Benedict, 30, of Akwesasne, Ont.
  •  Nicholas Kolbasook, 25, of Akwesasne, Ont.
  •  Nathan Strongitharm, 34, of no fixed address
  •  Jacob Sharpe, 24, of Tyendinaga Township, Ont.
  •  Stewart Americanhorse, 43, of Ohsweken, Ont.

Kolbasook, Strongitharm, and Sharpe are facing additional charges of resisting arrest. Americanhorse is facing an additional charge of obstructing police.

During testimony at the House of Commons public safety and national security committee, Conservative MP Doug Shipley asked Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, on behalf of a constituent, if the rail blockades constitute an act of terrorism.

Blair said they are not.

With files from The Canadian Press

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1 injured as police move to clear rail blockade on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory

OPP officers make an arrest at a rail blockade in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, near Belleville, Ont., on Feb. 24, 2020, as they protest in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en Nation hereditary chiefs attempting to halt construction of a natural gas pipeline on their traditional territories. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Ontario provincial police moved Monday morning to clear a rail blockade on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory.

The blockade near Belleville, Ont., has crippled both freight and passenger rail traffic in most of eastern Canada for nearly three weeks.

Police and CN Rail had given protesters until midnight Sunday to clear the blockade or face an investigation and possible criminal charges.

Around 8:30 a.m. police arrested several men near the railway and took them away in a police vehicle. Several dozen other officers lined up in front of the remaining protesters at the encampment.

Officers moved in again around 9:15 a.m., grabbed several more men and arrested them.

One person was taken to hospital with minor injuries that occurred during an arrest, the OPP confirmed with CityNews.

The OPP said its liaison team has tried to negotiate peacefully over the past few weeks, but decided to take action to uphold a court injunction to clear the railway.

“We have remained respectful of the ongoing dialogue, including issues of sovereignty between our Indigenous communities and various federal ministers, and have hoped for productive communication leading to a peaceful resolution,” said spokesman Bill Dickson.

“The OPP notes the broader societal impacts of this extended protest have correspondingly increased risks to public safety closer to the protest sites. Unfortunately, all avenues to successfully negotiate a peaceful resolution have been exhausted and a valid court injunction remains in effect.”

The barricades were a response to a move by the RCMP to clear protesters who had been blocking access to a Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline worksite on Wet’suwet’en territory in northern British Columbia.

OPP remain on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory after clearing rail blockade

Hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en Nation oppose the work on their traditional territory, despite support from elected band councils along the pipeline route.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was to meet with the cabinet incident response group Monday morning to discuss the situation with the blockades.

On Friday, Trudeau said the barricades had to come down and injunctions ordering the tracks cleared needed to be enforced.

Trudeau spoke by phone Sunday with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Quebec Premier Francois Legault, and B.C.’s John Horgan “to discuss the railway blockades and the impacts they are having across the country on Canadians and the economy.”

According to a statement from the PMO, Trudeau informed the premiers of measures being taken to ensure that critical needs are addressed, including propane, chemicals to treat drinking water, and essential agricultural products.

“We will remain in close contact with all provinces to address urgent needs as required, and we will continue to support coordinated efforts to find a resolution,” the statement said.

Trudeau and the premiers also reiterated their commitment to resolving the situation peacefully.

Wet’suwet’en Heredity Chief Na’moks, also known as John Ridsdale, said Sunday that Trudeau’s “antagonistic” speech had just the opposite effect.

“If the prime minister had not made that speech the Mohawks would have taken down everything,” he said. “They were ready. We were on the phone.”

Na’moks said all five hereditary chiefs were expected to meet in northern B.C. Monday to plan their next steps and talks with the RCMP could resume on Thursday at the earliest.

He said the chiefs will not budge from their demands for the Mounties to remove every component of a mobile unit from their territory before meeting with them.

Dawn Roberts, a spokeswoman for the RCMP, said the mobile unit had been temporarily closed and discussions were underway with the deputy commissioner about its future.

The chiefs visited supporters this week in Tyendinaga and Kahnawake south of Montreal, and repeated that their conditions for talks to begin had not been met.

By: The Canadian Press, Feb 23, 2020.

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Tyendinaga Mohawks say they’ve been given midnight deadline to clear camps

People stand near the blockaded train tracks in Tyendinaga, Ont., on Sunday. (Lars Hagberg/Canadian Press)

By CBC News · Posted: Feb 23, 2020

Mohawks could face possible OPP probe and charges if they don’t vacate: Kanenhariyo Seth

Ontario Provincial Police and CN Rail have told the Mohawks they have to clear their camps in Tyendinaga, Ont., by midnight ET tonight or they will face a police investigation and charges, Tyendinaga Mohawk Kanenhariyo Seth Lefort tells CBC News.

CN Rail would not confirm that a deadline had been set, and referred inquiries to the OPP.

The OPP have not yet responded to inquiries by CBC News.

An ongoing demonstration by Mohawks from Tyendinaga who have set up two camps along CN rail lines has shut down passenger and freight train traffic.

The demonstrations were launched Feb. 6, in support of Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and camps built to stop construction of the $6 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline in B.C. The Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs are opposed to the natural gas pipeline because it would be constructed through their territory.

The Mohawks of Tyendinaga have said they would remain by the railway until the RCMP withdrew from Wet’suwet’en territory.

Earlier this month, B.C. RCMP enforced an injunction against those preventing contractors from accessing the area for construction.

RCMP in British Columbia moved its officers out of an outpost on Wet’suwet’en territory to a nearby detachment on Friday, but won’t stop patrolling the area — a move that partially addresses a demand set by the nation’s hereditary chiefs late last week.

Tyendinaga Mohawk Kanenhariyo, whose English name is Seth LeFort, speaks to the OPP liaison officers. (Rozenn Nicolle/Radio-Canada)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday said that barricades on rail lines and other major transportation routes must come down after two weeks of calls for patience and stalled attempts at negotiation.

Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller met with the Tyendinaga Mohawks on Feb. 15 and asked them to temporarily halt the demonstrations, according to recordings of the closed-door meeting leaked to CBC News.

But a phone call from a Wet’suwet’en hereditary chief specifying that the RCMP were still on their territory undercut that request, according to the recording.

With files from Olivia Stefanovich

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