Local peaceful protest to block rail and some road traffic

Garden River First Nation will be holding a peaceful protest and information picket at the juncture of Highways 17A and 17B on Thursday, December 27.

All rail traffic will be closed and commercial delivery vehicles will be held but local traffic will not be stopped, though there will be some delays, says Garden River Senior Band Councillor Craig Sayers.

The action will take place from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and its purpose is to raise awareness of the possible impact of Bill C-45 on the Anishinaabe of Canada and to support Attiwapiskat Chief Theresa Spence who is in her 15th day of a hunger strike over this issue.

"Dress warmly and bring blankets," says one person who commented on the Facebook event page for this action being organized as part of the Idle No More movement.

"Our communities feel very strongly about the actions of the federal government of Canada’s continual role in dishonouring and dismantling the treaty agreements, human rights, standards of respect, relationship agreements and legal and inherent rights that are ours through the first enactment and all further revisions of The Indian Act," say the creators of that page.

"The omnibus budget Bill C-45 is an expression of the dissolving of First Nations treaty rights which can ultimately destroy our sovereign rights as Indigenous people and act to eliminate our voices and presence in this country further.

"Our communities support these things and we are asking for the support of everybody as we embark on a peaceful blockade for the reasons stated above."

Editor's note: Comments on the above article have been disabled due to persistent inappropriate postings.