OPP notify public of intermittent highway closures Thursday

Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Provincial Police are reminding local motorists that Highway 17 east of Sault Ste. Marie will be closed to traffic intermittently from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, December 27. "Highway 17B east of Sault Ste.

Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Provincial Police are reminding local motorists that Highway 17 east of Sault Ste. Marie will be closed to traffic intermittently from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, December 27.

"Highway 17B east of Sault Ste. Marie will be closed to through traffic from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, December 27," say police. "The Highway 17/17B intersection east of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario will be closed for 15 minutes on the hour to ensure a safe and peaceful protest from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. tomorrow."

Organizers of the protest were going to block commercial traffic and allow local traffic through but, after consultation with police, decided it would be better to continue the protest with shorter blockages but allow road traffic to continue after each intermittent closure.

"During each 15 minutes there will be speakers talking about the event Chief Spence and the omnibus bills passed," says Garden River First Nation Senior Band Councillor and action organizer Craig Sayers. "We encourage local communities to come out and support this cause. It also affects them."

Highway 17B from the Sault Ste. Marie east city limits to the Echo Bay Bridge will be closed to thru traffic from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, December 27, 2012.

As reported earlier by SooToday.com, the action is to raise awareness of the impact of Bill C-45 on Anishinaabes across the country and in support of Attiwapiskat Chief Theresa Spence' hunger strike.

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