Canada’s Trudeau urges quick end to protests blocking rail lines
OTTAWA: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday urged those blocking rail lines in protest against the construction of a natural gas pipeline to find a quick solution, as police warned they were ready to step in and end the standoff.
Anti-pipeline protesters near tracks in Ontario, Canada’s most populated province, disrupted passenger trains and goods transportation for a sixth straight day on Wednesday.
The Ontario blockade of the Canadian National Railway (CN) line is in support of Wet’suwet’en Nation’s opposition to the proposed Coastal GasLink pipeline in British Columbia. Ontario police on Tuesday warned they had a court injunction ordering that the area to be cleared.
Trudeau, during an official visit to Senegal, said that while peaceful protest is a fundamental part of Canada’s democracy, the rule of law must be respected. “That’s why I am encouraging all parties to dialogue to resolve this as quickly as possible,” he said in Dakar at a news briefing televised by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. - Reuters