Highway 17 Open Following Day Of Action

Traffic is flowing today on the Trans-Canada highway.
Motorists faced disruptions yesterday afternoon as protesters blocked Highway 17 near the Manitoba-Ontario boundary as part of the “Idle No More” movement.
Shoal Lake #39 and #40 First Nations held the protests and no major problems were reported.
Traffic was completely blocked off from 1:00 until 2:00 when police allowed single lane traffic flow.
Darrell Redsky was part of the protest and says they are reminding the government about the power of the treaty.
Rayne Wapioke says Bill C-45 will allow mining companies to set up on traditional lands and makes it legal for them to set up pipelines over water ways.
Wapioke adds some examples of the environmental impacts would be the Enbridge Pipeline in B.C. and the oil sands in Alberta that leach toxic chemicals into water systems.
The protest was part of a National Day of Action.
Blockades were also set up on Highway 11.
A blockade of a rail line near Belleville, Ontario last for five hours, halting freight and Via Rail train traffic between Toronto
and Ottawa and Montreal.
A rail blockade was also established on a C-N track west of Portage La Prairie, which only got torn down after C-N obtained an
injunction.
Hundreds gathered to snarl truck traffic at the busy Ambassador Bridge border crossing at Windsor, Ontario.