Kahnawake protesters defy injunction as railway blockade continues

A railway blockade in the Mohawk community of Kahnawake is continuing on Wednesday morning as protesters refuse to obey a court injunction to take down their barricade.

The demonstration is one of many nationwide blockades in a show of support with hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en Nation in British Columbia who oppose the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline through their territory.

In Quebec, protests quickly intensified earlier this week after Ontario Provincial Police moved in to enforce an injunction to dismantle the blockade and arrested several people in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory.

Canadian Pacific Railway was granted its injunction to end blockades in Kahnawake, south of Montreal, and other parts of Quebec on Tuesday. The move was seen by members of the Mohawk community as a provocation.

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake has said it is considering its next steps, including challenging the court ruling.

“We must make it clear to our own people that this injunction will not be executed on this Territory,” Grand Chief Joseph Tokwiro Norton said in a statement.

The railway blockade has halted a commuter passenger train line since Feb. 10 on Montreal’s south shore. Exo, the regional transit authority for trains, is providing shuttle buses in the meantime.

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