- Sat Jan 05 2013 15:07:36
Idle No More protestors shut down Hwy. 403
First Nations Idle No More protestors march and block the
International Bridge between the Canada and U.S. border near Cornwall
Ontario, Saturday January 5 2013.
FRED CHARTRAND/The Canadian Press
Protesters shut down Highway 403 for a second round of Idle No More protests
in Hamilton Saturday afternoon.
Drivers, ironically, sat idle on the westbound 403 as a group of about 250
people marched down the King Street West on-ramp with drums and signs
challenging Stephen Harper and Bill C-45.
“Sometimes you have to make a little bit of noise in order to be heard,” said protester Kathleen Quinn, a 24-year-old Hamilton woman who said she was marching in solidarity with Indigenous peoples.
Groups across Canada marched simultaneously Saturday as part of a national grassroots movement against Bill C-45, legislation which First Nations groups say threatens reserve lands and the number of federally protected bodies of water.
It’s an issue that affects everyone, said organizer Myka Burning.
“The bill we’re fighting against directly affects our water, our air, our land…it’s not only aboriginal people that drink water…this affects all of us,” she said.
Deganadus McLester agreed. At the front of the pack, he and friend Gasenneeyoh Crawford held up one end of the Idle No More sign, spanning almost the entire three lanes of the highway.
Stopping traffic with a public march “helps permeate some of the invisible walls that people say separates them from the movement,” he said.
With traffic stopped for about a half hour, passersby had no choice but to pay attention. And many did—one car in fact rear-ended another as traffic slowed in the opposing eastbound lanes to watch the march.
Even as they headed down the ramp from the overpass above, the group received supportive “honks” from passing traffic.
“It’s not about us or them,” McLester said. “The barriers are starting to crumble.”
Many of the same protesters took part in a rally at City Hall on Dec. 22. At that event, the group called on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to meet with Theresa Spence, the chief of northern Ontario’s troubled Attawapiskat First Nation, who has been on a hunger strike since Dec. 11.
Though Harper has since agreed to meet with Spence, Burning said that is not enough. The meeting was scheduled as a follow-up to a sit-down last year, she said.
“He hasn’t actually done anything.
I think he (Harper) hoped that everything would just sort of peter out,” she said. Her group has no intention of slowing.
“I think he (Harper) has realized it’s been stepped up a notch,” Burning said.
“Holding public rallies is one thing, but blocking a highway – people take notice.”
The cause, which began last month, is
in protest of the federal government’s omnibus Bill C-45, which First
Nations groups claim eliminates treaty rights set out in the
Constitution.“Sometimes you have to make a little bit of noise in order to be heard,” said protester Kathleen Quinn, a 24-year-old Hamilton woman who said she was marching in solidarity with Indigenous peoples.
Groups across Canada marched simultaneously Saturday as part of a national grassroots movement against Bill C-45, legislation which First Nations groups say threatens reserve lands and the number of federally protected bodies of water.
It’s an issue that affects everyone, said organizer Myka Burning.
“The bill we’re fighting against directly affects our water, our air, our land…it’s not only aboriginal people that drink water…this affects all of us,” she said.
Deganadus McLester agreed. At the front of the pack, he and friend Gasenneeyoh Crawford held up one end of the Idle No More sign, spanning almost the entire three lanes of the highway.
Stopping traffic with a public march “helps permeate some of the invisible walls that people say separates them from the movement,” he said.
With traffic stopped for about a half hour, passersby had no choice but to pay attention. And many did—one car in fact rear-ended another as traffic slowed in the opposing eastbound lanes to watch the march.
Even as they headed down the ramp from the overpass above, the group received supportive “honks” from passing traffic.
“It’s not about us or them,” McLester said. “The barriers are starting to crumble.”
Many of the same protesters took part in a rally at City Hall on Dec. 22. At that event, the group called on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to meet with Theresa Spence, the chief of northern Ontario’s troubled Attawapiskat First Nation, who has been on a hunger strike since Dec. 11.
Though Harper has since agreed to meet with Spence, Burning said that is not enough. The meeting was scheduled as a follow-up to a sit-down last year, she said.
“He hasn’t actually done anything.
I think he (Harper) hoped that everything would just sort of peter out,” she said. Her group has no intention of slowing.
“I think he (Harper) has realized it’s been stepped up a notch,” Burning said.
“Holding public rallies is one thing, but blocking a highway – people take notice.”
Waving flags and carrying placards, many of the demonstrators marched along roadways, highways and bridges prompting police to report several delays and closures.
Police in Cornwall, Ont., closed the Seaway International Bridge early Saturday as a public safety precaution.
It’s unclear when the usually-busy toll bridge, which connects the southeastern Ontario city and Akwesasne, Ont., to Massena, N.Y., will be re-opened.
Cornwall Sgt. Marc Bissonnette says there are about 100 to 150 demonstrators marching on the bridge.
Police are continuing to monitor the protest, which has been peaceful. No incidents have been reported.
The border crossing between Sarnia, Ont., and Port Huron, Mich., was also temporarily shut down for a few hours Saturday to an Idle No More protest there. It has since re-opened.
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