No quick fix to pipeline protests as rail links severed

Photo: The Canadian Press

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there are no easy answers to the dispute over a British Columbia pipeline project that has sparked Indigenous protests at vital rail links across Canada.

In his most extensive public comments since anti-pipeline protests began affecting freight and passenger rail traffic across Canada last week, Trudeau said Friday that the path forward is "fraught with challenges and obstacles to overcome."

"You need to know we have failed our Indigenous peoples over generations, over centuries. And there is no quick fix to it," Trudeau said, adding that all parties must move towards reconciliation.

"We also are, obviously, a country of laws. And making sure that those laws are enforced, even as there is, of course, freedom to demonstrate free and to protest," he said.

"Getting that balance right and wrapping it up in the path forward ... is really important."

Tensions could heat up today, with the added threat of activists planning to shut down government offices in British Columbia's capital.

Protests continue as political leaders look to negotiate solutions, while business leaders, opposition politicians and ordinary people call for immediate action to end the disruptions, which have already seen more than 80 arrests.

Trudeau and B.C. Premier John Horgan spoke Thursday about the need to work together to resolve the pipeline tensions that have resulted in solidarity blockades in Ontario, Manitoba and B.C.

Indigenous leaders in B.C.'s northwest have invited federal and provincial politicians to meetings to find solutions, and said they would ensure a blockade of a Canadian National Railway track near New Hazelton, B.C., would come down during talks.

CN spokesman Jonathan Abecassis confirmed Friday morning the New Hazelton blockade had been lifted.

The railway said Thursday it was starting a progressive shutdown in the East, while Via Rail cancelled all service on CN tracks in Canada.