Trudeau to address the House as anti-pipeline blockades continue
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will address the House of Commons this morning on the anti-pipeline blockades that have paralyzed rail lines across the country.
Large swaths of the country’s freight and passenger traffic have been disrupted by protests by people showing solidarity with the hereditary Wet’suwet’en chiefs opposing the planned construction of a $6.6-billion natural gas pipeline in northern British Columbia called Coastal GasLink.
“The work continues. I will be addressing the House at 11 [ET] this morning ” said Trudeau before heading into a meeting with his cabinet Tuesday morning.
The prime minister held a closed-door meeting on Monday and cancelled a two-day trip to Barbados this week to deal with the crisis at home amid mounting pressure on his government to end the blockades.
The issue is set to dominate debate in the House this week, with the NDP asking for an emergency debate on blockades.
AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde is also set to address the ongoing protests at a news conference in Ottawa at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Protestors with or supporting the Mohawks of Tyendinaga have been set up beside tracks near Belleville, Ont., since Feb. 6 to protest the RCMP’s raids in Wet’suwet’en territory in northern B.C.
Via Rail says partial service is set to resume between Quebec City, Montreal and Ottawa beginning Thursday.
Almost all other Via Rail services remain cancelled with the exception of Sudbury-White River and Churchill-The Pas, until further notice.
Via says the partial resumption of service between Ottawa and Quebec City follows a notification received from Canadian National Railway.