CN obtains injunction to end Tyendinaga Mohawk rail demonstration

CN Rail has obtained a court injunction to end a demonstration by members of the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territorythat's halted rail traffic between Toronto and both Ottawa and Montrealfor three days, according to a copy of the judgment obtained by CBC News.

The injunction, which does not name any individual, was issued by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto on Friday.

It forbids any continued interference with the rail line under the threat of arrest, and was served to demonstrators by CN police Saturday afternoon.

Members of the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territoryhave been protesting along the rail linesthat cut along the territory's bordernear Belleville, Ont. located betweenOttawa and Toronto in support of theWet'suwet'enNation in British Columbia.

The protesters havesaidthey willstop train traffic until the RCMPleave Wet'suwet'en territory,where a recent court injunctionordered protesters to leave and clearthe way for work on the Coastal GasLink pipeline.

RCMP tactical units are currently in the third dayof an operation against three camps built to block construction of the $6-billion, 670-kilometre pipeline.

'Monitoring the situation closely'

Photos fromthe protests in Ontario which began Thursday eveningshow a dump truck parked next to the rails and signs that read "RCMP get out" and "Indianland."

However, the tracks were never actually blocked during the demonstration.

In a statement, CN Rail said "several dozens" of freight and passenger trains had been cancelled since the start of the protest.

"We are monitoring the situation closely and we are evaluatingall ofour optionsas wearewell awareof the impactthissituation, [which]isbeyond our control, has on thosewho depend on rail transportation to move goods and passengers safely and efficiently," said spokesperson Jonathan Abecassis in the statement.

Ontario Provincial Police spokesperson Bill Dickson said the police force is aware that the injunction was served, but referred questions to CN.

"There is no way I can speculate about potential enforcement," said Dickson.

Via Rail promises refunds

Via Rail cancelled all trains running between Toronto and Ottawa Saturday, as well as trains between Toronto and Montreal. The cancellationsaffecttrains running in both directions.

The company had also cancelled 28 trains between Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto on Friday, and is slated to cancel another 10 trains on Sunday despite the court injunction.

• Via Rail blockade by First Nations that halted Montreal-Toronto trains ends

"None of the trains on these two routes will operate until the issue is resolved," a statement on Via Rail's website reads.

Via Rail said it will refund those affected by this service delay.

The Coastal GasLink pipeline has been approved by the province of British Columbia, and 20 First Nations band councils signed agreements in support of it, including five of the six band councils in the Wet'suwet'en Nation.

But Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs say those councils are only responsible for the territory within their individual reserves.

The hereditary chiefs leaders of the nation's governance system in place before the imposition of the Indian Act assert authority over 22,000 square kilometres of the nation's traditional territory.

That area was recognized as unceded by the Supreme Court of Canada in a 1997 decision.

RCMP have moved in on aWet'suwet'enprotest camp, making arrests, over the past three days.

The Coastal GasLink pipeline is one of the key pieces of a $40-billion LNG export terminal in Kitimat, B.C., which is on Haisla Nation lands, which supports the project.