Trudeau won’t intervene in protesters blocking highways and railways

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has refused to say that he will intervene in the #ShutDownCanada protests, which have crippled large parts of Canada’s infrastructure.

Speaking to reporters, the Trudeau said that, “I’m encouraging all parties to dialogue and resolve this as quickly as possible.” Trudeau, however, did not condemn the protests or threaten to intervene.

Over the last week, major parts of Canada’s infrastructure have been at a standstill due to blockades erected by activists opposed to the Coastal GasLink pipeline being built in northern British Columbia.

In Vancouver Island, protesters erected barricades to stop cars from accessing public highways. In Metro Vancouver, 57 demonstrators were arrested after judges granted an injunction to remove a blockade that had stopped workers from entering the Port of Vancouver.

Likewise, in Ontario, protestors decided to occupy the office of the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations in Toronto—chanting slogans like, “Canada is an illegitimate, violent, colonialist state.”

Demonstrators also blocked the train tracks in Belleville, Ontario, bringing all freight and passenger trains between Canada’s two largest cities and the nations capital to a halt.

So far, nearly all of the Conservative leadership candidates have strongly told Trudeau to enforce the injunction and remove the blockades. It is, so far, uncertain as to the extent of the cost to the Canadian economy from these protests.