Idle No More protests escalate to help Canadians understand the importance of treaties, environment
Idle No More protests target bridges, roads across Canada
Some crossings shut down by First Nations demonstrators
Jan 5, 2013
Video Content
Protests block bridges3:19The Idle No More protest movement continues to gain steam with more demonstrations Saturday, after Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced he would meet with a delegation of First Nations chiefs, including Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence, who is now on day 26 of a hunger strike.
A number of groups have pledged to block bridges, several of which straddle the Canada-U.S. border.
Police in Cornwall, Ont., closed the International Bridge for more than three hours in response to an Idle No More protest that began mid-Saturday morning. About 350 protesters crossed the bridge.The bridge reopened by 2 p.m. local time.
And in Saskatchewan, RCMP say they've close off Highway 624 from Highway 1 to Highway 46 for safety precautions due to a protest of about 300 people.
Meanwhile, the Idle No More protest that was blocking commercial trains on Canadian National Rail tracks between Moncton and Miramichi, N.B. on Friday has been shut down. CN Rail filed a temporary court injunction Friday afternoon.
Organizers with Idle No More have organized several other demonstrations on Saturday at sites including:
- The Peace Arch crossing in Surrey, B.C., from 1 to 2 p.m. PT.
- NWT's Deh Cho Bridge between 2 and 4 p.m. MT.
- The Canadian side of the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia, Ont., for one hour. Sarnia police said the bridge would be closed in both directions from noon until 1 p.m.
- The Peace Bridge between Fort Erie and Buffalo in the Niagara region, starting at 1 p.m. ET. Organizers say it will be "peaceful," and they will occupy only one lane of traffic on the international bridge.
- A disruption is also planned at the Queenston/Lewiston Bridge between Niagara Falls and Niagara on the Lake.
'Cautiously optimistic'
CBC reporter Aarti Pole is at the protest in Fort Erie, where about 75 people have gathered. She says the plan is for Canadian protesters to march across the bridge to meet with their American counterparts in the middle.
Kelly Iron Star of Carry the Kettle First Nations on Highway 1 near Regina. (Tory Gillis/CBC )
Pole said the protesters were "cautiously optimistic" about the upcoming meeting between Harper and First Nations leaders and were particularly concerned about the Indian Act, the Navigation Act and the Environmental Assessment Act.
Organizers in NWT in say they chose the Deh Cho Bridge because it's still on Dene land. They plan to do a round dance and have a feast on the bridge.
Idle No More began in late October when four women in Saskatchewan began exchanging emails about Bill C-45, which had just been introduced in Ottawa. Jessica Gordon, Sheelah McLean, Sylvia McAdams and Nina Wilsonfeld were concerned the bill would erode indigenous rights.
They decided to organize an event in Saskatoon, set for Nov. 10, and to help spread the word they turned to Facebook. They chose to call the page "Idle No More" as a motivational slogan.
Soon after, branch groups sprouted all over the province and across the country. Now, the movement has inspired supporters all over the world.
Idle No More protesters in Paris. (Facebook)
Protesters were also set to gather Saturday at other locales, such as:
- The Buffalo Narrows Reserve in Northern Saskatchewan.
- Highway 403 in Hamilton Saturday afternoon.
- The White Buffalo Youth Lodge in Saskatoon, with actor and activist Tantoo Cardinal.
- The Santa Maria bridge in West Edmonton Mall, where a group of Latinos are expected to gather in support of the First Nations protesters.
- Centennial Park on Salt Spring Island, B.C.
- Orchard Park Shopping Centre in Kelowna, B.C.
Meanwhile, Spence has said she would attend the meeting with Harper on Jan. 11. But when asked whether it would be enough to end her hunger strike, she said she would wait to see the outcome.
First Nations chiefs are concerned the federal government isn't honouring their treaty rights.
Spence and her supporters want Gov. Gen. David Johnston and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty at the meeting as well, and said the hunger strike could continue after Jan. 11.
The Attawapiskat chief has been conducting her hunger strike on Victoria Island, just in sight of the Parliament buildings. She has since been joined on the island by dozens more people. She is not alone on her hunger strike. Cross Lake, Man., elder Raymond Robinson has also gone without food since Dec. 11.
Protesters on the International Bridge between Cornwall, Ont. and Awaksasne, N.Y. (Twitter)
Related Stories
- 9 questions about Idle No More
- First Nations leader welcomes meeting with Harper
- Spence to join Harper meeting with chiefs Jan. 11
- Idle No More protest closes Cornwall bridge to U.S.
- Idle No More activists to block Deh Cho Bridge
- Idle No More protest shut down by CN in New Brunswick
External Links
NDP on Idle No More4:34
Liberals on Spence hunger strike7:01
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9 questions about Idle No More
Jan 5, 2013
Idle No More continues2:56
It dates back just two months but a grassroots movement called Idle No More has gained a serious following and significant media attention through rallies, teach-ins, and social media.
Here are answers to some questions about Idle No More.
What's the goal of the Idle No More protests?
The movement says it wants to "stop the Harper government from passing more laws and legislation that will further erode treaty and indigenous rights and the rights of all Canadians."
The mission statement reads, "Idle No More calls on all people to join in a revolution which honors and fulfils Indigenous sovereignty which protects the land and water."
The Idle No More Facebook group, which has about 45,000 members, says its purpose is "to support and encourage grassroots to create their own forums to learn more about Indigenous rights and our responsibilities to our Nationhood via teach-ins, rallies and social media."
How did Idle No More get started?
In late October, four women in Saskatchewan began exchanging emails about Bill C-45, which had just been introduced in Ottawa. Jessica Gordon, Sheelah McLean, Sylvia McAdams and Nina Wilsonfeld were concerned the bill would erode indigenous rights.
They decided to organize an event in Saskatoon, set for Nov. 10, and to help spread the word they turned to Facebook. They chose to call the page "Idle No More" as a motivational slogan.
A week after that small meeting, there were events in Regina, Prince Albert and North Battleford, Sask., and Winnipeg.
Members
of the Haisla First Nation march in Kitimat, B.C. as part of a rally in
support of the Idle No More movement on Dec 30, 2012. (Robin Rowland/Canadian Press)
A movement was born. Exactly one month after that first meeting Idle No More held a National Day of Action in locations across the country.
What is Bill C-45?
That's the number of the bill introduced by the Harper government on Oct. 18 with the title, "A second Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 29, 2012, and other measures."
Shawn
Atleo, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, drums at
the centre of the Idle No More protest on Parliament Hill Dec. 21. (Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)
The bill passed and then received royal assent on Dec. 14 and is now known as the "Jobs and Growth Act, 2012."
That doesn't sound like something that would spark a protest movement, especially an aboriginal rights movement. What's the issue?
C-45 is better known as the second omnibus budget bill. The act changes the legislation contained in 64 acts or regulations. The act itself runs over more than 400 pages.
The changes that most concern the Idle No More movement are the ones to these acts:
- Indian Act.
- Navigation Protection Act (former Navigable Waters Protection Act).
- Environmental Assessment Act.
In addition to the changes, those involved in the movement were angered by what they call a lack of consultation with indigenous peoples. The movement has also expressed concern about other acts and bills from the Harper government.
What are some of the movement's key objections to the changes to those 3 acts?
Indian Act: First Nations communities can now lease designated reserve lands if a majority attending a meeting called for that purpose vote to do so, regardless of how many people show up. Previously, approval required the support of a majority of eligible voters.
The Aboriginal Affairs minister can call the meeting to consider surrendering band territory. The minister can choose to ignore a resolution from the band council that's in opposition to a decision at the meeting.
Idle No More says these changes allow "for easier opening of treaty lands and territory."
Navigation Protection Act: Under the act, major pipeline and power line project advocates aren't required to prove their project won't damage or destroy a navigable waterway it crosses, unless the waterway is on a list prepared by the transportation minister. Idle No More claims the amendments remove that protection for 99.9 per cent of lakes and rivers in Canada.
Environmental Assessment Act: The first omnibus budget bill had already overhauled the assessment process and the second one reduces further the number of projects that would require assessment under the old provisions. Idle No More objects to the faster approval process.
What's the connection between the hunger strike by Chief Theresa Spence and Idle No More?
It was on that National Day of Action that Spence, chief of the troubled Attawapiskat First Nation in northern Ontario, announced in Ottawa that she would be starting a hunger strike the next day.
Her hunger strike has helped generate media attention for Idle No More and she has become an icon for Idle No More activists.
Substandard living conditions in Attawapiskat attracted widespread media coverage after Spence declared a state of emergency in late 2011 due to a housing crisis in the community.
What is #IdleNoMore?
That's the Twitter hashtag being used to spread information about the movement and to organize its actions. Twitter users add "#IdleNoMore" (upper or lower case) to their tweets and others follow or search for that hashtag.
The first tweet with that hashtag was sent Nov. 30 by Tanya Kappo, an aboriginal activist in Edmonton, who tweets prolifically as @Nehiyahskwew.
For the record, here's the text of her tweet:
Tweeting up on Sunday, December 2, the #IdleNoMore event in Alberta. Lets get it trending! Here is the FB event info: https://www.facebook.com/events/294147797368645/
Kappo was one of the event organizers. Within weeks #IdleNoMore was trending on Twitter.
What's the connection between the Assembly of First Nations and the Idle No More movement?
A
large group performed a Round Dance at the Cornwall Centre in Regina to
raise awareness of their Idle No More campaign on Dec. 17, 2012. (Submitted to CBC)
The movement is grassroots. "It's all volunteer and we have no finances," according to co-founder Jessica Gordon.
It has been compared to the Occupy movement that began in 2011.
So there is no formal connection between the AFN, which represents First Nations citizens in Canada, and Idle No More.
AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo has publicly expressed support for Idle No More.
"Through the 'Idle No More' movement, we have seen a tremendous outpouring of energy, pride and determination by our peoples in recent weeks," Atleo said in a Jan 3 media release. "This level of citizen and community engagement is absolutely essential to achieve the change we all want," he added.
What has been Prime Minister Stephen Harper's response to the Idle No More movement?
While Harper will meet with an AFN delegation on Jan. 11, that was a demand from Chief Spence in connection with her hunger strike rather than a demand from Idle No More.
Harper was asked at a press conference on Friday in Oakville, Ont., if he is worried whether the movement will snowball similar to the Occupy movement. He responded, "People have the right in our country to demonstrate and express their points of view peacefully as long as they obey the law, but I think the Canadian population expects everyone will obey the law in holding such protests."
- First Nations members taking part in an Idle No More protest shut down Portage Avenue at the Perimeter Highway in Winnipeg on Jan. 2. (John Woods/Canadian Press)
Related Stories
- Spence to join Harper meeting with chiefs Jan. 11
- How a hunger strike affects the body
- 22 changes in the budget bill C-45 fine print
- 8th Fire: Aboriginal peoples, Canada and the way forward
External Links
Spence to meet Harper3:32Dion Tootoosis & Alvin Fiddler on Idle No More12:56
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Idle No More activists block VIA rail tracks near Kingston
Sunday January 06, 201
FRED CHARTRAND/THE CANADIAN PRESS
First Nations Idle No More protestors march and block the
International Bridge between the Canada and U.S. border near Cornwall
Ontario.
1 of 2
Graham Slaughter and Colin Graf
119 Comments
More than a thousand VIA Rail travellers were stranded on four trains Saturday night when Idle No More protesters blocked off the main rail route between Toronto and Montreal.
About a dozen protesters took over the tracks in Marysville, near Kingston, around 4:30 p.m., forcing VIA Rail to dispatch 20 buses to transport passengers to their respective destinations, which included Toronto's Union Station, Ottawa and Montreal.
The Marysville blockade was one of a series of nationwide demonstrations in which protesters blocked bridges, roads and train tracks on Saturday. Their collective hope: To kill the federal government's Bill C-45, which they say is a breach of First Nations treaty rights.
Ontario Provincial Police said that while protesters don't have the right to stop trains, they are legally allowed to demonstrate.
"We recognize that they have the right to peaceful protest, and our responsibility is keeping the peace," said Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Kristine Rae. "We had to weigh the situation. We have an open dialogue going on."
Photos:Idle No More protests
Liam Mitchell, 33, had his Toronto-bound train delayed for 45 minutes due to the blockade. "It's a minor inconvenience for a much bigger issue," Mitchell said.
After more than seven hours at the tracks, protesters in Marysville ended their demonstration by midnight Saturday, Rae confirmed. VIA Rail service is expected to run Sunday as scheduled without bus detours.
Last Sunday, protesters halted 12 trains near Belleville, affecting about 2,500 travellers.
In Oshawa, more than a hundred Idle No More protesters seized a Highway 401 overpass around noon. The location was chosen to attract attention from drivers on the highway below, said protest organizer Jesse Cullen, 27.
"It was pretty successful; we had enough people to shut down the bridge for 45 minutes because the crowds spilled out to the road," said Cullen, who has Métis heritage.
An elder in attendance conducted a smudging ceremony and blessed police officers who helped shut down Albert St.
After the peaceful demonstration, protesters headed to a local café to plan their next move - a march to Oshawa MP Colin Carrie's office on Jan. 12, the day after Chief Theresa Spence will meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Spence has been on a hunger strike since Dec. 11 in protest of the bill.
"(The protests) didn't start with a hunger strike by Chief Spence," Cullen said. "There's a need to carry on the discussion after the Jan. 11 meeting."
Traffic on Hwy. 403 in Hamilton idled for a half-hour as 250 protesters marched down the King St. W. on-ramp, beating drums and carrying signs that challenged Bill C-45.
In Sarnia, traffic on the Blue Water Bridge linking Ontario to Michigan halted completely for just over an hour in the afternoon as about 250 protesters marched onto Highway 402 and blocked it in support of hunger strikes by chiefs and elders across Canada.
The protesters, carrying signs protesting Conservative environmental policies and supporting the Idle No More movement, walked peacefully onto the highway, which links the bridge to Highway 401, from nearby Point Edward, following a convoy of cars and a truck carrying native drummers and singers.
Under the watchful eye of OPP officers, the blockaders began their march Saturday morning from a snowy, windswept spot by the St. Clair River directly under the bridge. Organizers first held an aboriginal water ceremony near a monument dedicated to the memory of native ancestors and then drove and marched to the bridge entrance.
OPP officers warned the organizers that their actions were illegal but offered their protection if the protesters followed an agreed-to route. The marchers waited impatiently at the bridge entrance for about 10 minutes while the OPP closed the highway. A police vehicle that had been parked across the entrance was pulled back by officers, clearing the way for the march to proceed.
As overhead signs at the bridge toll booths flashed, the bridge was closed. Protesters chanted "why are we waiting" and "idle no more" while listening to speakers from the Aamjiwnaang First Nation in Sarnia.
The bridge protest is only part of a campaign to "shut down the Chemical Valley," the complex of oil refineries and chemical plants south of the city, said Ron Plain, who helped organize the recent 13-day blockade of a CN Rail line serving area industries.
Members of the protest movement also plan to blockade the bridge again in the spring, he said.
Plain said he faces a possible $180,000 legal bill from CN if he doesn't plead guilty to contempt of court charges brought by the rail firm for failing to end the blockade sooner.
"I'm not pleading guilty to this. I'll take it all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada," he told the Star. "I'm ready to take it on the chin for the youth of this community, who have to live with the results of Stephen Harper's actions," he told the crowd.
Bill C-45 includes amendents to the Indian Act that will affect the leasing of reserve lands, as well as changes that will remove federal protection for some lakes and streams.
"It's important that the people of Sarnia understand why we are here," said Aamjiwnaang band councillor John Adams. "This Bill C-45 affects the land, air, and water that our sovereign people look after. The government has no right to change these things without talking to us. We're here for everybody's rights, not just for native people."
The demonstration ended peacefully and no major traffic tie-ups were reported either on the 402 or on city streets.
Earlier Saturday, police in Cornwall closed the Seaway International Bridge as a public safety precaution.
It's unclear when the usually busy toll bridge, which connects the eastern Ontario city and Akwesasne, Ont., to Massena, N.Y., will be reopened.
Sgt. Marc Bissonnette of the Cornwall detachment said about 100 to 150 demonstrators were marching on the bridge.
Similar demonstrations were held at several other locations, including the Peace Arch crossing in Surrey, B.C., the Peace Bridge between Fort Erie and Buffalo, and the Queenston/Lewiston Bridge in Niagara Falls.
Police in Ontario have warned travellers to plan ahead because some roads and highways in these areas may face longer than usual traffic delays due to the demonstrations.
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Idle No More: Aboriginal women, children gather at Peace Arch border rally
By Tiffany Crawford, Vancouver Sun January 5, 2013
Hundreds of Idle No More movement protestors rally at the Peace Arch border crossing for an hour long prayer ceremony and drum circle in Surrey on Saturday, January 05, 2013. Idle No More is protesting the Harper governments treatment of First Nations groups and supporting Chief Theresa Spences hunger strike.
Photograph by: Les Bazso , PNG
Armed with a drum and a song, hundreds of aboriginal women and their supporters gathered at the Peace Arch border crossing Saturday to rally in support of the growing Idle No More movement.
The solemn sound of a conch boomed amid a cacophony of clapping, yelling and chanting demonstrators as they gathered at the Peace Arch provincial park in Surrey to protest Conservative legislation which they say eliminates treaty rights set out in the Constitution.
The event was organized by five indigenous women from the Indigenous Action Movement, a Vancouver-based group that fights for social justice, but it was in concert with similar Idle No More rallies held across Canada on the weekend.
Thick sage smoke filled the air as indigenous people from many different nations in B.C. and the U.S, including Coast Salish, Cree, Inuit and Mohawk, banged on drums marked with the Idle No More logo and sang songs in their native languages.
Small children perched on parents' shoulders took in the festival-like atmosphere, watching elders dressed in traditional robes give speeches and prayers with a common theme: To save mother Earth.
Speaking on behalf of organizer Kat Norris, Musqueam First Nation elder Shane Pointe explained how red ochre and eagle feathers on the ground symbolized strength and the hope that everything will happen in a positive way.
Many of the kids held signs calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to protect their future. "Please protect mother Earth," read one sign, while another said: "I am fighting for my future."
Lorelei Williams, 32, from the Skatin Nation and her daughter Saiyaka, 7, held a sign that said: "When sleeping women wake mountains move."
Williams said she wanted her daughter to attend the rally so that she could develop a sense of empowerment and strength.
"It's very important for her to see us sticking up for our culture. I want her to see it with her own eyes," she said. Idle No More is a grass roots movement that has gained momentum over the past month, with participants urging the prime minister to meet with First Nations to talk about treaty rights.
Many groups were pledging to block bridges across the U.S. and Canadian borders, while other peaceful demonstrations were being held across the country and south of the border, including Fort Erie, Ont., Buffalo, N.Y., and the Queenston/Lewiston Bridge in Niagara Falls.
Jerilynn Webster, an organizer of the Idle No More rallies in Metro Vancouver, said on Friday that the rallies would continue despite Harper announcing he would meet with a delegation of First Nations Chiefs, including Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence who has been on a hunger strike for 26 days.
Some of the demonstrators at Saturday's Peace Arch event expressed outrage that Harper is waiting until Jan. 11 to hold the meeting when Spence grows weaker, her only sustenance water and fish broth.
"Why wait another week? It makes me so angry," said Williams. "All (Spence) wants is a meeting. She is growing weaker by the minute. It messes with my mind"
The Idle No More movement was triggered by Conservative changes to several federal laws through the recent omnibus budget bill, C-45, which became law in December. But it also draws on long-standing complaints about poverty on Canadian reserves.
Williams, who lives in Vancouver with her daughter and son Caleb, 4, said her family's reserve in Pemberton doesn't have telephone access so it's difficult to keep in touch.
Previously in the Indian Act, a majority of voting members of an Indian band had to approve leasing of reserve land. That threshold has been reduced so that only a majority of voting members at a meeting or referendum are needed to approve major changes to reserve land.
Participants of the movement are also upset by changes to environmental protection of waterways that make it easier to build industrial projects such as pipelines.
"It is of significant importance for First Nations people to stand up now and be recognized as protectors of the sacred lands, the waters and to keep the government from continuing to harm them," said Marlene George, of the Killer Whale clan of the Kitselas Nation, who was attending with her toddler granddaughter Isabella.
Michelle Pineault, whose daughter Stephanie Lane was one of many aboriginal women slain by serial killer Robert Pickton, was attending Saturday's rally to "stand up against injustice" against women and lend support to a group she says is growing stronger by the day.
"What else can we do? We can't just sit back and not participate. You think this is Canada and everything must be so great but women are still being raped on reserves... and some reserves don't have clean drinking water," she said.
She's also confident that if the movement keeps growing, it will garner enough support from Canadians to help stop projects they consider harmful to the environment, such as Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline to Kitimat.
"What gives (Harper) the right to sell off our land," said Pineault.