SUE BAILEY
June 29, 2007 9:50am
DESERONTO, Ont. (CP) - An aboriginal barricade that paralyzed the country's busiest highway was to come down Friday morning after a deal was reached between aboriginal police and the Ontario Provincial Police.
Mohawk protester Shawn Brant had set up three blockades near the eastern Ontario town of Deseronto - on Highway 401, Highway 2 and the CN rail line (TSX:CNR - news).
Brant said he does not want to aggravate long-weekend travellers more than necessary by keeping the 401 closed throughout Friday's native day of action.
But he cautioned the move shouldn't be seen as a retreat by protesters.
"We've been able to demonstrate the courage, commitment and resolve of our community members," said Brant. "We don't want people to see this a stepping back, we don't feel that it is."
Brant said he was asked by Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian Fantino to take down all three barricades, to which he said he replied, "absolutely not."
The two other barricades would be maintained until midnight, the official end of the national day of protest, Brant added.
He called the demonstration that closed Highway 401 for 11 hours and disrupted rail service a "good test run."
"This is the first time ever we've shut down the 401, and I don't believe it's going to be the last," Brant said. "It was certainly a good test run for us."
Police had closed the highway as a safety measure just before midnight before the Mohawks had a chance to block it.
Brant said Fantino called him three times between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., urging an end to the blockade.
There was a tense moment early Friday morning as Brant was meeting with fellow Mohawks along the 401.
A white cube van believed to have been driven by a provincial police officer sped through the area without slowing and this appeared to anger Brant and his group.
Meanwhile, Assembly of First Nations chief Phil Fontaine reiterated in a television interview comments he had made earlier in the week that blockades were not intended to be part of the day of protest.
"Our position has been very, very clear," he said. "We've never advocated blockades."I mean, we've made it very clear that this is to be peaceful. We want to do everything possible to reach out to Canadians. We are not interested in major disruption. We don't want to impede the Canadian economy."
Just before midnight, provincial police closed a 12-kilometre stretch of the 401 between Shannonville and Marysville out of what Sgt. Kristine Rae said were safety concerns.
The protest prompted the OPP to issue an arrest warrant for Brant on a charge of mischief, but police made no move to remove the blockades or arrest him.
Brant, a 43-year-old militant Mohawk, is out on bail on previous charges of mischief, disobeying a court order and breach of recognizance in connection with the 30-hour blockade of the nearby CN rail line April 20.
Demonstrators also blocked roads in and out of a reserve in Alderville, Northumberland County, halfway between Toronto and Kingston.
Const. George Silvestri said that both the north and south ends of Alderville, on County Road 45 just north of Cobourg, were blocked by the demonstrators Friday morning.
A county road near the popular Ontario Muskoka town of Bala was also blocked by demonstrators.
Earlier, the Mohawk protesters near Deseronto who threatened that they had arms and were ready to use them, parked an old school bus across secondary Highway 2, forcing a steady stream of traffic and heavy trucks to turn around.
"We've made no secret that we have guns within this camp," Brant told The Canadian Press in an interview.
"It's our intent to go out and ensure a safe day. Unfortunately, previous incidents have shown that aggressive tactics by the police need to be met with equal resistance by the people that they're bringing those against."
Later, the protesters closed the nearby CN Rail main line, using jumper cables to activate crossing barriers before moving another old school bus onto the tracks.
In anticipation of the blockade, Via Rail suspended Friday's passenger train service on the heavily travelled Montreal-Toronto and Ottawa-Toronto corridors, affecting an estimated 5,000 passengers.
The rail barricade prompted CN to cancel all traffic on the busy line, affecting almost 50 passenger or freight trains - a repeat of the situation in April when CN obtained an injunction to end that blockade. However, police did not enforce the court order.
"First Nations protesters are again blocking CN's rail corridor and the OPP continues to refuse to intervene," said a statement issued by the railway early Friday.
In the Maritimes, members of the Mi'kmaq Nation threatened a blockade of the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick boundary on Highway 104.
The threats of blockades were in stark contrast to calls from aboriginal chiefs who called for peaceful protests and a day of reflection.
Canada's premiers and territorial leaders also issued a rare joint statement Thursday, acknowledging that aboriginals are understandably disappointed and frustrated with the past, but urged protesters to keep Friday's campaign "peaceful and law-abiding."