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| quote: | DESERONTO, Ont. (CP) - The rogue Mohawk protester who brought road and rail travel to a screeching halt in eastern Ontario on Friday warned that it was just the beginning of barricade action on Canada's busiest highway, even before traffic had fully resumed.
Shawn Brant's 11-hour shutdown of Highway 401 came to an end Friday morning after aboriginal and Ontario provincial police brokered a deal to re-open the heavily used artery, giving thousands of travellers the green light on the first long weekend of the summer.
Brant was quick to warn the move wasn't a retreat but rather an act of good faith he expected Canadians to return - and also a "good test run" for future action.
"This is the first time ever we've shut down the 401, and I don't believe it's going to be the last," said the wiry Brant, who wears his hair long under an ever-present battle-fatigue cap.
"It was certainly a good test run for us."
His words came even before police and Transportation Ministry officials gave the all-clear around 11 a.m. to re-open highway ramps after checking the roadway to ensure it was safe for travel.
Bonfires dotted the eerily quiet highway as Mohawks sat vigil through the night.
Brant had set up three blockades near the town of Deseronto - on Highway 401, Highway 2 and the CN rail line (TSX:CNR) - as part of a national day of action that was otherwise peaceful.
The militant Mohawk protester vowed the other two blockades would remain until midnight, the official end of the aboriginal day of action.
Provincial police issued an arrest warrant for Brant on a charge of mischief, but Brant said he wouldn't even think about turning himself in to police until after midnight.
"There's an arrest warrant. I can't make it go away," provincial police Commissioner Julian Fantino told a news conference in nearby Napanee.
"He knows the procedure. I'm sure he'll seek legal advice on the matter, but he'll have to come before the system and be dealt with by the system."
Brant, a 43-year-old father of three, 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.
Police said Friday they were hopeful progress could be made in bringing down the two remaining major barricades before day's end.
"As the morning continues, we'll have further negotiations and we're very, very hopeful that we'll be able to have Highway 2 and the railway open," said Ontario provincial police Supt. Angie Howe.
In ending the blockade of the highway, Brant said he did not want to aggravate long-weekend travellers more than necessary. The highway had been shut down by police at midnight Thursday night after Brant said his group was armed with firearms and ready to use them in any confrontation with police.
Brant said Friday morning his co-operation with police shouldn't be seen as a retreat by protesters fed up with unsettled land claims and poverty on their reserves.
"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 Fantino to take down all three barricades, to which he said he replied, "absolutely not."
Via Rail announced Thursday it would halt service for thousands more travellers between Montreal to Toronto and Ottawa to Toronto and offer a full refund to any ticket holders. Officials said service was expected to resume Saturday.
The rail barricade prompted CN to cancel all traffic Friday morning on the busy line between Toronto and Montreal, affecting almost 50 passenger or freight trains. It is the second time in three months the railway's operations were shut down by a blockade. In April, CN obtained an injunction to end a 30-hour protest, although police did not enforce the court order, frustrating railway operators.
"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.
Fantino gave a public warning Thursday that Brant would be held accountable for his actions. For days, he had stood out as the lone voice advocating militancy for the day of protest.
A county road that passes through the Alderville First Nation, about 100 kilometres west of Deseronto, was also barricaded by protesters, police said.
A secondary Ontario road - County Road 45 south of Peterborough - remained blocked, although County Road 38 west of Bala near the Muskoka cottage area was re-opened before 2 p.m.
Brant said Fantino called him three times between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., urging an end to the blockade, although he never felt police were ready to move in.
There was a tense moment early Friday morning as Brant was meeting with fellow Mohawks along the deserted highway.
A white 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.
Assembly of First Nations chief Phil Fontaine says he didn't approve of the blockades, but hoped the day had brought awareness of the problems faced by aboriginals.
"We are looking for the basic necessities of life that come with being Canadian - clean drinking water, decent housing, education and health care," he said from Victoria.
"We are looking for equality of opportunity so we can get good jobs and support ourselves and our families. We are looking to control our own destinies. Improving our lives won't only be good for us, First Nations people, it will be good for Canada."
Ontario Regional Chief Angus Toulouse said Brant's actions were "not reflective of the collective resolve of the First Nations in Ontario."
"There is no doubt that First Nations have longstanding legitimate grievances that must be addressed now and not 10, 20 or 30 years down the road," Toulouse said in a release.
Earlier, the Mohawk protesters near Deseronto parked an old school bus across Highway 2, forcing a steady stream of traffic and heavy trucks to turn around. Brant warned his group was armed with firearms and was ready to use them.
"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 CN Rail main line, using jumper cables to activate crossing barriers before moving another old school bus onto the tracks.
Brant's protests began in response to a developer's plan to build condominiums on land called the Culbertson Land Tract, the subject of a land claim accepted by the federal government for negotiation in 2003.
The basis of the Mohawk claim is that no part of the Culbertson Tract was ever given up and that it was illegally taken from them in 1832.
The protesters have been occupying a gravel quarry on the land since late March |
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