Blockades mark Idle No More in Manitoba

Protesters with the Idle No More movement in Manitoba targeted railway lines and highways as part of a national day of protest on Wednesday.

Blockades and rallies were planned for Wednesday across the province, including in Winnipeg, in The Pas in northern Manitoba, and at the Fairford First Nation north of the provincial capital.

A protest on the main rail line near Portage la Prairie, Man., has prompted CN Rail to obtain a court injunction to deal with what it calls an "illegal" blockade.

More than a dozen demonstrators waved placards at a freight train early Wednesday morning then took over the crossing, forcing another train to be halted by police at the scene.

Service was stopped as of noon CT on the blocked rail line, which CN Rail spokesman Jim Feeny describes as a "critical link" in its network.

The group of protesters heckled the officers who served the court injunction at the blocked rail line.

CN Rail officials say the injunction means the protesters must leave the rail line or face arrest, but the demonstrators say they will stay put, even if that means they could be arrested.

"This is going to be permanent. We're not going away," said Morris St. Croix, one of the demonstrators.

"We're gonna dig in until [Prime Minister Stephen] Harper hears what we got to say to him."

The blockade started moving onto a nearby highway at around 4 p.m. Police officers arrived at that time, asking for Nelson. Some of the protesters demanded to speak to the prime minister.

No arrests have been made to date.

Another group of Idle No more protesters started blocking the Trans-Canada Highway near the Manitoba-Ontario border on Wednesday afternoon.

Members of two First Nations from the Shoal Lake area began blocking the highway at around 1 p.m. CT, backing up traffic for some distance in both directions.

Ontario Provincial Police say they have managed to reopen one lane of traffic to ease the congestion.

In Winnipeg, dozens of protesters marched downtown, starting at Portage Avenue and Memorial Boulevard, and gathered on the steps of the Manitoba legislative building.

The group consisted mostly of members of the Berens River First Nation, who drove to 400 kilometres to Winnipeg Wednesday morning, despite the cold and treacherous ice road conditions.

"Crossing the lake, the lake is not really open yet, so it was a bit of an exciting ride across," said Joan Jack, a band councillor and organizer of the march.

She said sanitation and education facilities at Berens River are substandard and it's worth making the long trip to let people know about the conditions.

Many other cities across Canada are bracing for serious traffic disruptions and possible blockades as part of the grassroots movement, which opposes changes to Bill C-45, the Conservative government's controversial omnibus budget bill, that directly affects First Nations communities.

All trains through the Portage la Prairie area have been stopped due to the blockade, according to CN spokesman Jim Feeney.

The trains will not move again until it has been deemed safe, he added.

"We are taking the necessary steps to protect our employees, customers and facilities," Feeny told CBC News.

"We have stopped train traffic in the immediate area and have obtained a court injunction."

The blockade is being conducted by a group of protesters headed by Terry Nelson, a former chief of the Roseau River First Nation.

They have gathered at the CN crossing near the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and the Yellowhead Highway.

He said the protest aims to educate Canadians about aboriginal treaty rights and land disputes First Nations people have with governments.

"We're sending the message very clearly with the railway blockade that [there's] going to be no more stolen property being sold until such time that they come to the table and deal with the original owners," he told CBC News on Tuesday.

Nelson said the approximately 15 protesters who are with him are willing to be arrested if that's what it takes to get their message known.

"We're very clear — we're going to do the blockade and whatever arrests, whatever happens … we're doing the Manitoba part of a national action," he said.

"If and when the people that are on the … railway blockade get arrested, other people will take their place," he said.

Derrick Gould, one of the organizers of the Fairford First Nation protest, told CBC News hundreds of people were planning to block traffic on Highway 6 at the bridge near the Fairford dam.

Meanwhile, Grand Chief Derek Nepinak of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs says he worries some protesters might take things too far.

"I think it's very important to recognize that we do not, at this time, condone the use of any kind of force," Nepinak said.

"We can't win in any kind of environment where we're using force."

The Idle No More movement, which began in November and quickly spread across the country through rallies and social media, stemmed from discontent among First Nations people over the federal government's general stance on indigenous rights.

Idle No More participants have taken issue specifically with Bill C-45, which they say erodes the rights of native people. They also argue there has been a lack of consultation on changes to environmental protection regulations.

A number of rallies have been held in Manitoba in recent weeks, including several events last Friday.