Backgrounder: The Rail Blockade, Protests and History in the Making

Canada is currently experiencing an historic moment, where history, geography, economics and politics collide.

For two weeks now, Mohawk First Nation protestors in Ontario have blockaded the main rail line between Montreal and Toronto, effectively cutting the country in two and bringing the national economy to a screeching halt.

Why is this a big deal?

History: 

From 1763 to 1921, most of Canada's Aboriginal peoples, or "First Nations", signed treaties with the British Crown, who was the head of state of Canada at the time. These treaties ceded a huge swath of aboriginal land from Ontario through to British Columbia to the Crown, in exchange for tribal self-government and other promises. These agreements were upheld when Canada gained its own constitution in 1982, but there are many aspects which were not clearly defined, resulting in disputes which continue today.

In British Columbia, several First Nations have two chiefs: an elected chief who is responsible for day-to-day management of the tribe and its lands, and a hereditary chief who is responsible for safeguarding the tribe's traditions. 

The Crisis:

The $6-billion, 670-km Coastal GasLink Pipeline is currently being built between Dawson Creek and Kitimat, British Columbia, crossing lands claimed by the Wet'suwet'en First Nation. The elected chief agreed to the construction, but the hereditary chief is against. Negotiations have been underway since 2012, and a court decision in December 2019 cleared the way for construction. This sparked demonstrations by members of the Wet'suwet'en, which in turn triggered a response by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. 

On February 6 2020, the Tyendinaga Mohawk tribe, outside of Belleville, Ontario (360 kms west of Montreal), moved to block the main rail line in solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en in British Columbia. Other groups have also since demonstrated their support, blocking rail lines on the South Shore and major streets in Montreal during the last few days.

Geography: 

Although Canada is the world's second largest country in area after Russia, 90 percent of its population of 37 million people live in a narrow band within 200 kms of the US border. And 60 percent of the population are in the heavily industrialized 1100km corridor between Windsor (across from Detroit) to Quebec City.

A key piece of Canada's main road and rail infrastructure lies in a narrow corridor hugging the shoreline of the St-Lawrence River and Lake Ontario between Montreal and Toronto. There is no alternate route for freight or passenger rail traffic, therefore the Belleville blockade has effectively severed the country in two.

Politics: 

In 1990, a land dispute between members of the Mohawk First Nation and the town of Oka (50 km north-west of Montreal) degenerated into a 78-day standoff. There was also a blockade of the Honoré-Mercier bridge linking the south shore to the southwest of Montreal and whose southern terminus is on First Nations land. The Sureté de Québec (Quebec Provincial Police) and the Canadian Army were called in to break the blockade on the bridge and at Oka. This crisis between the First Nations and the Federal government created frictions which continue to this day.

As of this writing, the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has adopted a waiting stance towards the situation in Belleville, ostensibly to avoid another "Oka crisis". However he is feeling significant pressure from the Quebec and Ontario provincial government to act to lift the rail blockade. 

Economics: 

The majority of the rail network in North America is dedicated to transporting goods, not people. Although most of the right of way between Montreal and Toronto is double-tracked, the rest is single. Passenger trains in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor often have to stop to let freight trains pass by.

With the blockade of the only east-west rail connection in the country, Canadian National Railways, the owner of the tracks, was forced to shut down all train traffic across Canada, from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic. Trains have no where to go and are forced to stop in place. VIARail, the national passenger rail service, does not own the tracks, so they were also forced to stop all service. 

This is the first time since the Transcontinental Railway was completed in 1885 that rail service has been stopped nationwide.

Impact:

All of these factors make for a very difficult economic situation. Canadian exports of grain, paper, wood, minerals and other primary goods are blocked from being shipped to Atlantic, Pacific or even ports in the Gulf of Mexico. Canadian industry cannot get the fuel and ingredients they need. Consumer and industrial goods are piling up on the docks in Halifax, Montreal and Vancouver because there are no trains to pick up the containers. Trains cannot be rerouted through the US because of customs and duties. Over 500 freight trains have been cancelled. 

The timing of the blockade is critical. Even if the blockade were lifted tomorrow, the trains need to be thawed out, which could take days. Trucks (lorries) cannot pick up the shipping capacity because trailers have to be lighter than usual - the ground under the roads, highways and expressways is fragile due to the frequent freezing and thawing cycles, and therefore cannot bear the weight. Add to that a critical shortage of trucks and drivers which existed even before this situation.

Economists predict a significant measurable negative economic impact for 2020 because of the blockade. Even in Montreal, you can see that store shelves are less well stocked than usual. 

All this makes for a very interesting time in Canada's history. Pay attention over the next few days to see how this plays out.

(c)2020 Davender Gupta. All rights reserved.  Permission to copy or transmit is granted with attribution intact. Author not responsible for errors or omissions. Written on February 20, 2020

References and additional reading:

Barry Prentice: The high costs of railroad blockades to Canada’s economy and reputation (Financial Post, February 19, 2020) https://business.financialpost.com/opinion/barry-prentice-the-high-costs-of-railroad-blockades-to-canadas-economy-and-reputation - Railways move about half the freight in this country and the blockades couldn’t come at a worse time

No movement at rail blockade near Belleville, Ont. after weeks of halting rail traffic (Globalnews.ca, February 19, 2020) https://globalnews.ca/news/6568472/rail-blockade-belleville-day-14/ - It’s day 14 of the blockade near Belleville, Ont., that has stopped rail traffic in Ontario and much of Eastern Canada.

Coastal GasLink Pipeline (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_GasLink_Pipeline#Protests - The Coastal GasLink Pipeline is a TC Energy natural gas pipeline under construction in British Columbia, Canada. Starting in Dawson Creek, the pipeline's route crosses through the Canadian Rockies and other mountain ranges to Kitimat, where the gas will be exported to Asian customers. Its route passes through several First Nations peoples' traditional lands, including some that are unceded.