Scores of First Nations activists have blockaded a train line in Ontario on Wednesday as part of a day of action to call for justice for the over 800 murdered and missing indigenous women across Canada.
Similar actions have been held recently in response to a parliamentary report that failed to call for a full public inquiry into the deaths.
Wednesday’s action by Tyendinaga Mohawks is taking place in the Napanee area of Ontario, and is affecting trains on the Toronto – Montreal and Toronto – Ottawa routes, according to a statement issued by VIA Rail.
Twitter user Jerome Lessar/ @JL1Intell was documenting the action on Twitter:
Presenting his annual report, James Anaya, UN Special Rapporteur on indigenous rights, warned in October that “there is a crisis in Canada when it comes to indigenous issues,” and said he backed a federal inquiry into the “disturbing phenomenon” of missing and murdered aboriginal women.
Winnipeg-based writer Don Marks wrote last week that new research showing that “824 of our fellow citizens disappear[ed] without a major countrywide alarm or crisis” was “a complete indictment of our society.”