Kingston: Report from CN Rail Occupation

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On Thursday February 27th, Kingston locals – settler, immigrant, and Indigenous alike – gathered on the CN mainline in Kingston at the Gardiners Road overpass to continue to pressure the Canadian state in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs.

The rail bridge was taken at 8 am and CN was immediately notified. Flags were flown, banners were hung, a fire was lit for warmth and, as the word got out, supporters began to arrive!

Indigenous drummers kept our hearts light and our spirits high as we held our space with a sense of community, sharing warm food and drinks, laughter and dance. Read More …

Hamilton Update: News About Arrests and Tips for Staying Safe at the Blockades to Come

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Several arrests in Hamilton have been made in relation to the recent blockade action that saw rail lines shut down in response to the OPP raid in Tyendinaga early this week. Police took people from their homes and workplaces, for a total of 4 arrests at this time. These people are currently all still in police custody and will be appearing in court for bail in the next couple days. While unfortunate and enraging, none of this is surprising. Over the course of the last month, wave after wave of blockades and other actions have swept across the country causing incalculable economic damage and throwing Canada and its treatment of indigenous communities into the global spotlight. It was only a matter of time until the state responded with force and began to target those involved. This week appears to have been a tipping point in this regard, with police increasingly making arrests in different cities.  Read More …

Hamilton Junction Blockade has Ended

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After holding the blockade for 24 hours, and enduring not one but two readings of the unbelievably long injunction, we decided to end the blockade and walk away on our own terms. Everyone got away, no arrests, no contact with police.

Today we blockaded and diverted not one, two, or three, separate rail companies but four, those four being Via Rail, GO/Metrolinx, CN, and CP.

This is just the start.

See you at the barricades. Read More …

Updates from Hamilton Rail Blockade

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It’s a new day, and we started it by burning the injunction delivered by CN rail!

If you wanted to join us last night but couldn’t, today is the day to get down here. We know the spot we’re in has made it tricky, but folks showing up all through the night prove it’s still possible!

And so you know; we’re shutting down an effective junction that handles all rail traffic in and out of Hamiton. For each day we shut it down, it takes them twice that or more to recover! Read More …

Solidarity Blockade Underway in Hamilton

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As of 5pm today (February 24th) we have set-up a rail blockade in Hamilton, ON., in response to the OPP raid on Tyendinaga this morning. Our intention is to stay here indefinitely and we are calling on others to join us (See map below). Come for a couple hours or stay for the night, and bring your friends! If you plan on coming out, dress warmly, bring blankets and sleeping bags, and snacks are always welcome. If you can’t make it out, please help spread the word and share this with your networks.

The site is a bit tricky to get to, but not impossible. It can be accessed from either the West or East side of the tracks, and there is parking scattered around relatively close on both sides. Read More …

Report on Shutdown of Canada’s Second-Largest Rail Yard

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On Saturday February 15 about 400 people showed up in Vaughn, ON to blockade the tracks in and out of MacMillan Yard – Canada’s second-largest rail yard – for 7 hours. This action was just one amongst a wave of solidarity actions in response to Canada’s invasion and violence towards the Wet’suwet’en people on behalf of private industry.

Around 10am 50 trusted folks converged in a parking lot nearby. As the first wave of people to blockade the tracks, they made a phone call to CN rail and had crews 1.5kms east and west to put red flagging on the tracks. Red flags are a univeral indicator for rail crews to stop. After calls and flags were confirmed, folks cut through fencing and threw down large woodens boards so people could easily cross deep ditches filled with icy water and made their way past a (previously) stored train onto the rails. This first wave of people effectively shut down traffic on CN lines headed west out of Macmillan to Kitchener, London, Hamilton, New York and Michigan. Read More …

We Will Respond

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Anonymous submission to North Shore We Will Respond #shutdowncanada The OPP have told folks at Tyendinaga they will enforce the injunction, just not when. When they do, people in Hamilton will respond within 12 hours. We are asking people to be ready to respond with us. When you hear about an OPP raid on Tyendinaga, we encourage you to check https://north-shore.info/ for where to join us. Wear warm, layered clothing, Read More …

CN Rail Lines Blocked on South Shore of “Montreal” – Public Call for Reinforcement!

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A CN rail crossing in Saint-Lambert, Quebec is currently being blocked. The track connects Montreal to Eastern Canada as well as to the United States. We are acting in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en who are fighting against Coastal Gas Link’s proposed energy corridor through their territory and whose land was invaded by the RCMP in January. Read More …

Family Day Field Trip Shuts Down Thousand Islands Border Crossing

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On Monday February 17th ~60 determined people occupied the Thousands Islands Bridge at the Canada/US border near Kingston for about 3 hours. We are a mix of indigenous and non-indigenous people responding to the call from Wet’suwet’en land defenders to rise up following violent RCMP raids to force a pipeline through their unceded territory. Our energy is particularly high thanks to the strength and resolve of the Mohawks at Tyendinaga who have forced the closure of Canada’s busiest rail corridor for 13 days now, creating a crisis for the federal government and an “emergency for the Canadian economy.” We were also excited to hear about the Rainbow Bridge occupation in Niagara Falls on Sunday. Read More …

We won’t stop: Toronto solidarity rail action

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Moved by the momentum of rail blockades and actions across the country, we set out last night to stop some trains. Toronto has seen a couple of well-attended and inspiring one-day blockades over the past week. Sustaining the numbers and energy for these kinds of blockades can be hard, and we want to experiment with ways to keep pressure on the rail system without expending that energy constantly. Luckily, there are many ways to disrupt the rails – see previous callouts! Read More …