We were entirely close to see diversions over Saint John/CP but due to the CP embargo over the Adirondack sub it didn’t pan out. Still interesting to hear though, that is a core part of CPs strategy coming to Saint John to provide alternative access to Halifax/CN in the East
https://www.wsj.com/articles/canadian-r ... 1582207110
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.OTTAWA—Canada’s economy is facing a blow from two weeks of protests that have blocked multiple railway lines, stranding shipments and snarling supply chains in key commercial corridors.Here is a further Journal article addressing the grieveances held by these groups:
In the latest fallout from the blockades, the country’s largest passenger-rail operator Wednesday issued temporary layoff notices for 1,000 workers, a day after Canadian National Railway Co.said it would temporarily lay off 450 workers of its own. Factories in central Canada could be next in sending workers home, said the head of a national lobby for manufacturers and exporters.
Economists said the stoppages threaten to shave 0.1% to 0.3% from economic output in February, adding the damage could be greater the longer the interruption drags on.
Protests obstructing rail lines in central Canada started Feb. 6, after police began enforcing a court order to remove people who were trying to prevent construction of a natural-gas pipeline in British Columbia. A group of indigenous leaders oppose the pipeline because of environmental concerns.
While one blockade has been resolved in British Columbia, others show no signs of dissipating in the important corridors of eastern Canada. Companies are either forced to deal with goods they can’t ship to customers, or struggling to secure the parts and components required to produce their wares.
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/canadian-r ... 1582304984
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.TYENDINAGA MOHAWK TERRITORY, Ontario—A small cluster of flags and windswept tents sits near railroad tracks east of Toronto, where protesters are preventing trains from passing through a key commercial corridor, threatening Canada’s already fragile economy."I'm not the guy to ask" if there should be empathy for these aggrieved parties. While I have noted sympathy for these parties at other rail discussion sites, I can only see commerce being restrained, and so far as I'm concerned, time for the "Mounties to get their man".
Activists from the Mohawk community here say their encampment was set up to show support for a group of indigenous leaders on the other side of the country, in British Columbia, who are trying to stop construction of a natural-gas pipeline. The makeshift blockade, which has caused widespread supply-chain and passenger disruption in busy Ontario, is the latest sign of how indigenous groups in Canada are stepping up their civil disobedience amid long-simmering grievances with government leaders.
“We’re going to stand up and stand our ground,” said Andrew Brant, a teacher in Tyendinaga who is protesting alongside those at the encampment. He said the group wants the Canadian government to meet with hereditary leaders, who are unelected but seen as responsible for traditional land and who oppose the pipeline.
“That’s the way talks can start happening peacefully,” he said.
Protests, including the one in Tyendinaga, popped up across the country in early February after police began enforcing a court order to clear people from an area in British Columbia where pipeline construction was set to begin. Over the past two weeks, protesters have thwarted traffic, blocked access to the British Columbia legislature and prevented vehicles from reaching the Port of Vancouver. Some protesters have focused their message on concerns hereditary chiefs weren’t adequately consulted on the pipeline project, while others have concentrated on the environmental impacts of the project.
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Finally, please accept my apology in advance for playing "backseat Moderator", but, along with Mr. CN9634, I believe the scope of this topic goes far beyond these Eastern Canada Short Lines addressed here. Possibly Mr. MEC will feel same, and give this topic to Mr. Ken V to place in one of his Forums that are national in scope.
