MNI POLICY: Trudeau: Cops Ended Rail Protest to Ease Shortages

--Resolution May Limit Canada GDP Hit to February

By Greg Quinn

     OTTAWA (MNI) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said police needed to

clear protesters from a railway blockade on Monday to protect the economy from

further damage and because negotiations had broken down.

     Ontario police started moving to make arrests just after 8am EST and around

130pm workers were testing signals on the main rail line between Montreal and

Toronto, according to scenes shown on local TV stations. Protesters ignored

Trudeau's call Friday to end the dispute immediately and other warnings from

police to leave. 

     Shipments that manufacturers say are worth hundreds of millions of dollars

a day have been suspended for more than two weeks. Economists last week started

cutting first-quarter growth forecasts, potentially adding to fourth-quarter

weakness that led the BOC to say it may cut interest rates. The economy was

already hurting from global trade disputes and exports are also at risk from the

coronavirus outbreak.

     "We have to ensure that there aren't any shortages for Canadians," Trudeau

told the House of Commons, referring to reports of towns low on heating fuel,

industrial chemicals and interrupted food shipments. "When we saw that

negotiations weren't in good faith we had to change our position."

     Trudeau's Liberal Party government, which needs opposition support to pass

laws, has been criticized by the opposition Conservative and BQ parties for not

nudging police to act sooner. Still, with the Conservatives seeking a new

permanent leader, Trudeau is unlikely to face a direct challenge to his power.

     The protest goals at a main blockade southwest of Ottawa early on were to

force federal police to leave the site of a disputed natural gas pipeline in

British Columbia, and police have said they have moved out of the immediate

area. While a large group of tribal leaders along the route of the natural gas

pipeline support the project, a small minority of hereditary chiefs are opposed.

     Canada has many unresolved claims with indigenous leaders in the west that

have led to delays in other resource projects such as the Trans Mountain

pipeline, now owned by the federal government after the private builder walked

away. Yesterday Teck Resources Ltd. withdrew its application to build the

Frontier oil sands project, taking a CAD1.1 billion charge, citing uncertainty

around environmental regulations.

--MNI Ottawa Bureau; +1 613-314-9647; email: greg.quinn@marketnews.com

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