Protests continue for third day
- Thread starter jiml
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Latest release from CN confirms no Amtrak service either.
There are those on both ends of the political spectrum who question whether he is smart enough to dress himself in the morning, let alone negotiate anything. He's at his best taking selfies while on vacation.
Not so much in the early going. The bulldozer and other heavy equipment that started this have been moved from the level crossing they initially occupied, but the threat remains trackside. CN isn't honoring anything except their lawyers' advice.
Your last point seems to be the objective, with many of the protest locations featuring little or no actual native content.
Which is my point: The natives get an injunction on the pipeline and then the protestors get an injunction and carted off to jail if they keep blocking things.
Seaboard92
Engineer
I think their banner might have poor design I read something other than shut down Canada when I looked at it the first time.
Me too!
the_traveler
Engineer
Me three! (Bad place for that railing!
)
)
Several highway bridges to the US have now been closed as well. The problem will be, if the government gives in on this every future complaint will be resolved in this manner. I believe that is called anarchy.
Seaboard92
Engineer
In reality the government is in a devils bargain right now.
They can opt to resolve the pressing issue of the pipeline but like others have said then any grievance will be handled this way which isn’t a working plan.
Or and in my opinion the better option.
They allow the protests to continue till the general public gets tired of it, and the economy starts to show for it. Let some shortages occur, and prices rise just enough it’ll do two things.
1. The public opinion will change from oh the poor aboriginal tribes, to just end this so our lives go back to normal. And then when Ottawa acts it won’t have a negative effect to the current government.
2. It demonstrates just how important the trains are in Canada still. And with that we will start to see infrastructure improvements. That there is only one CN route and one CP route between Toronto and Montreal really is a mistake. You need redundancy to a point. Any decent accident could knock out both mains in places then what to do?
So I say let the supplies dwindle a bit, let it start to bite in the wallet a bit and there will be a more positive outcome.
They can opt to resolve the pressing issue of the pipeline but like others have said then any grievance will be handled this way which isn’t a working plan.
Or and in my opinion the better option.
They allow the protests to continue till the general public gets tired of it, and the economy starts to show for it. Let some shortages occur, and prices rise just enough it’ll do two things.
1. The public opinion will change from oh the poor aboriginal tribes, to just end this so our lives go back to normal. And then when Ottawa acts it won’t have a negative effect to the current government.
2. It demonstrates just how important the trains are in Canada still. And with that we will start to see infrastructure improvements. That there is only one CN route and one CP route between Toronto and Montreal really is a mistake. You need redundancy to a point. Any decent accident could knock out both mains in places then what to do?
So I say let the supplies dwindle a bit, let it start to bite in the wallet a bit and there will be a more positive outcome.
Good observation. The redundancy used to exist, but generations of abandonment have yielded the current situation. In some cases the two main lines run almost next to each other. Case in point - this shot minutes from my home (©Rob Eull -Railpictures.ca). Upper tracks are CP, lower CN/VIA.
@Seaboard92
The problem with that approach is that sooner or later somebody has to decide to give up some votes and some feel-goods to get things moving again. Obviously, how many votes are lost depends on the handling but there's a point where it ought to be worth the government's while to simply tell the tribes "Well, then I guess you'll be voting for somebody else next election" and move on. Arguably, the problem is that this "looks bad" to a lot of other people (who tend to have short memories).
The other problem is that there are a lot of things you can work around with a lot of trucks, etc., so a lot of things will only get but so bad. Bear in mind that there's a lot of freight you can just send via Chicago.
The problem with that approach is that sooner or later somebody has to decide to give up some votes and some feel-goods to get things moving again. Obviously, how many votes are lost depends on the handling but there's a point where it ought to be worth the government's while to simply tell the tribes "Well, then I guess you'll be voting for somebody else next election" and move on. Arguably, the problem is that this "looks bad" to a lot of other people (who tend to have short memories).
The other problem is that there are a lot of things you can work around with a lot of trucks, etc., so a lot of things will only get but so bad. Bear in mind that there's a lot of freight you can just send via Chicago.
brianpmcdonnell17
Conductor
Trains operating entirely between Quebec City and Ottawa will resume operation on Thursday.
Classic example of the squeaky wheel concept. Apparently it's "safe enough" to run trains there and nowhere else.
Not quite. The blockage for VIA was on the Toronto-Kingston chunk of track, I think, so that portion is unaffected (and shouldn't have much freight interference to boot ;-))
(It wouldn't be practical, but I would have been amused to see VIA set up a schedule of literally pulling the trains up to one side of the protestors and then having folks walk past the protest under guard and board another train.)
I'm aware of where the blockages are located. There was no reason to terminate the Quebec City trains in the first place, however CN cited safety as the reason and VIA shut everything down. Now after the Premier of Quebec squawks publicly "his" trains starting running again. As political as Amtrak is, it will never hold a candle to VIA.
Brilliant!
brianpmcdonnell17
Conductor
Is it likely that long distance VIA service will be suspended for longer than CN to allow for the backlog of freight to clear?
I booked on #2 leaving Vancouver March 16th. It seems probable that this will be resolved by then, but I'm also concerned about the reopening of VIA service potentially being delayed for that reason.
I booked on #2 leaving Vancouver March 16th. It seems probable that this will be resolved by then, but I'm also concerned about the reopening of VIA service potentially being delayed for that reason.
brianpmcdonnell17
Conductor
Trains will also resume operating Thursday on Corridor routes west of Toronto, including the Maple Leaf and trains to Windsor and Sarnia.
Service from Toronto to Montreal and Ottawa is still suspended in addition to the four overnight trains (except Churchill-The Pas) and trains operating north from Montreal.
I'm on #2 on March 5. This is gonna be...interesting.
Am seriously wondering about the mechanics of suing somebody over obstructing the tracks, given that there's an injunction involved.
But who?
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2016
- Messages
- 845
As a US citizen who usually admires Trudeau and wishes we had him instead of the Orange Blob as our leader, I gotta say he's not shown much leadership in this dispute. Yes, he's caught between a rock and a hard place. But he needs to at least be involved, and try to mediate/compromise. Or failing compromise, take a side. The ultimate goal should be to (1) Respect First Nations' well being and their rights and (2) Get the trains and nation moving again.
He can and must accomplish both goals but he's going to seriously piss off one or both sides in the process. Because the pipeline routing was already in the wrong place, allowed to be placed there through political shenanigans, he's going to need to break with Canada's long tradition of giving natives the finger and do what he can to force the pipeline folks to move their project away from First Nations lands (and while doing so move it anywhere else that would also be more environmentally friendly). This will cost the billionaires many millions and probably cost Trudeau and his party future support from some of them.
Mr. Trudeau: Do the right thing, and this stalemate ends.
He can and must accomplish both goals but he's going to seriously piss off one or both sides in the process. Because the pipeline routing was already in the wrong place, allowed to be placed there through political shenanigans, he's going to need to break with Canada's long tradition of giving natives the finger and do what he can to force the pipeline folks to move their project away from First Nations lands (and while doing so move it anywhere else that would also be more environmentally friendly). This will cost the billionaires many millions and probably cost Trudeau and his party future support from some of them.
Mr. Trudeau: Do the right thing, and this stalemate ends.
The PM already has a Minority Government, so look for the Tories to win the next election!
And,Sadly, dont bet the house on him getting the Pipeline moved, Billionaires always Win!
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2019
- Messages
- 1,867
New blockade at Edmonton:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/rail-blockade-wet-suwet-en-edmonton-1.5468200
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/rail-blockade-wet-suwet-en-edmonton-1.5468200
brianpmcdonnell17
Conductor
VIA has temporarily laid off 1,000 employees.
