At the Kahnawà:ke Blockade

On February 21, representatives of the Workers' Centre of the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) went to Kahnawà:ke to support the Mohawk people who have set up a barricade on the Candiac railway line on Montreal's South Shore. The barricade has been in place since the RCMP entered Wet'suwet'en territory to dismantle their camp, through which the Wet'suwet'en refused access to their land to Coastal GasLink, which wants to run a pipeline through it. They offered food as gifts to those present, as well as the February 15 issue of TML Weekly, which deals extensively with the issue. A spirited political discussion ensued with the Mohawk community at the barricade. The Workers' Centre stated that the workers and people of Quebec and Canada stand firmly with the Indigenous peoples and also want an end to the Canadian colonial order; that they reject the fact that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec Premier François Legault are speaking in their name; and that British institutions have been imposed on us all to ensure that decisions are made without the consent of the peoples and nations that make up Canada.

The representatives of the Workers' Centre also stated that above all else, these same institutions block all forms of fraternal relations between the people of Quebec and the Indigenous peoples. These words were very well received, especially in light of various forces calling themselves nationalists, which are demanding police intervention to end the barricades. The discussion, by contrast, emphasized the need for and importance of new human relations that will create a situation whereby the recognition and affirmation of the rights of all become the essential element in solving the problems we face and will result in the renewal of the constitutional arrangements.

This article was published in

Volume 50 Number 5 - February 22, 2020

Article Link:
At the Kahnawà:ke Blockade

    

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