More than 100 protesters brought traffic to a standstill during the Thursday evening rush hour in Saskatoon in support of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs’ opposition to a pipeline project that crosses the traditional territory of the nation near Houston, B.C.
The protesters started at the corner of 22nd Street and Idylwyld Drive before moving through the downtown core.
The demonstration began shortly before 5 p.m. Members of the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) traffic unit worked to redirect motorists as the crowd moved through the downtown.
SPS provided live updates on social media, alerting the public to the path of protesters.
“Police are continuing to ensure the event remains peaceful and safe for all,” read a tweet posted at 5:36 p.m. local time.
Protesters carried signs that supported Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs in their opposition to the Coastal GasLink pipeline, part of an LNG Canada project.
Drivers in Regina encountered a similar protest on Feb. 8. More than 100 people gathered at the Albert Memorial Bridge and stopped traffic for about 15 minutes.
Blockades related to the LNG Canada project prompted Via Rail to cancel all train services in Canada on Thursday.
CN announced it “has been forced to initiate a disciplined and progressive shutdown” of its eastern Canada operations.