PHOTO: Solidarity Blockade Slows Spirit Train

October 13, 2008

PHOTO: Solidarity Blockade Slows Spirit Train

By Lia Tarachansky and Jesse Freeston

Vaughan, ON- On Thanksgiving Sunday, October 12th, 2008 roughly two dozen protesters blockaded the Canadian Pacific Rail just north of Toronto.

The blockade began at 5:30 p.m. and ended just after 8:00 p.m. Winnie Small, 20, attached herself to the rails in order to delay removal by police.

Alex Hundert, police liaison for the varied group of protesters, negotiated with the local police service, which was taken by surprise by the bridge blockade.

The group, consisting of Anti-War @ Laurier organizers, native organizers from the Six Nations reservation by Caledonia, and various individuals, was allowed to leave the blockade without arrests or conflict.

According to the police, who were in communications with CP rail on site, the blockade caused millions of dollars of economic damage and delayed trains all along the rail line.

Please stay tuned for The Real News Network video report later this week

Blockaders Set up lock down

Winnie Small, 20, locked down to the tracks with a "v" shaped metal bar

"No Olympics on Stolen Native Land" banner laid out by protesters

"Resist the 2010 Corporate Circus" banner laid out by protesters

Protesters wave to cars driving by as they hunk in support

Alex Hundert, police liaison for the group, speaks to first officer on the scene

Click here for more photographs

BREAKING NEWS For Immediate Release
October 12, 2008

Activists Blockade of CP Rail Tracks Successfully Disrupted Olympic
Spirit Train
Rail blockade backs up trains across the country in an escalation of
resistance to the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler Olympic games

Toronto, Ontario – Moments ago a group of activists from Toronto,
Waterloo, London, Kitchener, Guelph, and 6 Nations ended a blockade on
Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway’s train tracks in opposition to the Spirit
Train.

Activist locked themselves down to the tracks at 5:00pm and hung banners
off of the rail overpass on highway 27 near Elder Mills. The protest was
organized in solidarity with the Olympics Resistance Network (ORN) and
their call to disrupt CP’s “Spirit Train” that is traveling across Canada.

“Today we shed light on what the Olympics really stands for; capitalist
greed and colonialist theft of Indigenous lands” said Winnie Small. She
continued, “In stark contrast to Canada’s cherished reputation as a
human rights advocate, our First Nations live in abject poverty;
casualties of Canada’s apartheid policies, and its refusal to respect
Indigenous rights to their own land.”

The activists successfully negotiated a peaceful dispersal after more
than three hours. No arrests were made and the activists were able to
leave the area without incident. CP Police Officer told the activists’
liaison that trains had been backed up “across the country” and that the
delay cost the company “millions of dollars.”

The “Spirit Train” was launched Sunday Sept. 21, 2008, in Port Moody,
B.C. where activists from the ORN, Anti-Poverty Committee, and the
Native Youth Movement successfully disrupted it. To the embarrassment
of its corporate sponsors, the Spirit Train, still rolling across the
country, has been disrupted at several locations with protesters often
outnumbering supporters.

For interviews, photo images and B-roll please contact:
Dan Kellar 519 616 4462
Chris Buck 416 708 0834

For more information about Olympic Resistance
No2010.com
Peaceculture.org