Five natives were arrested on Aug. 8 north of North Bay, Ont. for blocking a highway used by logging trucks and local residents.
“This is an illegal arrest,” said Sherwood Becker, a member of the Temagami Nation and one of the protestors. “It’s our land.”
The protestors were charged with mischief and intimidation. The blockade was put up Sunday night on Highway 805 about 75 km northwest of North Bay. The arrests took place Monday, and a justice of the peace released the protestors on condition that they don’t put up any more blockades in the area. They appear in court Sept. 8.
The protestors were trying to stop logging trucks from reaching forested areas in the municipalities of McWilliams and McBeth, according to an article in La Presse. These forests are the subject of bitter dispute between the Temagami Nation and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. The logging is taking place on ancestral lands of the Temagami People, who do not recognize provincial jurisdiction over this territory.
