If you’re heading west from Kenora today you better be prepared to spend a bit of time in traffic at the Ontario/Manitoba border.
The Southern Chiefs Organization of Manitoba is planning a protest for around late this afternoon on the Trans-Canada Highway.
Grand Chief Jerry Daniels told us that this is one way of getting the politicians attention.
“People want us to just stand on the side of the road,” said Daniels, “…’oh just let us (through) so we can get to our cabins!’…I think people need to deal with this seriously, and if we don’t get in their way, then they don’t care!”
He said that they only plan to hold up traffic about five to ten minutes at a time.
“We hope people will join us and dance…that’s our hope. We don’t want to cause people problems, we just want to be heard and be treated fairly. I think every person…every human being deserves that.”
Grand Chief Daniels adds that the blockade is really aimed at Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister.
“(It’s) squarely aimed at him…the way he conducts himself and how he treats First Nations. All we have seen is the erosion of our rights and the taking-away and digging into our pockets.”
