B.C. rail blockade goes down

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The blockade of a railroad track in British Columbia Natives seeking a new fishing agreement on the Fraser River ended peacefully last weekend.

Members of the Cheam Band from the Sto:lo First Nation near Chilliwack had erected a blockade on CN rail lines which passed through their reserve two weeks ago to protest the cancellation of a Native salmon fishing opening on the Fraser River.

But the barrier came down Sept. 2 when deputy Minister of Fisheries Bruce Rawson agreed to meet with the Cheam and 13 other bands along the Fraser Sept. 3 to hammer out a new fishing deal.

Higher fishing quotas topped the Sto:lo list of demands, said Cheam councillor Sidney Douglas.

"Our people feel that there are different numbers of salmon," he said. "We were allocated 620,000, but our leaders felt there were more coming in."

The Sto:lo had originally asked for quotas as high as 1.2 million fish back in May, Douglas said. But the Department of Fisheries and Oceans refused to grant licenses for any more than 620,000.

The Sto:lo later asked for catch limits to be set at 750,000 when the season first opened at the end of June, Douglas said. But the fisheries department did not change its stand.

There was no word at the time of publication about a new agreement between the band and federal officials.

The standoff between Natives and the RCMP on the tracks never became violent but police had threatened to move in and dismantle the blockade if the Sto:lo did not comply with a court order to do so themselves. At one point during the standoff, RCMP outnumbered the protesters.

The blockade stopped traffic on the line for a day before company officials diverted trains along another CP Rail line.