VIA Rail cancels all Toronto-Montreal and Toronto-Ottawa trips due to blockade

After demonstrators set up a blockade near the town of Belleville this week in a protest and show of solidarity for the Wet’suwet’en Nation in BC, VIA Rail said it has now cancelled all Toronto-Montreal and Toronto-Ottawa departures until this Friday.

“Due to the blockade near Belleville, Ontario, train service between Montreal and Toronto and between Ottawa and Toronto is affected,” said VIA rail in a statement. “In view of the current uncertainty, VIA Rail is cancelling all departures until Thursday end of day on the Montréal-Toronto and Toronto-Ottawa routes, in both directions.”

In light of this decision, the company said it providing full refunds for the cancelled trips automatically, “which could take up to 10 days due to the volume of transactions.”

This refund, it added, applies to all services affected by the blockades as well as related connections.

The company noted that service will continue to operate between Ottawa and Montreal, between Montreal and Quebec City, and west of Toronto in southwestern Ontario.

Demonstrations in support of have taken place right across the country over the past few days.

In Vancouver, demonstrators blocked all vehicle access to a major intersection in the city for 15 hours on Tuesday, and marched through the city’s downtown before shutting down a main bridge in the city on Wednesday.

• See also:
  • Wet’suwet’en demonstrations shut down Granville Street Bridge
  • Downtown Vancouver traffic blocked as Wet’suwet’en demonstrations continue

The demonstrations are meant to be a show of solidarity for the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs, who oppose the construction of a gas pipeline through their territory in northern BC.