Four protesters charged after rail blockade supporting Wet’suwet’en

Police say the investigation into the daylong demonstration off York Boulevard is ongoing

Four people are facing mischief charges in relation to the Hamilton rail blockade in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs that halted train traffic near York Boulevard for 24 hours earlier this week.

Those arrested include known social activists in Hamilton, who have been charged by Hamilton police in connection with other demonstrations in the past year.

At its height, the protesters numbered about 30 people on Tuesday. They blocked the CN Rail tracks near the Bayview Junction from Monday at about 5 p.m. to Tuesday at about the same time.

The blockade forced Metrolinx to cancel GO trains at the West Harbour, Hamilton, St. Catharines and Niagara Falls stations. It also impacted Via, CN and CP rail service. The rail corridor is often described as one of the busiest in Canada.

The group — one of multiple popping up across the country in support of Wet’suwet’en land defenders protesting the planned Coastal GasLink pipeline on their traditional territory — camped out on the tracks in Hamilton. They had tarps, ropes and campfires.

They were served with a court injunction to leave the property by CN Rail on Monday night, several hours after the protest began. However, the group said they burned the injunction and remained on the tracks, with supporters bringing food and firewood throughout the next day.

The group left peacefully around 5 p.m. on Tuesday. No one was arrested at the site.

However, Hamilton police Const. Jerome Stewart said Thursday that, following an investigation, three people were arrested separately on Wednesday night and one person turned themselves in to police Thursday morning.

Barry Conway, 34, Woodrow (Woody) Fraser-Boychuk, 25, Patricia (Trish) Mills, 35, and Erin Warner, 38, all of Hamilton are each charged with:

Two counts of mischief over $5,000 — damage to property;

Two counts of mischief — interfere with the lawful use of property.

Conway, a local union leader, was previously charged with assault in relation to violence at Hamilton Pride.

Mills, a well-known activist, was previously charged after a group showed up at Mayor Fred Eisenberger’s home and accused him of not caring about the LGBTQ community.

Boychuk is also a well know anarchist and activist frequently seen at protests.

They remain in police custody pending the outcome of bail hearings, Stewart said.

Police are still waiting for an estimate on the cost of damages from CN.

The blockade in Hamilton and an ongoing blockade in Caledonia came after OPP dismantled the rail blockade in Tyendinaga on Monday. Other protests continue to pop up across the country.

An anonymous post to the anarchist website North Shore says the latest arrests in Hamilton saw people arrested in their homes and workplaces.

“While unfortunate and enraging, none of this is surprising,” the message says. “Over the course of the last month, wave after wave of blockades and other actions have swept across the country causing incalculable economic damage and throwing Canada and its treatment of Indigenous communities into the global spotlight.”

The statement says it was “only a matter of time” until the state responded with force.

“This is not the time to let intimidation hinder action, rather this is a time to push ourselves and those around us to be brave and continue to act,” it says, noting there is “strength in numbers.”