CNR Canadian National Railway Company

By Paul Vieira

OTTAWA--Canada's transport minister said Friday a resolution to end blockades that have brought freight-rail traffic in the country to a standstill can only be achieved through negotiations with anti-pipeline protesters.

"I am deeply concerned about protests that deliberately prevent the operation of railways through illegal activity," Marc Garneau told reporters in Toronto, the morning after the country's biggest railroad, Canadian National Railway Co., shut down operations in eastern Canada amid anti-pipeline protests.

However, Mr. Garneau called for calm at this time, and said officials are at work on a solution. He said the approach had worked in British Columbia, where talks with a group of protesters led to the end of a rail blockade affecting activity at the west coast port of Prince Rupert. A blockade in the western Canadian province of Manitoba also disbanded.

"The impact of this disruption affects each and every Canadian. However, one thing is clear: The path to resolution for this issue is through dialogue and seeking to build consensus," he said.

Mr. Garneau said Canadian officials plan over the coming days to speak to anti-pipeline activists that set up a blockade in Ontario, which prompted Montreal-based Canadian National to take the extraordinary move to shut down a portion of its network.

The blockades, which began over a week ago, began as an expression of solidarity with indigenous leaders on the west coast, after police began enforcing a court order to remove people who were trying to stop construction of the natural-gas pipeline in northern British Columbia.

Canadian National said it obtained court orders and requested the assistance of law-enforcement agencies to remove the blockade. "The orders of the court in Ontario have yet to be enforced and continue to be ignored," the railroad said.

A representative for Ontario Provincial Police didn't respond Friday to a request for comment.

Mr. Garneau said the government believes the best approach is to engage with indigenous leaders across the country to address their concerns, reiterating Canada is a rule-of-law country.

Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 14, 2020 12:09 ET (17:09 GMT)

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