Mi’kmaq protesters block entrance at proposed natural gas storage site
FORT ELLIS, N.S. — Mi’kmaq protesters blocked access to a construction site near proposed natural gas storage caverns in Nova Scotia, saying the project threatens a tidal river that passes through their traditional lands.
About 20 people gathered near the Alton project in Fort Ellis on Monday, close to a small island where the tidal Shubenacadie River meets a channel in which salt water is to be discharged.
Mi’kmaq elder Isabelle Knockwood held eagle feathers and members of the group spread juniper branches over the road near the locked steel gate, as four private security officers calmly looked on.
An RCMP negotiator in plain clothes came to the site, but there was no visible police presence as the group erected a canopy, deck chairs and a table with a red blanket on it directly in front of the gate around 8 a.m. local time.