As authorities contemplate laying charges against Idle No More protestors for a weekend bridge blockade, Mayor Naheed Nenshi says the group?s demands to meet with him were off base.
?I?m pleased that the situation over the weekend was handled without any arrests, without any violence and was cleared and that?s always the right answer,? said Nenshi, who was in Vancouver during Saturday?s downtown bridge blockade.
?Aboriginal issues are a federal issue and I understand there are seven or eight MPs here in Calgary and I encourage people to speak with their MPs about these concerns,? Nenshi said Monday.
The 14th Street bridge was shut down for hours Saturday during a peaceful protest march that began earlier in the day at Nose Hill Park and headed south to the Bow River.
About two dozen members of the Blackfoot Confederacy Warriors planted themselves on the bridge, and that?s when they demanded to meet with Nenshi and a Treaty 7 chief.
Calgary police were forced to shut down traffic and redirect motorists through Kensington on the north side or onto 9th Avenue S.W. on the south side.
Nenshi said the act of disrupting traffic was disrespectful to supporters and citizens.
?Of course everyone has the constitutional right to protest. One of the things we?ve done here at city hall is made it easier for people to protest at municipal plaza, which I think is an important thing.
?I do think you have to be respectful and make sure you?re not disrupting people?s lives, both from a legal perspective but also as a longtime activist, that?s a bad way to get community support.?
While the march from Nose Hill Park was planned in accordance with police, according to protesters? spokesperson, a Calgary bylaw officer allegedly tried to stop the march from proceeding through a red light, angering the male warriors and triggering a prolonged shut down of the busy bridge.
The protesters initially demanded Nenshi?s attendance, but eventually left the bridge around 10 p.m. Saturday.
Authorities say charges under the Traffic Safety Act are being contemplated against those who blockaded the bridge.
The Idle No More movement has grown considerably since its early days in November. Protests have been launched across the country, sparked by an unhappiness with the federal government?s omnibus budget bill.
Source: http://feeds.canada.com/~r/canwest/F275/~3/ssC23rNvpsY/story.html
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