SASKATOON -- Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe stood against the pipeline protests while speaking to reporters at the legislature on Tuesday.
Moe said the blockades are hurting Canada’s and Saskatchewan’s economy.
“When it comes to blocking our rail lines, really what you are trying to do is hamstring the Canadian economy … and the jobs we have across this nation,” Moe told journalists.
“We are an export-based province. We are an export-based nation. We most certainly need those lines to move our product.”
Protesters have disrupted travel across much of the country for several days in a show of solidarity for the Wet'suwet'en Nation, whose hereditary chiefs oppose the construction of a natural gas pipeline through northern British Columbia.
Saskatchewan potash could be on the trains: Moe
Blockades around the country have halted railway service for five days.
Via Rail said more than 220 trains have been cancelled, affecting at least 34,200 passengers.
CN has halted more than 150 freight trains since Thursday, when the blockades in B.C. and Ontario began.
In a media scrum, Moe said he wasn’t certain what the exact economic impact will be on the province – but assumes Saskatchewan products are on those trains.
“I can only surmise that a number of those trains have energy on them, Saskatchewan energy. I can only surmise that a number of those trains will have Saskatchewan potash on them … so the impact will be there,” he said.
A protest in Saskatoon, at Idylwyld Drive and 22nd Street, is scheduled for Thursday at 4 p.m.
With files from ctvnews.ca
