Courtesy Alto Facebook page
Members of the Longhouse in Kanesatake met to discuss their support for efforts opposing the Alto high-speed railway project last week, with some attending an anti-Alto protest in Ottawa, in events that follow a Longhouse letter opposing the project in April.
“I can tell you my point of view, and pretty much everybody that I know they have the same point of view: We’ve been fighting land theft of our territory for so long, we’re still fighting,” said community member Karonhienhawe Nicholas, who participated in the Longhouse meeting about Alto on Monday, June 8.
“We don’t agree with it, not at all,” said Nicholas, about Alto, the proposed high-speed railway project connecting Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City. “They’re taking part of our ancestral land. It’s not only our ancestral land, our territory, but it’s also going to disrupt the ecosystem, the migration of the animals that come through here, that live around here, and it’s just absolutely no.”
The Longhouse did not respond to requests for comment.
On June 10 hundreds participated in an anti-Alto protest, including politicians, farmers, civil groups and some Kanehsata’kehró:non in Parliament Hill, Ottawa. The protest showcases a growing rally opposing the estimated $60 to $90 billion train, which is projected to travel 300 KM an hour in a route connecting almost half of Canada’s population.