Manitoba's southern chiefs suspend plans for 7 road blockades later this month

Road blockades originally planned for later this month by Manitoba's Southern Chiefs Organization are now being put on hold.

The SCO planned seven two-hour road blockades in different parts of the province on March 20.

SCO Grand Chief Jerry Daniels said those plans are paused because of the negotiations underway, with regards to the Wet'suwet'en territory in B.C.

"While we continue to disagree with the actions of government that take important resources away from our people without appropriate compensation, we want to focus on solutions," Daniels said in a media release Friday.

"We also want to show the people of Manitoba that we look forward to making space for dialogue, awareness, and understanding."

At a news conference last month, Daniels called the actions of the federal government and RCMP against on Wet'suwet'en territory the epitome of oppression.

He said the railway blockades that popped up across Canada were a symptom of the country's inability to engage with First Nations in a meaningful way.

Railway blockades began after Mounties in B.C. started enforcing a court injunction, after the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs and their supporters blocked construction of a multi-billion-dollar natural gas pipeline.

Last weekend, a Wet'suwet'en hereditary chief and senior government ministers said they reached a proposed arrangement to acknowledge land title rights established in a Supreme Court decision more than two decades ago. 

But both sides said they still disagreed how to move forward with the pipeline.