Quebec government tries to minimize Legault’s AK-47 claim, but Mohawks demand apology
A spokesperson for the Quebec government is trying to downplay incendiary comments made by Premier François Legault yesterday about the presence of assault rifles in Kahnawake, a Mohawk territory south of Montreal where activists have blocked rail traffic for close to three weeks.
Mohawk leaders are furious that Legault told reporters that provincial police hadn’t yet dismantled the blockade because of «information that confirms there are weapons — AK-47s, to name them.»
They say there are no weapons at the blockade and accused of Legault inflaming an already tense situation.
On Thursday, Ian Lafrenière — the parliamentary assistant to Quebec’s public security minister — gave a round of interviews in which he put forward a less contentious interpretation of Legault’s comments.
«I listened to his clip. At no point did he say that people at the barricade were armed. He said that certain people had access to guns,» Lafrenière said in an interview with Radio-Canada.
The premier did not specify whether he was referring to weapons located at the blockade itself or in the community at large.
Lafrenière stressed the Quebec government wanted to find a negotiated solution to end the blockade in Kahnawake.
«For the First Nations people who are there, we are sending a message that, currently, our intention is to resolve this in a positive way with negotiation and that we don’t want to enter with force,» he said.
That, too, put a gentler spin on Legault’s comments Wednesday. The premier had said the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) was taking it’s time to plan an operation and that he didn’t want the injury of an officer «on his conscience.»
Mohawk activists remain angry at Legault
The barricade in Kahnawake went up Feb. 8 in support of Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs in British Columbia who oppose the construction of a liquid natural gas pipeline through their traditional territory.
Earlier this week, Canadian Pacific Railway sought and obtained an injunction ordering all blockades on its rail lines in Quebec to come down. But Mohawk Peacekeepers, who police Kahnawake, have said they have no intention of enforcing the court order.
On Thursday, the SQ said it will not enter the territory unless the Peacekeepers ask for assistance.
At the barricade, Mohawk leaders reiterated their anger with Legault and demanded an apology.
«I think Mr. Legault owes an apology to the people of Kahnawake for insinuating that we are armed, or that the demonstrators and protesters are armed,» said Kenneth Deer, a Kahnawake elder who has been acting as a liaison between reporters and the activists at the barricade.
«I think that’s very dangerous, and he was ill-advised to make such a statement.»
