Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has canceled his planned trip to Barbados for a regional conference to help resolve widespread rail disruptions caused by indigenous rights activists opposing the construction of a natural gas pipeline, his office said Sunday.
Indigenous communities across Canada have been blocking some key railway lines for nearly two weeks in protest against the Coastal GasLink pipeline in British Columbia, which has forced Canada's biggest railroad, Canadian National Railway Co., to shut operations in eastern Canada.
Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller, who held talks with some indigenous communities Saturday, told a talk show Sunday the unrest and its impact on the economy amounted to a national crisis.