Via Rail temporarily laying off 1000 employees due to the blockades

Via Rail says it is temporarily laying off 1000 employees due to the blockades that continue to halt service on tracks in Eastern Canada.

Passenger trains have already been suspended on its Montreal-Toronto and Ottawa-Toronto routes for two weeks due to the protests.

Via says it commends the ongoing dialogue efforts between the government and demonstrators at the rail blockades in support of Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs who oppose a natural gas pipeline in British Columbia.

More than 530 trains have been cancelled since the blockade began on Feb. 6.