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“Minister Toews has received a letter from the president of the Canadian Propane Association urging the federal government to take the necessary steps to remove the CN Rail blockage in Sarnia, Ontario in an orderly and safe manner,” said an email from Denis Guitor, a senior official at the emergency-response Government Operations Centre.

The email was forwarded to Aboriginal Affairs officials on Dec. 28.

The blockade ended on Jan. 2, after about two weeks, after lawyers for CN Rail launched court action against Ron Plain, a member of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation and spokesperson for the protesters, alleging that he was in contempt of an injunction to disband the protests on the railway tracks.

The documents also show there were doubts within the bureaucracy about the status of jurisdiction over the railway.

Plain told media on Dec. 26 that the rail was built illegally on the First Nations’ property.

On Dec. 27, associate deputy minister Colleen Swords asked staff to clarify the status of the rail line. Officials reiterated the request the following morning.

“Apparently there is a call with the Mayor of Sarnia this morning. Would be important to have answers to the questions about the rail line and the status of the CN right of way,” Gail Mitchell wrote on Dec. 28.

Another bureaucrat, Margaret Buist, responded that such information would take time to obtain.

“We will need to review historical records likely at Library and Archives to determine if the land in question is still reserve land or not,” she wrote. “It is detailed research and will require some time.”

Mitchell answered: “The department is saying that CN has a right of way, but that there may not be a permit to cross the land and we aren’t sure about the status of the land? Further research is required. Have I got that right?”

Buist replied that research would show whether the land through which the rail passes remains reserve land or not.

Some First Nations chiefs have warned that blockades and similar actions could ramp up again under Idle No More, as the weather warms. Last month, one chief told reporters in Ottawa that “it’s going to be a long, hot summer.”

With files from The Canadian Press