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Photo by Christinne Muschi/Reuters

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday called the blockades around the country unacceptable and said they have to come down.

“Let us be clear: all Canadians are paying the price. Some people can’t get to work, others have lost their jobs,” Trudeau said. “Essential goods … cannot get where they need to go.”

Jean-Yves Lessard, who joined the St-Lambert protesters on Friday morning, said Trudeau’s government was to blame.

“If they had done what they needed to at the beginning, people wouldn’t be here,” he said.

“Sadly, it’s bad for the economy and business, but it’s not them you should be angry with. Tell Trudeau to go and sit down with the hereditary chiefs.”

Legault said he would leave it to police to enforce the injunction.

“We need these tracks for transporting cargo, to avoid job losses, to avoid losses for companies,” he said. “The law has to be respected, and obviously I hope it is done in an orderly fashion.”

The premier estimated losses to the provincial economy due to the rail blockades at up to $100 million a day.

Photo by Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press

Denis Bisson, who owns a company north of Montreal that sells slate flooring and countertops, stopped by the blockade Friday. He said he depends on the rail line to supply his business with raw materials from a quarry in Nova Scotia. Switching to flatbed trucks would quadruple the cost per load, he said.

“I’m afraid it’s going to last two or three weeks, and I’m beginning to be out of stock in my yard,” he said, holding a sign that read in French “hostage for one day or every day?!”

A protester told him they were standing up for Indigenous rights and the environment.

“But they are hitting people that have nothing to do with that,” Bisson said. “They’re making people pay for something that we’re not involved in.”

The injunction granted to CN Thursday by Superior Court Justice France Dulude authorized “any police services or peace officers” to assist the company in executing the order in St-Lambert.