> From a contact in BC. For copyright reasons, only the first few
paragraphs appear here. Susan
THE VANCOUVER SUN, Thursday, July 27, 1995
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front page:
ABORIGINAL LAND DISPUTES
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HARCOURT TOUR FACES THREAT OF ROADBLOCK
3 Indian bands plan to block major highway
by Mike Crawley, Vancouver Sun
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Three Indian bands plan to snare Premier Mike Harcourt in a roadblock
today on a major highway to protest a breakdown in their negotiations
with the government.
Harcourt is scheduled to travel this afternoon along Highway 3A from
Princeton to Penticton for tonight's official opening of the B.C. Summer
Games. But his path crosses the site proposed for a roadblock by the
Penticton, Upper Similkameen and Lower Similkameen Indian bands.
The bands said Wednesday that they are rushing to prepare for an
"information picket" at Kaleden Junction, the intersection of highways
3A and 97.
It's an escalation of the roadblock tactic used by Indian bands this
summer to draw attention to their disputes. Previous blockades were
only on secondary routes.
It's unclear whether Harcourt will try to skirt the roadblock by air or
an alternative route. His press secretary, Brent Humphrey, did not
return phone calls Wednesday. Harcourt is on the second day of a
three-day tour through the southern Interior and spent Wednesday night
in Merritt.