{"id":103424,"date":"2026-04-06T08:41:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T12:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=103424"},"modified":"2026-04-06T08:41:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T12:41:27","slug":"n-s-premier-blasts-first-nation-highway-blockades-calls-for-rcmp-to-be-respected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/06\/n-s-premier-blasts-first-nation-highway-blockades-calls-for-rcmp-to-be-respected\/","title":{"rendered":"N.S. premier blasts First Nation highway blockades, calls for RCMP to be respected"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Eli Ridder Tensions between the Nova Scotia government and First Nations leaders flared up over the weekend amid a continuing debate over who has jurisdiction in Indigenous communities. Premier Tim Houston says blocking highways \u201cis never acceptable\u201d after protestors set up multiple blockades in reaction to an RCMP raid on an unregulated Indigenous cannabis shop in Cape Breton. \u201cThe unlawful obstruction of others is not peaceful. It undermines public safety, respect for law enforcement and the rule of law itself,\u201d he wrote in a social media post Saturday evening. \u201cOur roadways are our lifeblood. At any given time, people are travelling for critical reasons such as getting to medical appointments, hospitals, work and caring for their families.\u201d Houston made the comments after leaders of Potlotek First Nation, where the&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription &#8211; Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F04%2F06%2Fn-s-premier-blasts-first-nation-highway-blockades-calls-for-rcmp-to-be-respected%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Eli Ridder Tensions between the Nova Scotia government and First Nations leaders flared up over the weekend amid a continuing debate over who has jurisdiction in Indigenous communities. Premier Tim Houston says blocking highways \u201cis never acceptable\u201d after protestors set up multiple blockades in reaction to an RCMP raid on an unregulated Indigenous cannabis shop in Cape Breton. \u201cThe unlawful obstruction of others is not peaceful. It undermines public safety, respect for law enforcement and the rule of law itself,\u201d he wrote in a social media post Saturday evening. \u201cOur roadways are our lifeblood. At any given time, people are travelling for critical reasons such as getting to medical appointments, hospitals, work and caring for their families.\u201d Houston made the comments after leaders of Potlotek First Nation, where the... <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\"><div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\"><div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div><div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F04%2F06%2Fn-s-premier-blasts-first-nation-highway-blockades-calls-for-rcmp-to-be-respected%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>N.S. premier blasts First Nation highway blockades, calls for RCMP to be respected - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/06\/n-s-premier-blasts-first-nation-highway-blockades-calls-for-rcmp-to-be-respected\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"N.S. premier blasts First Nation highway blockades, calls for RCMP to be respected - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Eli Ridder Tensions between the Nova Scotia government and First Nations leaders flared up over the weekend amid a continuing debate over who has jurisdiction in Indigenous communities. Premier Tim Houston says blocking highways \u201cis never acceptable\u201d after protestors set up multiple blockades in reaction to an RCMP raid on an unregulated Indigenous cannabis shop in Cape Breton. \u201cThe unlawful obstruction of others is not peaceful. It undermines public safety, respect for law enforcement and the rule of law itself,\u201d he wrote in a social media post Saturday evening. \u201cOur roadways are our lifeblood. At any given time, people are travelling for critical reasons such as getting to medical appointments, hospitals, work and caring for their families.\u201d Houston made the comments after leaders of Potlotek First Nation, where the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/06\/n-s-premier-blasts-first-nation-highway-blockades-calls-for-rcmp-to-be-respected\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-06T12:41:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-06T12:41:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/facebooklogo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"725\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"483\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/06\\\/n-s-premier-blasts-first-nation-highway-blockades-calls-for-rcmp-to-be-respected\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/06\\\/n-s-premier-blasts-first-nation-highway-blockades-calls-for-rcmp-to-be-respected\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lynda Powless\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458\"},\"headline\":\"N.S. premier blasts First Nation highway blockades, calls for RCMP to be respected\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-06T12:41:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-06T12:41:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/06\\\/n-s-premier-blasts-first-nation-highway-blockades-calls-for-rcmp-to-be-respected\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":541,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"National News\",\"ticker\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/06\\\/n-s-premier-blasts-first-nation-highway-blockades-calls-for-rcmp-to-be-respected\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/06\\\/n-s-premier-blasts-first-nation-highway-blockades-calls-for-rcmp-to-be-respected\\\/\",\"name\":\"N.S. premier blasts First Nation highway blockades, calls for RCMP to be respected - 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