The RCMP now has a tool that will allow them to remove Mi’kmaw land protectors from a checkpoint set up at the base of Hunters Mountain in Unama’ki, Mi’kmaq for Cape Breton.

On Friday, the provincial government in Nova Scotia, led by Premier Tim Houston, passed the Protecting Nova Scotians Act, an omnibus law that covers everything from funeral services to liquor licenses. For Mi’kmaw land protectors on Hunters Mountain, the law prohibits the blocking of any roads on Crown Land.

The province claims that the omnibus bill is being imposed in order to protect Nova Scotians utilizing wood resources and not because of the checkpoint.

But Mi’kmaw said they will be criminalized for practicing their rights, including Treaty Rights Day that was celebrated on Oct. 1.

The Mi’kmaq created the checkpoint four weeks ago at Hunters Mountain to prevent logging trucks from clear-cutting and destroying their forests.

Mi’kmaw said that locals are welcome to visit the welcome.

Michelle Paul, a Mi’kmaw land and water protector, said the law impedes Mi’kmaq inherent rights.

“The people will stay here like the stars are stuck in the sky; they are not going to move as they shouldn’t, because our treaties say so. We should be unhindered, we should be unmolested and free to roam in our territories and our homelands,” said Paul.

Concerns about the decline in moose population, impacts to the environment, sacred sites and medicines led to the Mi’kmaq taking back their right to steward the land.

The bill amends the Crown Lands Act, which would make it illegal to block access on Crown land roads. Law enforcement now has the power to remove any encampments and obstructions on the roadway.