Demonstrators block London rail crossing in support of Wet'suwet'en

Dozens of supporters gathered at Waterloo and Pall Mall streets in London, Ont. Friday afternoon in solidarity with Mohawk and Wet'suwet'en land defenders.

Demonstrators set up a table and a PA system, then rolled out metal barrels for fires as people drummed and chanted together. The gathering joined protests across the country calling for the RCMP to leave the Wet'suwet'en territory.

"I want to be able to tell my grandchildren about what I did at this time. When their future was in jeopardy, I want to be able to say what I did to secure their future, secure the future of our children," said Biindigaygizhig "Danny" Deleary, speaking to the crowd.

Deleary also addressed the rise in discrimination that's surfacing as conflict surrounding the Mohawk and Wet'suwet'en territory continues.

"For all those racist and intolerant people, we still love you. You make it hard to love you, you make it hard, but we still love you and we still love your children," Deleary said. 

The demonstration led police to close Waterloo and Pall Mall streets for a couple of hours.

Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs have been in meetings with B.C. and federal government officials for the past two days, trying to break an impasse in a pipeline dispute that has sparked weeks of protests across the country. 

On Friday, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair turned down the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake's offer to have its peacekeepers head up a temporary Indigenous police force to patrol the territory instead of the RCMP. 

Mounties made a decision to end patrols along a critical roadway in Wet'suwet'en territory while negotiations unfold -- a request made by the hereditary chiefs. Work on the pipeline has also been paused for two days. 

In Ontario, a blockade on Highway 6 in Caledonia near Six Nations of the Grand River continued Friday afternoon.