ATLANTIC

Fasts to be held on N.S. reserves in support of Ontario chief

The Canadian Press Published Thursday, December 27, 2012 11:12AM AST

Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence talks with her family as she continues her hunger strike in a teepee on Victoria Island in Ottawa, early Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. (Cole Burston / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Text:

MILLBROOK, N.S. - Members of the Mi'kmaq First Nation will begin a four day fast today in support of a northern Ontario chief staging a hunger strike near Parliament Hill.

Organizer Shelley Young says as many as 200 people could take part in fasts on Nova Scotia's Millbrook and Eskasoni reserves.

Young says by taking part participants will be sending a message that they want Prime Minister Stephen Harper to meet with Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence.

Spence has been on a hunger strike since Dec. 11 in an attempt to draw attention to aboriginal issues and to force a meeting with the prime minister.

Young says fasts are also being organized in other parts of Canada and are open to anyone who wants to take part.

The Nova Scotia fasts will be held until noon on Dec. 31.