Aboriginal protest closes Trans-Canada Highway in northern Ontario

Idle No More demonstrators protest in the middle of the street, closing part of the TransCanada highway in Northern Ont., Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012.

ESPANOLA, Ont. -- An aboriginal protest closed the Trans-Canada Highway near Espanola, in northern Ontario, for about three hours today.

Ontario Provincial Police say the demonstration at the junction of Highways 6 and 17 was part of the "Idle No More" protests.

The OPP monitored the demonstration and say it was peaceful.

First Nations have been protesting against the policies of the Conservative government, and more than 1,000 held a day of protest Friday in Ottawa.

They have also been urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Gov. Gen. David Johnston to meet with Theresa Spence, the chief of northern Ontario's troubled Attawapiskat First Nation, who is on a hunger strike.

Spence has urged Harper and Johnson to start a national discussion about First Nations poverty, saying communities face impoverished conditions.