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Nalcor hoping for business as usual today at Muskrat Falls

Officials at Nalcor Energy are hoping for a reduction in tension Friday, near the Muskrat Falls construction site.
Some 20 Pakua Shipi Innu from the Quebec Lower North Shore began a selective blockade of the Trans-Labrador Highway on Wednesday, preventing Nalcor Energy vehicles from passing. The group moved its protest to the road near the Muskrat Falls construction site on Thursday evening. (Alice Lefilleul)

Officials at Nalcor Energy are hoping for a reduction in tension Friday, near the Muskrat Falls construction site.

It's believed a group of Innu from Quebec who set up a blockade on the road between Happy Valley-Goose Bay and the site on Thursday have left the area.

Just before noon Friday, the group confirmed the blockade was over for the time being.

A lawyer for the Innu group said they're hoping for fair negotiations, and if not a blockade will happen next week.

Astaldi Canada, the main contractor at the site, cancelled the night shift because of the protest, but normal operations are expected Friday.

"We're not aware of any activity and our operations are resuming," Gilbert Bennett, Nalcor vice-president, told Labrador Morning.

Pakua Shipi Innu from the Quebec Lower North Shore have raised concerns that a transmission line related to the hydroelectric project is passing through traditional Innu land.

They want compensation in the form of jobs and training in relation to the project.

Workers who live in the Upper Lake Melville area were sent home early Thursday due to the threat of protests.