Protesters rally at Halifax container terminal in support of Wet'suwet'en

More than 140 protesters blocked access to the Ceres container terminal in Halifax Tuesday afternoon.

The crowd gathered in solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en over opposition to the construction of a gas pipeline through their traditional territory in northern B.C.

In recent days, small-scale protests have emerged across Canada.

In Halifax, the majority of the crowd gathered at the entrance near the Fairview overpass. A smaller group stood in front of the gate to the terminal. Protesters and police were gone from the scene by 5:30 p.m. AT.

Some protesters were hand drumming.

The crowd chanted, "Block the ports. Block the rails. Put the RCMP in jail."

Other chants included, "Where are we? Mi'kmaqi! Respect Indigenous sovereignty!" as well as, "Shut down Canada!"

Rebecca Moore, who is from Halifax and a member of the Pictou Landing First Nation, said protecting the land and water from possible contamination is a sacred responsibility for Indigenous people.

"As a First Nations woman ... we have an inherent duty to protect this water and to protect this land. It's like a job, it's more serious than a job," she said.

Kaia Bryce, a Halifax student originally from B.C., said she attended the protest to show her support.

"I feel like this is a really important demonstration that Canadians across the country are not willing to let this pass," Bryce said.

The Halifax Port Authority said it was working with CN Rail and terminal operators to minimize the impact of rail disruptions on port operations.

At one point, a long lineup of trucks was stuck waiting to get into the terminal.

Steve Cole, a driver, was stuck at the gate for a couple of hours. He said protesters filled him on why they were there.

"From what I've seen, I don't think [the protest] is a bad thing necessarily, but I also don't like seeing my work shut down, so what do you do?" he said.

Police were on scene, but were keeping a distance of about 50 metres or so from the protest. Police put out pylons to keep traffic from entering the port.