Protest site cleared out after Muskrat Falls agreement reached

The woodenpalletsand canvas tentsthatconstitutedtheprotest camp outside Muskrat Fallswere mostly dismantled on Thursday, as protesters have cautiously heeded a call to "go home."

The Town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay collected most of the material that was left across the Muskrat Falls main gate on Thursday afternoon, a day after some protesters marched off the project grounds and welcomeda deal betweenIndigenous leaders and Premier Dwight Ball.

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Some of the protest site's previous occupants say they'll wait to see the impact of the early-morning agreement before they decide what to do next.

"Our tents are coming out, and we're cleaning up. I don't think there's any reason to gather now," said Jim Learning.

"Everybody needs to rest and reorganize, and see what was handed to us from the government."

After a marathon, 12-hour meeting that stretched well into Wednesday morning, Ball and leaders from Nunatsiavut, NunatuKavut and the Innu Nation emerged with a deal that calls for more independent oversight of the environmental impacts of the Muskrat Falls project.

Following the agreement, Nunatsiavut President Johannes Lampe called on protesters, who had been demonstrating at the project for almost two weeks,to "go home."

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On Thursday, vehicles moved freely in and out of the Muskrat Falls gate. The RCMP still maintained a sizeable presence, but Cpl. Trevor O'Keefe said that may change if everything stays quiet.

"There are currently no challenges and we expect to scale back if the situation continues as is," he said.