Aboriginal protesters took down a blockade of an important western Quebec highway on Tuesday afternoon.

Approximately 50 demonstrators set up barricades early Monday in La Vérendrye Wildlife Reserve, between Grand-Remous and Val-d'Or, blocking Highway 117, the main route between the Laurentians and the Abitibi region.

They said they were protesting the living conditions of off-reserve natives and they wanted the right to harvest dead wood from the forest.

A spokesperson for the protesters said dismantling the barriers was a gesture of good faith made prior to a scheduled meeting with Quebec government officials.

Algonquin leaders denounce blockade

Meanwhile, local First Nations leaders denounced the blockade and the leniency of authorities in dealing with the protesters, who included former members of the Barriere Lake Algonquin First Nation. 

The demonstrators had split from the community during a dispute and were living off-reserve. They were joined in their protest by members of the Confederation of Aboriginal People of Canada, a Gatineau-based group that says it represents off-reserve aboriginals but is not considered an aboriginal group by local Algonquin.

Patrick Brazeau, a member of the Algonquin Kitigan Zibi First Nation and president of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, said he thought the barricade would have been dismantled quickly by police if the armed protesters had not been aboriginal. The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples is a national organization composed of affiliated organizations that represent off-reserve aboriginal Canadians.

"It's just nonsense for them or the provincial governments to allow this to happen," Brazeau said. "They should take every means necessary to dismantle and let traffic flow freely, as it should."

The Algonquin Nation Secretariat's Council of Chiefs said it was relieved that the barricades had come down.

The protesters were undermining the work of the Barriere Lake Algonquin, who have been trying to negotiate forestry agreements with the Quebec government, the council's grand chief said.

"We have to wonder why outsiders would want to come in and jeopardize something that means so much to our community," Grand Chief Norman Young said in a statement.

Demonstrators set up barricades Monday morning that completely blocked the highway for most of the day. After negotiations with Quebec provincial police, the protesters agreed Monday night to reopen one lane to trucks supplying area gas stations.

With files from the Canadian Press