2020 Canadian pipeline and railway protests
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The 2020 Canadian pipeline and railway protests were a series of civil disobedience protests held in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. The main issue behind the protests was the construction of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline (CGL) through of
Wetʼsuwetʼen The Wetʼsuwetʼen ( ) are a First Nation who live on the Bulkley River and around Burns Lake, Broman Lake, and François Lake in the northwestern Central Interior of British Columbia. The endonym Wetʼsuwetʼen means "People of the Wa Dzun ...
First Nation Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
territory in
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
(BC), land that is unceded. Other concerns of the protesters were indigenous land rights, the actions of police, land conservation, and the environmental impact of energy projects. Starting in 2010, the Wetʼsuwetʼen hereditary chiefs and their supporters made their opposition to the project known and set up a camp directly in the path of the
Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines The Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines were a project to build a twin pipeline from Bruderheim, Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia. The eastbound pipeline would have imported natural gas condensate and the westbound pipeline would have exporte ...
, a path similar to that which would later be proposed for the Coastal GasLink Pipeline. Northern Gateway was officially rejected in 2016, but the CGL project moved through planning, indigenous consultations, environmental reviews and governmental reviews before being approved in 2015. However, the approval of all the Wetʼsuwetʼen hereditary chiefs was never granted. In 2018, the backers of the pipeline project gave the go-ahead to the project and it began construction. Access to the Coastal GasLink Pipeline construction camps in Wetʼsuwetʼen territory was blocked and the Coastal GasLink project was granted an injunction in 2018 to remove the land defenders. In January 2019, the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
(RCMP) of British Columbia removed the blockades and CGL pre-construction work in the territory was completed. Subsequently, the blockades were rebuilt and Coastal GasLink was granted a second injunction by the
BC Supreme Court BC most often refers to: * Before Christ, a calendar era based on the traditionally reckoned year of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth * British Columbia, the westernmost province of Canada * Baja California, a state of Mexico BC may also refer to: ...
in December 2019 to allow construction. In February 2020, after the RCMP enforced the second court injunction, removing the Wetʼsuwetʼen blockades and arresting Wetʼsuwetʼen land defenders, solidarity protests sprang up across Canada. Many were rail blockades, including one blockade near Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory which halted traffic along a major
Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...
(CNR) line between Toronto and Montreal and led to a shutdown of passenger rail service and rail freight operations in much of Canada. The Eastern Ontario blockade was itself removed by the
Ontario Provincial Police The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. Under its provincial mandate, the OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways, protects provincial government buildings and officials, patrols unincorpo ...
. Blockades and protests continued through March in BC, Ontario and Quebec. Discussions between representatives of the Wetʼsuwetʼen and the governments of Canada and British Columbia have led to a provisional agreement on the Wetʼsuwetʼen land rights in the area.


Coastal GasLink pipeline project

The Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline is a natural gas pipeline designed to carry natural gas from mines in north-eastern British Columbia to a liquefaction plant located at the port of Kitimat. The project is intended to supply natural gas to several Asian energy companies, who are partners in the project. The pipeline's route passes through unceded lands of several First Nations peoples, including of Wetʼsuwetʼen territory. Within the Wetʼsuwetʼen territory, the pipeline does not pass through reserves, only through traditional territory. The consortium developed its plans for the pipeline route in the early 2010s, securing the approval of several First Nations councils along the route, but did not secure the approval of the
Office of the Wetʼsuwetʼen An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific duti ...
, the hereditary government of the Wetʼsuwetʼen people, although most of the elected band councils of the Wetʼsuwetʼen First Nations did enter into a benefits agreement with TC Energy, the owner of the pipeline project. In 2014, British Columbia authorities approved the environmental assessment of the project, then approved permits to construct the project in 2015 and 2016. TC Energy was given final approval by its partners to begin construction of the project in 2018, still without the consent of all of the Wetʼsuwetʼen hereditary chiefs. Only one of the nine sitting house chiefs, Samooh (Herb Naziel) supports the project.


Environmental infractions

CGL Pipeline has taken many actions that contradict their own company's environmental guidelines, as well as those of the Canadian government. Over the course of the project's existence, the BC Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) has found multiple violations of the company's environmental management plan. In December 2020, the provincial Environmental Assessment Office found that CGL had failed to properly comply with erosion and sediment control measures, a violation which posed a major risk to the health of the waterways the pipeline moves through. This environmental infringement also posed a high risk to fish habitats, according to reporting from CBC, with “sediment and turbid water from waterway construction avingthe potential to reduce the biological productivity of aquatic systems and suffocate fish eggs.” Despite the fact that CGL has many different strategies to move the pipeline through waterways safely — ranging from man-made trenches to funnel the pipeline through the waterways to "
trenchless Trenchless technology is a type of subsurface construction work that requires few trenches or no continuous trenches. It is a rapidly growing sector of the construction and civil engineering industry. It can be defined as "a family of methods, mate ...
" crossings where the pipeline tunnels beneath the waterway without touching the stream or river itself — the EAO has found that the uptake in turbid water and other insufficient sediment control persists. The violations cited by the EAO have affected numerous waterways during construction, including 68 wetlands, and even disrupting Fraser Lake with turbid water. In addition to issues relating to the preservation of waterways, CGL has missed deadlines to protect plants and wildlife from construction, as well as leaving food in areas for natural predators to eat, creating further environmental risk for the Wetʼsuwetʼen and the stability of their land, as well as increased danger from predators in the area.


Threats from construction crews

The placement of CGL construction crews, including the existence of remote temporary lodgings for mostly male workers (known as "man camps") has also created more environmental issues, as well as safety issues for the Wet'suwet'en. The danger of "man camps" in increasing the risk of abduction and murder of indigenous women was reported on in the final report of the
National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women , image=Justin Trudeau speech on missing and murdered indigenous women – Ottawa, October 2016.jpg, caption=Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, speaking on missing and murdered Indigenous women in front of Parliament in Ottawa, 2016., budget ...
, and the Office of the Wetʼsuwetʼen used this as evidence in their opposition to the extension of CGL's environmental certificate before the EAO in October 2020. The EAO stressed the importance of the issue but did not place it into evidence for the cancellation of the certificate. CGL construction teams have obstructed Wet'suwet'en access to traplines — paths and walkways the nation uses to hunt and gather resources — creating strain on the Wetʼsuwetʼen way of life. In response to the infractions of crews blocking Wet'suwet'en territory, CGL spokesperson Natasha Westover stated, “CGL has an obligation to facilitate access for digenous peoples to their traditional territories, however, that access may be delayed where it is unsafe oprovide access immediately.”


Threats to construction crews

In the early hours of February 17, 2022, twenty masked attackers, some carrying axes, forced nine people to flee from a work site near
Houston, British Columbia Houston ( ) is a forestry, mining and tourism town in the Bulkley Valley of the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Its urban population is approximately 3600 people, with approximately 2000 in the surrounding rural area. It is known ...
. They attacked and injured RCMP officers attempting to respond.
Ellis Ross Ellis Ross is a Canadians, Canadian politician who was first elected in the 2017 British Columbia general election to represent Skeena (provincial electoral district), Skeena. He was re-elected in 2020 British Columbia general election, 2020 an ...
said "There were workers inside a truck while attackers were trying to light it on fire." Damage is estimated to be "in the millions of dollars" according to Coastal GasLink.


Wetʼsuwetʼen opposition


Background

The Wetʼsuwetʼen are an Indigenous nation made up of five clans including the: Gilseyhu (Big Frog), Laksilyu (Small Frog), Gitdumden (Wolf/Bear), Laksamshu (Fireweed) and the Tsayu (Beaver Clan). These five clans' territory lies in the central western portion of British Columbia. The language spoken by the Wetʼsuwetʼen people is Babine-Witsuwitʼen, one of the
Athabaskan languages Athabaskan (also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large family of indigenous languages of North America, located in western North America in three areal language groups: Northern, Pacific C ...
. Their traditional government, predating Confederation, is a system of chiefs representing each clan, called the hereditary chiefs. The chiefs have been represented by the non-profit Office of the Wetsuweten since 1994, before having a joint office with the Gitxsan. The elected band councils were created by order of the Government of Canada, under the ''Indian Act'', to govern the reserves put in place, of which the Wetʼsuwetʼen have several. According to hereditary chief Na’Moks (John Ridsdale), "it's the hereditary chiefs' duty to protect the territory". According to Na’Moks, the pipeline "is going along rivers, it will go over rivers and even in some instances, it will go under. One hundred and ninety kilometres of the proposed route will run through our territory. It threatens our water, our salmon, and our rights, our title, our jurisdiction". The pipeline would also go through areas of cultural significance to the Wetʼsuwetʼen. In 1997, the
Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
issued the Delgamuukw-Gisdayʼwa decision, which ruled that aboriginal title exists as an exclusive territorial right for indigenous people. The ruling was made in an appeal of a Supreme Court of British Columbia decision, which had ruled against recognition of Wetʼsuwetʼen and Gitxsan land rights. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a new trial was warranted, but encouraged a negotiated settlement. The Wetʼsuwetʼen and Gitxsan then entered the treaty process with the BC government. However, the BC government's position that the Nations would only receive 4 to 6 per cent of their territory was unacceptable and the nations walked away from the process. Hence, the boundaries of the Wetʼsuwetʼen and Gitxsan nations' traditional territories are not yet recognized in Canadian law. In the absence of an agreement over aboriginal title and rights, the hereditary chiefs' position is that their full consent is required for any energy or resource projects within their territory, and the CGL does not have their consent. The rights and title issue has also been the basis for several solidarity protests, which have also objected to the actions and presence of the RCMP within the Wetʼsuwetʼen traditional territory (known in Babine-Witsuwitʼen as ).


Blockades, injunctions and RCMP interventions


2010

Beginning in 2010, the Wetʼsuwetʼen hereditary chiefs and their supporters set up barricades and checkpoints along the Morice West Forest Service Road that provides access to the construction of pipeline projects that threatened their territory, originally the
Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines The Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines were a project to build a twin pipeline from Bruderheim, Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia. The eastbound pipeline would have imported natural gas condensate and the westbound pipeline would have exporte ...
, and later also Coastal GasLink (planning for which began in 2012). The largest of those camps is
Unistʼotʼen Camp The Unistʼotʼen Camp is a protest camp and indigenous healing centre in northern British Columbia, Canada. It is located within the traditional territory of the Unist'otʼen clan of the Wetʼsuwetʼen First Nation peoples. Established after t ...
, directly in the path of the pipeline, established in 2010 as a checkpoint, and has since added a healing centre.


2018

After TC Energy received its partners' go-ahead in November, it appealed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia to grant an injunction to stop the blockade of its intended route through the Wetʼsuwetʼen territory. A temporary injunction was issued in December by BC Supreme Court Judge Marguerite Church to allow CGL pre-construction work.


2019

On January 7, the RCMP conducted a raid to enforce TC Energy's injunction, removing the barricades on the Morice Forest Service Road and arresting 14 of the Wetʼsuwetʼen land defenders. The RCMP faced criticism from protesters for the amount of force used in the raid, including police snipers, helicopters, and over a dozen police vehicles. The RCMP set up a continuous presence along the road, setting up a local detachment called the Community Industry Safety Office. RCMP at this injunction have faced any protesters attempting to enter with arrest, causing the Wetʼsuwetʼen to remain in place along the road In December, TC Energy prepared to start construction in the Wetʼsuwetʼen territory. It applied for an extension of the injunction order as the land defenders had resumed blockading access after the pre-construction work was done. This injunction was extended by Judge Church of the BC Supreme Court on December 31. The extension included an order authorizing the RCMP to enforce the injunction. In her decision, Church stated: "There is a public interest in upholding the rule of law and restraining illegal behaviour and protecting of the right of the public, including the plaintiff, to access on Crown roads," and "the defendants may genuinely believe in their rights under indigenous law to prevent the plaintiff from entering Dark House territory, but the law does not recognize any right to blockade and obstruct the plaintiff from pursuing lawfully authorized activities." In a public statement, the Wetʼsuwetʼen chief rejected the decision.


2020

On January 1, after rejecting the injunction, the hereditary chiefs ordered the eviction of the RCMP and Coastal GasLink personnel from the Wetʼsuwetʼen territory. On January 30, the RCMP announced that they would stand down while the hereditary chiefs and the province met to discuss and try to come to an agreement. On February 3, the Office of the Wetʼsuwetʼen asked for a judicial review of the environmental approval for the pipeline. All parties issued statements on February 4, 2020 that the talks had broken down. On February 6, the RCMP began removing the blockades on Wetʼsuwetʼen territory, arresting 28 land defenders at camps along the route between February 6 and 9. All were released within two days. The RCMP also detained several reporters and were accused of interfering with the
freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...
. Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs Grand Chief Stewart Phillip stated that "we are in absolute outrage and a state of painful anguish as we witness the Wetʼsuwetʼen people having their title and rights brutally trampled on and their right to self-determination denied." During the enforcement action by the RCMP, a large amount of advanced equipment was used, including heavily armed tactical teams, division liaison personnel, regular uniformed officers, canine units, helicopters, drones and snowmobiles, according to
CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...
. On February 11, the RCMP announced that the road to the construction site was cleared and TC Energy announced that work would resume the following Monday. After the hereditary chiefs made it a condition for talks with government, the RCMP closed their local office and moved to their detachment in Houston on February 22. Throughout February and March, solidarity protests and blockades were held across the world. Most in-person actions were halted in mid-March due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, but online solidarity rallies continued. On June 5, the BC Prosecution Service issued a statement saying that criminal contempt charges for 22 members of the Wetʼsuwetʼen Nation and their supporters would not be pursued. Additionally, Coastal GasLink issued a statement that they would not pursue civil contempt charges against the protesters.


Meetings and memorandum of understanding

Three days of meetings between the hereditary chiefs, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister
Carolyn Bennett Carolyn Ann Bennett (born December 20, 1950) is a Canadian physician and politician who has served as minister of mental health and addictions, and associate minister of health since October 26, 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, she has repre ...
and BC Indigenous Relations Minister Scott Fraser began on February 27, 2020 in Smithers, British, Columbia. The RCMP agreed to stop all patrols on the Morice West Forest Service Road and to shut down their mobile detachment (CISO) during the meetings. In addition, Coastal GasLink agreed to suspend operations in the territory during the talks. RCMP and CGL work resumed on the territory once the meetings were complete. On March 1, Bennett, Fraser, and representatives of the Wetʼsuwetʼen, including hereditary chiefs and matriarchs announced a proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) to address the Wetʼsuwetʼen land rights, title and a protocol for addressing any future projects impacting their territory. Specific details of the agreement were not immediately released, because the MOU had to first be seen and ratified by the broader Wetʼsuwetʼen nation. However, all parties to the discussions made it clear that the agreement did not address the CGL Pipeline project. On March 10, Theresa Tait-Day, president of the Wetʼsuwetʼen Matrilineal Coalition (WMC), (who was stripped of the subchief name Wiʼhaliʼyte in the mid-2010s over her support of the pipeline and suspected conflict of interest) released a statement that the proposed MOU was not inclusive of the entire community, saying "the government has legitimized the meeting with the five ichereditary chiefs and left out their entire community. We can not be dictated to by a group of five guys ic" According to Tait-Day, "over 80 per cent of the people in our community said they wanted LNG irst Nations LNG Allianceto proceed." Individual Wetʼsuwetʼen clans held meetings to review the MOU throughout March. The MOU was ratified by the attendees of one meeting of the Laksilyu (Small Frog Clan). According to the hereditary chiefs, the Gilseyhu (Big Frog Clan) met once and endorsed the MOU, as did the Laksamshu (Fireweed and Owl Clan) and the Tsayu (Beaver Clan). The Gitdumden (Wolf and Bear Clan) met twice, but their third meeting was cancelled due to a death in the community. A planned all-clans meeting on March 19 was cancelled, for a variety of factors including concerns over the spread of COVID-19. On April 30, the hereditary chiefs made a joint statement with the provincial and federal governments that all five clans had agreed to ratify the MOU. However, the elected chiefs of five Wetʼsuwetʼen band governments ( Nee Tahi Buhn Indian Band, Skin Tyee Nation,
Ts'il Kaz Koh First Nation Tsʼil Kaz Koh First Nation or the Burns Lake Indian Band is a Wetsuweten band government whose main community is located on Burns Lake, near the divide between the Bulkley and Nechako River basins, approximately 220 km west of Prince Ge ...
,
Wetʼsuwetʼen First Nation The Wetʼsuwetʼen First Nation is a Wetʼsuwetʼen First Nations band located outside of the village of Burns Lake, British Columbia, Canada. It was formerly known as the ''Broman Lake Indian Band'' and is still usually referred to as ''Broman ...
, and
Witset First Nation The Witset First Nation is a First Nations in Canada, First Nations band government of the Wet'suwet'en people of Witset, British Columbia, Canada. Their mailing address is in Smithers, British Columbia, Smithers but their main community is at Wi ...
) released their own joint statement in response the following day, calling on the agreement to be withdrawn, saying they weren't consulted properly. A further statement released on May 11 called once again for the agreement to be withdrawn so the elected governments could be consulted properly, and further calling for Minister Bennett to resign. The May 11 statement was not signed by Chief Sandra George of Witset or Chief Cynthia Joseph of
Hagwilget Hagwilget or Hagwilgyet is a First Nations reserve community of the Wet'suwet'en people located on the lower Bulkley River just east of Hazelton in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. The community's name means "well-dressed" as in "ostentat ...
. The draft agreement was finally distributed to the elected band councils on May 7, to all other Wetʼsuwetʼen the following day, and finally it was published on the Office of the Wetʼsuwetʼen website on May 12. The MOU was signed by hereditary chiefs, Minister Bennett, and Minister Fraser on May 14, 2020, in a virtual ceremony via
Zoom Zoom may refer to: Technology Computing * Zoom (software), videoconferencing application * Page zooming, the ability to magnify or shrink a portion of a page on a computer display * Zooming user interface, a graphical interface allowing for image ...
. The memorandum does not address the CGL Pipeline project, nor does it alter Wetʼsuwetʼen rights and title. The MOU states that the Canadian and British Columbian governments recognize that those rights and title are held under the Wetʼsuwetʼen's own system of governance, and commits Canada and BC to a three-month process to craft a formal Affirmation Agreement that confirm aboriginal title as a legal right. It also establishes a twelve-month timeline for negotiation on jurisdiction including over land-use planning, resources, water, wildlife, fish, and child and family wellness. Further, it acknowledges that reunification of the rift between the hereditary leadership and the elected band councils is an essential part of the implementation of the MOU.


Further developments


October 2020 BC Supreme Court hearing

On October 1, 2020, the Office of the Wet’suwet’en began a hearing in the BC Supreme Court. The Office of the Wet’suwet’en requested that the Court reject the province's decision to extend CGL's environmental certificate for five years. Lawyers for the Office of the Wet’suwet’en claimed the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) did not meaningfully account for the final report on
Missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) is an epidemic of violence against Indigenous women in Canada, the United States, and Latin America; notably those in the FNIM (First Nations, Inuit, Métis) and Native American communities. Across ...
(MMIWG), published in June 2019, as well as the pipeline company's long history of non-compliance with the EAO's own conditions and standards. The EAO's position was that there was no basis for judiciary review of their decision. In a decision published on May 20, 2021, Justice Norell found that the assessment office had asked CGL to consider how indigenous nations would be involved in identifying and monitoring social impacts of the project, and deemed those comments to "not indicate a failure or refusal of the ssessment officeto consider the MIWGinquiry report, but the opposite." As for the company's history of non-compliance, Justice Norell also disagreed that the EAO had not accounted for that, stating that "Both the frequency and nature of the non-compliances are addressed
n the statement of the environmental assessment certificate N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...
and further, that "the Evaluation Report concludes that: the non-compliance which had occurred had been addressed by the enforcement process; and CGL was committed to compliance, and had either rectified or was in the process of rectifying any non-compliance."


2021-22 Wedzin Kwa conflict

The 2020 memorandum of understanding did not address the CGL pipeline, and construction met with continued opposition from the Gidimt'en Access Point and Unist'ot'en groups during 2021. On September 25, 2021, Cas Yikh house and Gidimt'en clan members erected new blockades on the Morice West Forest Service Road to block CGL's attempts to drill under the
Morice River The Morice River is the outflow of Morice Lake south west of Houston, British Columbia, Canada. Morice Lake and Morice River are named after Father Adrien-Gabriel Moricebr>Geographic Name details The Morice has many small creeks joining it along i ...
(known as Wedzin Kwa in Babine-Witsuwet'en). These blockades include many solar paneled tiny home structures, some of which are furnished and stocked with kitchens. Sleydo' (Molly Wickham), one of the leaders of Gidimt'en Access Point, claimed that the work near the river would disrupt her people's livelihoods as well as the salmon population. She called on supporters to join the new blockades. A Gidimtʼen Access Point press release called the Wedzin Kwa "sacred headwaters that nourish the Wet'suwet'en Yintah erritoryand all those within its catchment area". Coastal GasLink president Tracy Robinson issued a statement about the drilling, saying "our crews will utilize a micro-tunnel method which is a type of
trenchless Trenchless technology is a type of subsurface construction work that requires few trenches or no continuous trenches. It is a rapidly growing sector of the construction and civil engineering industry. It can be defined as "a family of methods, mate ...
crossing that is constructed well below the riverbed and does not disturb the stream or the bed and banks of the river". Robinson claimed that experts deemed micro-tunnelling to be the safest and most environmentally-responsible method. She also noted that there was still an enforceable injunction against any opposition to CGL construction. In the days after the new blockades went up, the RCMP moved in to remove two of them; arresting at least one individual. In a November 2021 interview, Sleydo' said that RCMP had used abusive force to remove a Wet'suwet'en protester who locked himself underneath a bus being used as a blockade. She said the man was "receiving ongoing medical care and has erve damagein his hands" after being lifted by the legs and repeatedly slammed against the ground while his hands we clipped under the vehicle. Wet'suwet'en Chief Dsta'hyl confronted construction crews in October, disabling one of their excavators following numerous warnings. The excavator was recovered by CGL that afternoon. On November 18 and 19, RCMP dismantled the blockades and arrested 29 people including Sleydo' and two journalists. In February 2022, masked assailants threatened CGL workers and destroyed millions of dollars worth of equipment. No arrests were made. In September 2022, drilling equipment was in place, and CGL was preparing to drill under the river. Members of the Gidimt’en Clan and residents of Unist’ot’en camp reported that they were under constant surveillance.


Solidarity protests

Protests on January 20, 2020 disrupted BC ferry service leaving from Swartz Bay, which is Victoria's main ferry link to the BC mainland. BC ferries later obtained a preemptive injunction to prevent anticipated future demonstrations from blocking Vancouver–Victoria ferry service. Once the RCMP began to take down the Wetʼsuwetʼen blockades, protests sprang up across Canada in solidarity with the hereditary chiefs and the land defenders. On February 11, protesters surrounded the BC Legislature in Victoria, preventing the traditional ceremonies around the reading of the Throne Speech by the Lieutenant Governor. Members of the Legislature had to have police assistance to enter or used alternate entrances. Other protests took place in
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
, Nelson,
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, Regina,
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,
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,
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,
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, and Halifax. Several major protests blocked access to the
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,
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, and two other ports in Metro Vancouver for a number of days before the Metro Vancouver police began enforcing an injunction on the morning of February 10, 2020, arresting 47 protesters who refused to cease obstructing the port. Protests on February 15 over 200 people in Toronto blocked
Macmillan Yard The MacMillan Yard is the 2nd largest rail classification yard in Canada, after CN's Symington Yard in Winnipeg. It is operated by Canadian National Railway (CN) and is located in Vaughan, Ontario. It was originally opened in 1965 as Toronto Yard ...
, the second largest rail classification yard in Canada. On February 16 and 17 temporarily blocked the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, Ontario and Thousand Islands Bridge in Ivy Lea, Ontario, two major border crossings between the United States and Canada. At the same time,
Miꞌkmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the nort ...
demonstrators partially blocked access to the
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, the sole road link to
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. On February 18, several activists were arrested for trespassing at BC Premier Horgan's residence. On February 24, 2020 individuals shut down a major junction in Hamilton, ON. A nation-wide student walkout occurred March 4, with university students across the country showing their support for the Wetʼsuwetʼen protesters. The protests led to the creation of several
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s, used widely on social media in relation to coverage of the protests. These include #ShutDownCanada, #WetsuwetenStrong, #LandBack, and #AllEyesOnWetsuweten. By September 21, over 200
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users had been blocked from posting or sending messages on the site. All the blocked accounts had shared information about an online rally held on May 7 in support of the ongoing struggle against the construction of the CGL pipeline. When asked by organizers why the accounts had been suspended, a spokesperson from Facebook said, "our systems mistakenly removed these accounts and content. They have since been restored and we’ve lifted any limits imposed on identified profiles."


Rail disruptions

Other First Nations, activists and other supporters of the Wetʼsuwetʼen hereditary chiefs targeted railway lines for their demonstrations of solidarity. Near Belleville, Ontario, members of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte First Nation began a blockade of the
Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...
rail line just north of Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory on February 6, 2020, causing Via Rail to cancel trains on their Toronto–
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
and Toronto-Ottawa routes. The line is critical to the CNR network in Eastern Canada as CNR has no other east–west rail lines through Eastern Ontario. However, in order to mitigate major economic disruption, CNR brokered a "workaround" agreement with
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
(CPR) to share tracks in order to avoid the Mohawk protesters. Other protests blocking rail lines halted service on Via Rail's Prince Rupert and Prince George lines, running on CNR tracks. Protests on the CNR line west of Winnipeg additionally blocked the ''Canadian'', the passenger rail route operated by VIA Rail from Vancouver to Toronto. Protests disrupted multiple
GO Transit GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven millio ...
rail services in Toronto, Hamilton and
Exo Exo ( ko, 엑소; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai and ...
's
Candiac line Candiac (also designated exo4, formerly known as Delson-Candiac) is a commuter railway line in Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is operated by Exo, the organization that operates public transport services across this region. The Candiac li ...
in Montreal. CPR rail lines were also disrupted in downtown Toronto and south of Montreal. The Société du Chemin de fer de la Gaspésie (SCFG) freight railway between Gaspé and Matapedia was blockaded on February 10 by members of the
Listuguj Miꞌgmaq First Nation The Listuguj Mi'gmaq First Nation (french: Première Nation de Listuguj Mi'gmaq) (in Francis-Smith orthography Listukuj Míkmaq) is a Mi'gmaq First Nations band government with a registered population (2022) of 4,248 members, most of whom are of ...
. Starting on February 6, Via Rail announced passenger train cancellations on a day-to-day basis. Trains on the Toronto-Ottawa and Toronto-Montreal routes were cancelled first. Prince George-Prince Rupert service was suspended on February 11. Canadian National Railway (CNR) rail freight traffic was also halted along these lines. Other Canadian routes were intermittently disrupted as well. On February 13, CNR shut down its rail lines east of Toronto. On the same day Via Rail, which rents these lines for its passenger service, announced it would be shutting down its entire network, with the exception of the
Sudbury–White River train The Sudbury–White River train, formerly the ''Lake Superior'', informally called the ''Budd Car'', is a Canadian passenger train operated by Via Rail serving communities between Sudbury and White River, Ontario three times a week. The timetabl ...
line and the
Winnipeg–Churchill train The Winnipeg–Churchill train (formerly known as the ''Hudson Bay'' and, before that, ''Northern Spirits'') is a semiweekly passenger train operated by Via Rail between Winnipeg and Churchill, Manitoba. It is the only dry-land connection betwe ...
between Churchill and
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, until further notice. Amtrak international service from New York City to Toronto and Montreal was not affected. Amtrak rail service between Seattle and Vancouver on BNSF Railway Company lines was intermittently blocked; Amtrak's bus operation over the same route was not affected. CNR issued multiple injunctions against the protesters, including several separate injunctions against the Mohawk protesters near Belleville. The Ontario Provincial Police decided not to act immediately on the injunctions. The rail blockade of Prince Rupert was lifted on February 14. On February 18, VIA announced partial restoration of passenger service starting February 20, between Ottawa and Quebec City. Via later announced it would resume some south-western Ontario routes. Trans-Canada passenger service was not restored. On February 19, a group of about 20 protesters from a group called "Cuzzins for Wetʼsuwetʼen" erected a blockade on a CN rail line in west Edmonton, Alberta. CN obtained a court injunction, and less than twelve hours after the blockade began, it was dismantled by counter-protesters after a CN legal representative arrived to serve the injunction. On February 19, activists set up a blockade on the Mont-Saint-Hilaire rail line in Saint-Lambert, Quebec, promising to stay until the RCMP leaves the disputed zone in Wetʼsuwetʼen territory. The blockade caused Via Rail to postpone resuming service between Montreal and Quebec City. The Mont-Saint-Hilaire rail line was cleared on February 21, 2019 after Quebec Police arrived to enforce a CNR injunction. On February 20, another blockade of CPR tracks sprang up between
Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...
and
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in British Columbia. The protesters left voluntarily on February 21, after the RCMP offered to leave the Wetʼsuwetʼen land. The group vowed to return in four days if a dialogue was not started between the prime minister and the hereditary chiefs. This was followed by CPR writing an open letter to Prime Minister Trudeau, asking him to speak directly with the hereditary chiefs. The Mont-Saint-Hilaire rail line was cleared on February 21, 2020 after Quebec Police arrived to enforce a CNR injunction. On March 5, the rail blockades in Kahnawake and the Gaspé Peninsula were removed peacefully by the First Nations involved. In early March, Canada's
medical officer A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the ...
had advised against gatherings, as part of the country's response to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, and by the second week of March, most blockades had come down. Despite the widespread closures in response to the pandemic, CGL is continuing construction in the disputed territory. Pipeline opponents launched a letter-writing campaign urging the company to stop on March 21. Businesses attacked by protesters, such as CN Rail, have filed lawsuits against protesters to recover damages.


Economic impact

The blockades led to the shutdown of CNR's Eastern Canadian network, causing a complete halt of freight traffic from Halifax west to Toronto. On February 19, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters estimated that million in goods were being stranded each day of the shutdown. An executive of the Business Council of Canada called the shutdown "potentially a catastrophe for the economy" and said that rail "is the backbone of infrastructure in this country." Due to a poor growing season which resulted in an unusually late harvest just before Christmas, Canadian wheat and barley shipments were already in a backlog and were further impacted by the rail blockades. Spring farm supplies such as fertilizer were also delayed by the rail shutdown. Canadian grain farmers have previously advocated to have rail transport declared an essential service. Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Mary Robinson warned of "huge financial consequences" as farmers do not get paid until products are delivered to the market. Dennis Darby, president and CEO of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association, states that Canadian manufacturers rely on 4,500 rail cars per day, which represent both supply chain and delivery of finished products. Many of these products are too large or bulky to be shipped by other means. The total value of these deliveries amounts to billion annually. Chemicals trade group Responsible Distribution Canada warned of shortages of chlorine to purify drinking water. Supply chains for chlorine, jet fuel and de-icing fluid all rely on rail transport: "You can't put it in a truck and send it down the 401" said an executive of the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada. Mining, which accounted for 20% of Canada's 2018 exports, also moves "most" of its output by rail. By February 21, four thousand containers reportedly sat on the docks of Montreal waiting for transport and no grain had arrived for shipment at the port. In Halifax, the Atlantic Container Line has diverted to New York and Baltimore. In Vancouver, goods waiting to be shipped east led to a backlog of 50 ships waiting to be unloaded. The disruption of propane rail shipments was expected to lead to shortages and rationing, during a time when many communities were experiencing extremely cold weather. In Atlantic Canada, at the end of the propane supply line, reserves fell to a five-day supply by February 14. Superior Propane, Canada's largest supplier, rationed distribution in Atlantic Canada. SCFG laid off five of its 30 employees on February 14. On February 18, CNR laid off 450 employees for reasons related to the pipeline disruptions; the company has stated that as many as 6,000 of its 24,000 employees could be laid off. On February 19, Via Rail announced temporary layoffs of up to 1,000 people due to the blockades. By the first week of March, the majority of the laid-off Via Rail employees and all of the affected CNR employees were recalled. Scrapped rail passenger services in the Montreal-Toronto-Ottawa triangle, caused more than 42,000 Via Rail passengers and more Trans-Canada passengers to seek alternatives. On March 13, Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux released a report that the protests would leave "a minimal dent in the pace of economic growth", estimating that the blockades would reduce Canadian economic growth by 0.2% for the first quarter of 2020. For the whole year, the expectation was for the GDP to fall by , about 0.01% of the total GDP, which Giroux referred to as "a blip", despite the warnings by businesses of shortages, referred to by the PBO as "overblown". The PBO said that the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
would likely have a greater impact on the economy.


Federal government response and reaction

Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
said politicians should not be telling the police how to deal with protesters and that resolution should come through dialogue. The Canadian government does not tell the police what to do operationally. In any case, the police services are under provincial or municipal control. On February 12, Canada's Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller began a dialogue with several indigenous leaders from different parts of Canada. On February 15, Miller met the Mohawks in a ceremonial encounter on the CNR train tracks to renew a 17th-century treaty between the
Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
and the British Crown known as the Silver Covenant Chain. Miller then discussed the blockade with the leaders of Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte First Nation, along with Kanenhariyo, one of the primary organizers of the protest near Tyendinaga. Miller asked for a temporary drawback of the protest but his request was refused after Wetʼsuwetʼen hereditary Chief Woos, who was on the phone, stated that the RCMP was still on his territory and "they are out there with guns, threatening us." Leaked audio of the meetings included a Mohawk resident in the meeting telling the minister to "Get the red coats out first, get the blue coats out … then we can maybe have some common discussions". Miller returned to Ottawa and met with Prime Minister Trudeau and other members of the Cabinet called the "Incident Response Group". Trudeau had returned from a foreign relations trip to deal with the issue. On February 18, the
House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...
resumed after the winter break. Trudeau addressed the Commons asking Canadians for patience as the government sought a negotiated end. "On all sides, people are upset and frustrated. I get it. It's understandable because this is about things that matter—rights and livelihoods, the rule of law and our democracy." Opposition leader Andrew Scheer condemned the government's refusal to use the police to stop the illegal blockades, calling it "the weakest response to a national crisis in Canadian history. Will our country be one of the rule of the law, or will our country be one of the rule of the mob?" Trudeau held a private meeting with the other opposition parties' leaders, barring Scheer after his comments. On February 18, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) held a press conference in Ottawa. AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde called for all parties to engage in dialogue. "It's on everybody. It's not on any one individual. I'm just calling on all the parties to come together, get this dialogue started in a constructive way." On February 20, according to a statement from Canadian Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, the RCMP agreed to move its personnel from Wetʼsuwetʼen territory to nearby Houston. The next day, Prime Minister Trudeau held a press conference to state "Canadians have been patient. Our government has been patient, but it has been two weeks and the barricades need to come down now. The government had made repeated overtures to the hereditary chiefs to hold meetings but had been ignored. You can't have dialogue when only one party is coming to the table. Our hand remains extended should someone want to reach for it. We have come to a moment where the onus is now on Indigenous leadership." Shortly after Trudeau's statement on February 21, the Wetʼsuwetʼen hereditary chiefs released a statement reaffirming that discussions would continue once all RCMP and CGL personnel vacate the Wetʼsuwetʼen territory. At the same time, the Mohawk of Tyendinaga asserted that their rail blockade would be removed as soon as Wetʼsuwetʼen legal observers confirm that the RCMP is off their land. On February 24, the day of the Mohawk blockade removal by the OPP, Indigenous Services Minister Miller repeated that the Liberal government was "still open for dialogue" and willing to negotiate. On February 24, in a statement signed and supported by over 200 Canadian lawyers and legal scholars, Beverly Jacobs and Sylvia McAdam of the University of Windsor, Alex Neve of
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
, and Harsha Walia of the BC Civil Liberties Association responded to the calls for the "rule of law." In their opinion, it is the Canadian federal and provincial governments that are breaking international law, not the Wetʼsuwetʼen hereditary chiefs. They also pointed out that the requirements laid out in the UN
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP or DOTROIP) is a legally non-binding resolution passed by the United Nations in 2007. It delineates and defines the individual and collective rights of Indigenous peoples, including th ...
have continued to be ignored by Canadian courts, although Canadian governments have expressed a willingness to follow the UN resolution. They call for an end to the violation of indigenous persons' right to free, prior and informed consent. In early May, the elected chiefs of several Wetʼsuwetʼen band councils (primarily Nee-Tahi-Buhn, Skin Tyee, Tsʼil Kaz Koh, and Wetʼsuwetʼen First Nations) called on Minister Bennett to resign, as the Canadian and BC governments, along with the hereditary chiefs, pressed forward with the memorandum of understanding. In a statement on May 11, before the signing of the memorandum, the elected chiefs called on Minister Bennett to resign due to her "disregard for
heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
special relationship". They repeated this demand in a statement on May 14, after the signing of the MOU, and added a call for Minister Marc Miller to speak up about his "intention to protect the programs and services the Wetʼsuwetʼen people depend on". On October 2, CBC News reported that information related to protests in February that they had requested from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) under the Access to Information Act had been withheld. CSIS cited section 15 of the Act in withholding the information, which defines "subversive or hostile activities" as including sabotage, terrorism, actions directed at a "government change," activities that "threaten" Canadians or federal employees, and espionage. Documents obtained by CBC News found that in the two years of their occupation of the Morice Forest Service Road, the RCMP had spent over on policing. Chief Naʼmoks compared that very high level of spending with the perceived inaction by the RCMP over violent attacks and harassment of
Mi'kmaw The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the nort ...
fishers in
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
.


See also

*
Timeline of the 2020 Canadian pipeline and railway protests The following is a timeline of the 2020 Canadian pipeline and railway protests which originated with the opposition by the hereditary chiefs of the Wetʼsuwetʼen people in British Columbia (BC), Canada to the Coastal GasLink Pipeline project. Ja ...
*
Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines The Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines were a project to build a twin pipeline from Bruderheim, Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia. The eastbound pipeline would have imported natural gas condensate and the westbound pipeline would have exporte ...
*
Trans Mountain pipeline The Trans Mountain Pipeline System, or simply the Trans Mountain Pipeline, is a Pipeline transport, pipeline that carries Petroleum, crude and Petroleum product, refined oil from Alberta to the British Columbia Coast, coast of British Columbia, ...
* Treaty rights * Indigenous land rights *
Oka Crisis The Oka Crisis (french: links=no, Crise d'Oka), also known as the Kanehsatà:ke Resistance (), was a land rights, land dispute between a group of Mohawk people and the town of Oka, Quebec, Canada, which began on July 11, 1990, and lasted 78 day ...
* Grand River land dispute * Fairy Creek old-growth logging protests *
Delgamuukw v. British Columbia ''Delgamuukw v British Columbia'', 9973 SCR 1010, also known as ''Delgamuukw v The Queen'', ''Delgamuukw-Gisday’wa'', or simply ''Delgamuukw'', is a ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada that contains its first comprehensive account of Aborigi ...
* Critical Infrastructure Defence Act


References

{{Discrimination against Indigenous peoples in Canada 2020 controversies Canadian pipeline and railway protests Environmental issues in Canada First Nations history Indigenous peoples and the environment Indigenous politics in Canada Indigenous conflicts in Canada Political controversies in Canada Wet'suwet'en Canadian pipeline and railway protests Natural gas pipelines in Canada Rail transport in Canada Petroleum politics Environmental justice Environmental controversies