Several indigenous land defenders arrested at Wet'suwet'en anti-pipeline camp as RCMP move in to enforce injunction
"Several arrested at Wet'suwet'en anti-pipeline camp as RCMP move in to enforce injunction," 6 Feb 2020
Multiple arrests have been made on traditional Wet'suwet'en territory as RCMP enforce an injunction order against people blocking construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline in northern B.C... In an open letter posted on the Coastal GasLink website, president David Pfeiffer called the situation "disappointing." "This is not the outcome we wanted. We have made exceptional efforts to resolve this blockade through engagement and dialogue," said Pfeiffer.
... The RCMP action comes two days after last-ditch talks broke down between the B.C. government and Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs... [who] have said their protest against the $6-billion, 670-kilometre pipeline is and will remain peaceful. As RCMP moved in Thursday, Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs announced they were launching a court challenge against the pipeline's environmental approval. The application is asking for a judicial review of the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office's decision to extend an environment certificate for the pipeline by five years. A statement said the extension was granted "despite over 50 instances of non-compliance" by Coastal Gaslink as well as a failure to incorporate recent findings of the Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which found links between resource-extraction projects, "man-camp" environments and increased violence against Indigenous women.