By Leveller Staff
News of an impending police raid on the Unist’ot’en Camp has catalyzed support across the country, including in Ottawa.
Reports circulated in late August that large numbers of RCMP officers were moving into the B.C. interior to attack the Unist’ot’en camp, an Indigenous settlement constructed to prevent the building of proposed pipelines through Wet’suwet’en territory.
The camp stands in the path of TransCanada’s Coastal GasLink pipeline, Chevron’s Pacific Trail Pipeline and Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline, of which the former project is already underway while the two latter pipeline projects have been proposed..
Both industry representatives and members of the RCMP have frequently trespassed on the territory in recent weeks, prompting heightened tensions.
In late August, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) sent a letter to the RCMP in relation to impending police action against the camp.“We are deeply concerned that such an approach would be disastrous and would not respect the constitutionally-protected Title and Rights of the Unist’ot’en, as well as their rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”
In solidarity with the camp, dozens of organizations signed onto an open letter entitled, “We Stand with the Unist’ot’en,” denouncing “any attempt by the federal government, provincial government or RCMP to interfere in the rights of the Unist’ot’en to occupy, manage, or maintain their lands.” It continues, “We are deeply and gravely concerned to learn from a variety of sources that the RCMP appear to be on the verge of executing a highly provocative and dangerously reckless operational plan to make arrests.”
The Unist’ot’en camp has asked for supporters to go to the camp, to donate money and to organize solidarity actions targeting Chevron and their investors.
So far, action plans in Ottawa are focused on preparing for a mass demonstration on Parliament Hill if a police raid takes place, with the long-term goal of establishing a strong core of people who want to engage in ongoing support for the camp.
Photo credit: unistotencamp.com
This article first appeared in the Leveller Vol. 8, No. 1 (Sept 2015).
