NDP BC invades sovereign Wet'suwet'en territory, RCMP arrest defenders 2

After eleven days and nights on the steps of the BC Legislature, this occupation is closing out now, in song and ceremony — what this entire process has been grounded in.

Wherever you are, wherever you go, stand with Indigenous youth, always.

#IndigenousYouthForWetsuweten #WetsuwetenStrong

Timmins Ontario Feb 29

Warren Buffett's company bails on Saguenay LNG project because of 'Canadian political context,' promoter says

Warren Buffett's investment company Berkshire Hathaway has decided not to invest $4 billion in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant by the Saguenay port.

The marine terminal to ship LNG to overseas markets is slated to be built roughly 230 kilometres northeast of Quebec City, at a cost of $9.5 billion.

The decision by Berkshire Hathaway, which represents a major blow to the project, was first reported by La Presse Thursday and later confirmed by Radio-Canada.

Stéphanie Fortin, head of communications for the company behind the project, GNL Québec, said the company had lost a significant potential investor, but did not want to say who it is.

She did say, however, that the company lost the investor because of the "current Canadian political context."

She said with "instability" in the last few weeks, such as ongoing rail blockades, foreign investors are getting nervous.....

Aptn InFocus - March 4, 2020

What effect could work camps have on Indigenous women once construction on CGL pipeline starts in B.C?

Ashleigh Cardinal is Cree from Goodfish Lake and has spent nine years working in the oil and gas industry.

Victoria Redsun is Dene-Cree from Barren Lands who has spent much of her life fighting the oil and gas industry.

Despite coming at it from different perspectives of the industry, both fear the effects that 14 work camps associated with the Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline will have on 20 Indigenous communities in northern B.C., particularly women and girls.

quote:

In 2016 Amnesty International looked at oil and gas extraction, mining, and hydroelectric development in northern B.C. and the impact of work camps associated with them.

The study found “substantial evidence of a serious problem demonstrated in the correlations between resource extraction and violence against indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA.”

The inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls cited these “man camps” several times  as being dangerous to Indigenous women near where they operate, and noted the mountain of abuses against Indigenous women in northern Manitoba associated with hydro development man camps in the 1960s.

APTN asked CGL what they’re doing in the face of evidence of the ink between work camps and violence against Indigenous women as they’re preparing to build several along the pipeline route.

They said all workers sign a Code of Conduct contract to ensure a “positive” experience for the workers and the nearby communities.

CGL wouldn’t provide a copy of the contract.

The company said Indigenous community workforce advisors will be at the camps and they’ll have “continuous engagement with Indigenous and local communities” to address issues if any arise.

PRESS RELEASE: Wet’suwet’en, BCCLA, and UBCIC Release Explosive Letter Revealing BC Solicitor General Authorizing RCMP Deployment, Contradicting Public Statements

VANCOUVER/ (Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaʔɬ/sel̓ílwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) territories, March 6, 2020 – Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs, BC Civil Liberties Association and Union of BC Indian Chiefs are releasing a letter dated January 27, 2020 from BC Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth to RCMP Deputy Commissioner Jennifer Strachan.

In the letter, Farnworth declared a “provincial emergency” under the Provincial Police Service Agreement and explicitly authorized the “internal redeployment of resources within the Provincial Police Service.” Article 9 of the Provincial Police Service Agreement stipulates that, if in the opinion of the Provincial Minister an Emergency in an area of provincial responsibility exists, then the Provincial Police Service will be redeployed at the written request of the Provincial Minister and the Province will pay the costs of the redeployment.

This explosive revelation of the BC Solicitor General authorizing additional RCMP resources and redeployment comes on the heels of repeated statements by the provincial government that they lacked jurisdiction or authority over RCMP actions in Wet’suwet’en territories. On January 20, Premier John Horgan was reported as saying “Our government has no authority to vary that injunction, nor to direct the RCMP in the fulfillment of its responsibilities.” On February 10, Horgan again stated, “Governments do not direct the courts, nor do we direct the RCMP.”

According to Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chief Na’Moks, “The province bears responsibility for the heavy RCMP deployment and for the policing of our people on our own territories. In many of our discussions, the province was passing the buck for RCMP operations but this letter spells it out in black and white. The provincial government can no longer deny responsibility for the Indigenous rights and human rights violations happening on our territories. We have come to the table with respect and truth but the province is not demonstrating respectful or truthful conduct. We have always asserted our laws and presence peacefully, yet the province authorized the extra deployment of RCMP against us. Canada and BC must answer to this mistruth and absolutely must change its ways.”

“It is incredibly troubling and shocking that the provincial government would declare the peaceful assertion of Wet’suwet’en law and jurisdiction as a provincial policing emergency. The Wet’suwet’en people and the people of British Columbia have a right to know on what basis this unprecedented authorization was made. It is inconsistent for the provincial government to, on the one hand, legislate the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as well as state non-interference in policing operations and, on the other hand, authorize a RCMP deployment aimed at over-policing and criminalizing Indigenous peoples on their own territories,” says Harsha Walia, Executive Director of the BC Civil Liberties Association.

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs stated, “This letter by Mike Farnworth reveals the blatant hypocrisy and lies of the provincial NDP government on the Wet’suwet’en crisis. Farnworth sat silently while Premier Horgan unabashedly lied that the Province did not direct RCMP actions. This is an act of government deceit not only against the Wet’suwet’en but of the public at-large. The province’s rhetoric about reconciliation rings even hollower. We call for the immediate resignation of Mike Farnworth for dishonourable conduct and for declaring the Wet’suwet’en people a policing emergency and a threat on their own territories.”

What is very fascist of the BC NDP is that they did this before there was any urgent need except corporate greed. They gave a preemptive blank cheque to the RCMP to use whatever resources they want to from all over the province. It means that they have also taken over prosecution of the injunction orders. When I was arrested on Burnaby Mountain I was accused and charged by TMX's lawyers. However because of the escalating size of the demonstrations the AG told the Crown prosecutors office to conduct the prosecution instead of the corporate lawyers.

To be clear during my first hearing I faced a prosecutor employed by the corporation building the pipeline but at my second hearing I faced a Crown prosecutor. Without this preemptive strike by the Horgan government the Wet'suwet,en would have been hauled into court by lawyers employed by the corporation. I guess the optics of the reality of our injunction law was not something they wanted aired internationally. I can see the headlines:RCMP Arrests Hereditary Chiefs by Order of Corporation's Lawyers.

I voted for Scott Fraser because he talked the talk. I will work against him in the next election. I hate hypocrites.

NDPP wrote:

"Sask RCMP member under investigation after post joking about machine-gunning protesters."

Maybe he was just talking about calling in the army. Police don't have machine guns and just because a soldier is carrying a machinegun (in accordance with section and platoon level doctrine) doesn't mean they're using it to "machinegun protestors". Those soldiers have to carry machineguns as a part of doctrine, ya know? Could be just a guy or girl standing there.

Still stuck’: Canada knows path to reconciliation but not how to walk it

quote:

But something is still missing.

“We’ve got a lot of great material out there; a comprehensive list of recommendations. We have politicians who say the right thing all the time, but we’re still stuck in terms of the tough decisions, the real action and follow through that is so crucial,” said Neve on Nation to Nation Thursday.

Neve said he’s not trying to dismiss some of the Trudeau government’s work to date, including calling the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls inquiry or its expressed support for UNDRIP.

But “steaming ahead” with construction of Site C, a major hydro dam in British Columbia, works against this progress.

“[It] flies in the face of what the UN declaration is all about,” said Neve, adding the two most affected First Nations oppose the dam saying it will destroy their traditional territory.

Nonetheless, billions of dollars has been invested.

“It really kind of gives lie to the fact that great things are said but when tough and important decisions need to be made then that conviction seems to fade away,” he said.

Speaking of reconciliation, as one blockade goes down it seems another goes up across Canada as the Wet’suwet’en solidary demonstrations continue.

But who wins in the end?

“When you pit jobs, the promise of jobs, against Indigenous rights, and environmental rights, typically who wins? Jobs, jobs, jobs,” said Pitseolak Pfeifer, a consultant and owner of Inuit Solutions.

There’s been about a dozen court injunctions granted across Canada almost as easy as ordering a pizza, something Pfeifer said violates the rights of Indigenous people.

“It’s completely one-sided. What it does is puts all the blame and guilt on Indigenous people who are trying to protect their rights,” he said.

..from an email

quote:

It's Not Over

"In the wake of limited talks between the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs and representatives of the Canadian state, a sense of confusion has set in. State and corporate media outfits have added to this confusion by portraying these talks as an endpoint to the protests that have been taking place for weeks in support of Wet'suwet'en and against the Coastal GasLink pipeline.

But the fact remains that there's been no agreement to allow for the pipeline to be built, and no calls have been made for people to take down their blockades. Despite what they want you to think... it's not over.

#ShutDownCanada #WetsuwetenStrong #ReconciliationIsDead

Drivers Needed

Not free for two weeks but want to help? Many people who can go to camp don't have rides. If you can make the journey from Vancouver to Houston and back please send us an email with your availability. 

Sovereignty is the main issue that joins the indigenous activists from coast to coast to coast. The Wet'suwet'en are fighting for their right to be recognized. You didn't even mention it once.

Your argument is nonsensical to anyone who believes in anything. Take out indigenous and insert anything else you want. There are workers in a strike situation that don't want to fight with the company so they go to work. I don't emphasis with them I call them scabs. I am supporting indigenous activists from across the country and I think it is crazy to say do nothing about anything until the community you want to support come to a consensus. There were black community leaders who spoke out against the civil rights protests because of the backlash it was causing. There are Iranians who support the Ayatollah so does that mean I should just shut the fuck up and not talk about the states use of violence against peaceful demonstrators.

Sorry but I do pick sides in everything unlike some people who like to sit on the fence and tell both sides how easy it is to get along. Careful sometimes the fences have sharp pickets.

The Cost of 'Consent' - Negotiating 'True Recognition Parameters' for Canada

https://twitter.com/1mohawklawyer/status/1236027422908329985

"Perry's AFN salary is six figures tax free, plus he gets a car and rent covered since the AFN charter requires the National Chief to live in Ottawa where the AFN National office is located. AFN is funded mainly by the Govt of Canada. I've heard it will be about $55 million this year."

#SovereigntyIsTheAnswerCanadaIsTheProblem  #NoTreatyNoJurisdictionNoPiplinesNoRCMP  #ShutThisShitDown  #Decolonize

No to Canada's Vichy colonialism - Resist Don't Collaborate.

..here's the silencing source

Benefits agreements and “divide and rule” tactics: Following the money behind the Coastal GasLink pipeline

quote:

Those 20 agreements reached with band councils, and the millions promised

There has been a great deal of attention on the 20 benefits agreements CGL has signed with First Nations bands along the route. These agreements are not available to the public, but one was leaked to the CBC. In it, a clause requires that everyone in the band continues to support the project and refrain from dissenting on social media. 

Another unsigned agreement disclosed by the Yellowhead Institute shows a clause encouraging First Nations bands to persuade other members to support the pipeline. The agreement states CGL’s intent of gaining “irrevocable consent.” 

“[The First Nation] will not take, and will take all reasonable actions to persuade [First Nation] members to not take, any action, legal or otherwise, including any media or social media campaign, that may impede, hinder, frustrate, delay, stop or interfere with the Project’s contractors, any Authorizations or any Approval Processes,” the agreement reads. 

Another clause prevents the First Nation from challenging TC Energy using their rights to Aboriginal title under the Constitution. Even if a Nation is able to claim land title in the future, the agreement limits their ability to make any legal claims against the company later as well. 

The government also has 16 agreements with Indigenous groups along the route, separate from the 20 with CGL. These agreements all offer an initial amount of around one million dollars, an additional payment of around half a million dollars, and a share of $10 million per year in ongoing payments. 

That $10 million is supposed to be distributed among “eligible First Nations” annually, on the anniversary of the project’s in-service date. What Nations constitute “eligible First Nations” is decided by the province. But, if all of those Nations can agree on how the $10 million will be divided up by a specific date, the government will distribute the money according to that. If not, the government will decide how it’s divided. 

For instance, the Nee-Tahi-Buhn band is promised $2.1 million. They received half that amount after signing this deal, and will get the other half after the pipeline is completed. They’re eligible for $420 thousand in additional payments. On top of that, Nee-Tahi-Buhn will receive a portion of that 10 million dollars in ongoing payments every year. How much of the 10 million they receive, however, was likely divided up in a separate deal in 2015. That figure could not be found on the BC government website, so it is likely not made public. 

quote:

Concerns of “divide and conquer”

In a press release from 2014, the hereditary chiefs voiced their concern of a “divide and conquer” strategy they claim the government used. Before a feast hall began, the invited government representatives left. In the press release after the feast hall, the hereditary chiefs claim the government supported a nonprofit society called the Wet’suwet’en Matriarchal Coalition (WMC) to “divide and conquer” their peoples and delegitimize the hereditary chiefs. The B.C. government and CGL each donated $30 000 to the group. 

“[The Province] have secretly planned with and provided resources to a new B.C. Societies Act organization called the WMC,” The hereditary chiefs said in a press release. “Evidencing yet another in a long history of dishonorable sharp dealings with the Crown.” 

The women that founded the organization, Gloria George, Darlene Glaim, and Theresa Tait-Day, wanted to support the CGL project in light of the economic opportunities it could offer for their young people.  

Glaim resigned two years later. In her resignation letter, Glaim stated that the WMC was formed “expressly to sign a benefits agreement on behalf of the clans.”  

Apart from this society, there are Wet’suwet’en matriarchs that feel underrepresented by the all-male group of hereditary chiefs. This past week, during the talks with federal and provincial partners, the hereditary chiefs welcomed matriarchs to the table. These issues of representation are being worked out by the Wet’suwet’en, and that situation is separate from the WMC that was funded by CGL and the B.C. government in 2014. 

CGL and the B.C. government have clear confidence in the project, despite the lack of consent from the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs. What’s occurring now is a direct result of almost a decade of consultations, and a failure to reach consensus. It’s complicated on every level, but following the money reveals how “the largest private sector investment in Canada’s history” has been made possible.

i see you 2 are still pushing your colonizer agenda of divide and exploit by posting articles with disparaging comments about FN you don't  agree with. 

too funny the articles are stating others are doing exactly what you are. Pot kettle.

Ecosocialists and UBCIC demand Mike Farnworth's resignation for authorizing RCMP's massive show of force

quote:

Two weeks after that letter was sent, Premier John Horgan claimed that his government has "no authority...to direct the RCMP in the fulfillment of its responsibilities".

As a result of this apparent contradiction, a new political party, the B.C. Ecosocialists, and the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs have each called for Farnworth's resignation for allowing a monumental show of RCMP force on unceded Wet'suwet'en territory in early February.

"Although the fact that the NDP was, on one hand, stating that their Solicitor General, Mike Farnworth, does not make high-level law enforcement decisions for B.C., while, on the other, blaming Farnworth’s predecessor for the enforcement decisions taken on his watch, beggared belief, we were not in possession of direct confirmation of Farnworth’s oversight until today," B.C. Ecosocialists spokesperson Stuart Parker stated in a party news release.

Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs have repeatedly said that the pipeline project is illegal under their laws.

drift...

...end drift

don't  skew my words kropotkin I never said shit about following corporate ideology.

i am saying stop disparaging FN voices you dont agree with. it's colonizer bs.

and yes extinction rebellion was involved with both activities. exploiters in the worst possible way.

"Now blockaders dare tell what, how and when the PM could speak. That Canada has come to this is such a shame."

https://twitter.com/ujjaldosanjh/status/1231152710499655680

We already know how Ujjal would have handled it...'We fully support the RCMP. There is one law for all Canadians.'

Above The Law: At Gustafsen Lake (2-part documentary)

https://youtu.be/6Byv034Ciss

https://youtu.be/CqT0xn8OdVw

"The Sundancers of Gustafsen Lake have one demand. That the petition dated January 3, 1995 be addressed by an independent, third party tribunal, one that is not Canadian. Is the popular assumption that the Canadian courts and police have jurisdiction legal? Or is that assumption [Constitutionally] criminally treasonable, fraudulent and complicitous in the genocide of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada as alleged in the petition.?"

#NoTreatyNoJurisdictionNoPipelinesNoRCMP  #SovereigntyIsTheAnswerCanadaIsTheProblem  #Decolonize  #thetimeisnow

Link

Many of the ladies in this photo have been keeping the Six Nations Highway 6 blockade running like a well-oiled machine. We all know they still have at least a week left and I just received word they're a little low on funds. They are holding down two camps at different ends of...

Blocking Access to Port of Montreal

The AFNQL Calls for a Special First Ministers' Meeting on First Nations Issues

The "political crisis" is an unfortunate reminder that our rights, titles and treaties are being held hostage to a colonial ideology that systematically circumvents them. As long as the federal, provincial and territorial governments continue to ignore the urgency of sustainable solutions and the conditions to achieve them, we run the risk of having to manage other crises, which will inevitably involve resources and the inability for First Nations to access them and create their own economies.

"The First Ministers' Meeting convened by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cannot afford to turn a blind eye to the gap that continues to exist between the federal and provincial governments and First Nations. The events of the last few weeks have amply demonstrated the urgency to act and respond to our issues," said AFNQL Chief Ghislain Picard.

"We believe that the meeting of the country's leaders should engage them to hold a special First Ministers' meeting that would focus specifically on First Nations issues. I would even go so far as to suggest to the Premier of Quebec, François Legault, to take up the challenge, to make his mark and propose the holding of such a meeting to his federal and provincial counterparts during their discussions on March 12 and 13," adds Chief Picard.

"We have another opportunity to learn from a situation that was not desired by anyone, including the Wet'suwet'en Nation, and allow good faith and political will to be put together. This will require "brave people" to do so. That is what we expect from the leaders of this country. We are ready," concluded Chief Picard of the AFNQL.

About the AFNQL
The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador is the regional political organization that brings together 43 First Nations Chiefs in Quebec and Labrador. Follow the AFNQL on Twitter @APNQL.

Link

Now that I’ve made a lil progress im so excited to show you the piece I’ve been working on! It’s the one I was starting when I got arrested during the railroad blockade. Its so goddamn inspiring to see Indigenous peoples and our allies rising up to protect the land and the water.

WE WON’T BACK DOWN! SOLIDARITY WITH WET’SUWET’EN

Friday, March 13, 2020 at 12 PM​

Peacekeeping Monument, Ottawa

THE FIGHT IS NOT OVER! The RCMP and CGL are still on Wet’suwet’en territory without the nation’s consent and they need to leave now!

The Prime Minister and all the provincial premiers – including BC premier John Horgan – will be meeting in Ottawa this Friday, and Indigenous Youth and their allies have a message for them: respect Indigenous rights and sovereignty, and tell the RCMP to leave unceded Wet’suwet’en land now!....

..good song

The Frontline Promo

Jack Garton creates this beautiful new song and video.

Support Song in Solidarity with Wet'suwet'en. please educate yourself on this, it has many issues wrapped up into a country wide protest