Top left: Arrested CPTers Natalie Maxson and Chuck Wright on their way to Wet’suwet’en
Top right: 27km camp where arrests took place
Bottom left: Mohawk Nation shutting down train travel between Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en
Bottom right: Toronto folks shutting down the Canadian Pacific rail line with Wet’suwet’en
On 8 February 2020, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) invaded the land defenders camp at site 27km in Wet’suwet’en Territory. They arrested 11 people, including two CPTers. The authorities have charged those arrested with breach of the injunction that forbids impeding Coastal GasLink (CGL) workers from accessing roads or their worksite. At the time of the arrest, the 11 people, including the CPTers at site 27km were not blocking any roads, thus making their charge of ‘breach of the injunction’ false. In addition, the RCMP did not have a warrant to enter the cabin — making the arrest those in the cabin illegal.
Christian Peacemaker Teams has been present at 27km since 3 February 2020, providing legal observation alongside the land defenders of Wet’suwet’en Territory. The land defenders are protecting their territory from Coastal Gas Link’s 670km fracked gas pipeline. The province of British Columbia and CGL have not received consent from the five Hereditary Chiefs and Wet’suwet’en land defenders, therefore violating the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples – a Declaration the province of BC promised to uphold through recently enacted provincial legislation (Bill 41).
The 11 people arrested have been taken to Houston, BC, and we anticipate a court appearance on Monday, 10 February 2020. Follow the CPT Turtle Island Solidarity Network Facebook page for updates:
We need your solidarity! We call on our constituency to join local actions in support of Wet’suwet’en. Here are some actions already scheduled.
Correction: This article was edited on February, 25, 2020. It previously, incorrectly claimed that the two CPTers were inside the cabin.
