A dozen Wet’suwet’en anti-pipeline protesters and their supporters have applied to the Supreme Court of B.C. to have criminal contempt charges against them stayed.
In a filing to the court, the group say their individual and Indigenous rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms were violated when police moved in after protesters blockaded access to a Coastal GasLink pipeline work camp. Construction of the 670-km natural gas pipeline through Wetsu’wet’en traditional territory near Houston, B.C. has resulted in blockades and a violent attack on a construction site over the three-year conflict.
“The RCMP/CIRG’s enforcement tactics impaired the applicant’s individual charter rights, but the police misconduct also displays a systemic disregard for Indigenous rights and sovereignty and the charter more generally,” the court filings say.
In a 2020 Memorandum of Understanding, the governments of Canada and British Columbia recognized the Wet’suwet’en hereditary system as “a legitimate government with title” to 22,000 sq. km of land.
“The Wet’suwet’en have asserted a right to live on and protect their territories for thousands of years, primarily through the feast hall governance system carried out communally by its clans and house groups,” the court filings say. “The impacts of the manner of enforcement are not limited to the individuals arrested, but extend to the efforts at reconciliation between the Wet’suwet’en and the federal and provincial governments.”
None of the allegations made in the court filing have been tested in court.
