Rallies, Marches and Meetings in Defence of the Rights of All
Rally Opposes State and Industry Attacks on Wet'suwet'en and Their Hereditary Rights
Gitxsan Hereditary Chiefs and others rallied at the Smithers Court House on March 6 for the sentencing of Chief Dsta'hyl, a Wing Chief of the Likhts'amisyu Clan of the Wet'suwet'en Nation for criminal contempt and to protest the ongoing corruption of industry-led BC Supreme Court injunctions that lean on illegal trespass by RCMP Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG) to enforce injunctions on Indigenous traditional territories.
At the rally the Gitxsan Hereditary Chiefs of the Gitxsan Huwilp Government announced that they are demanding an immediate independent judicial review of how the industry-led BC Supreme Court injunctions are obtained while ignoring higher court judicial decisions, and how the militarized RCMP C-IRG enforce those injunctions on Indigenous traditional territories.
Gitxsan Hereditary Chief Negotiator Brian Williams (Gwiiyeehl) said: "This reeks of ongoing corruption." He went on to say, "The BC Supreme Court is ignoring higher court judicial notice of ongoing negotiations since 1994. The provincial and federal government have made a debilitating lack of progress at treaty tables for 30 years and BCSC is using that to the advantage of industry seeking these injunctions." The 1997 Supreme Court of Canada Delgamuukw decision found that the Wet'suwet'en and Gitxsan had never ceded title to their traditional territory and said that these matters should be settled through negotiations, yet to this day their Aboriginal title claims have not been resolved through negotiation or litigation.
In the case of Chief Dsta'hyl, he was found guilty of criminal contempt on February 20 and his sentencing which began March 6 will continue at a later date. Chief Dsta'hyl was arrested on October 27, 2021 after removing heavy-duty equipment batteries from Coastal GasLink (CGL) construction vehicles. In a video played in court he is seen introducing himself as the Likhts'amisyu enforcement officer, reminding CGL employees of an eviction notice previously issued to CGL by Wet'suwet'en hereditary leadership and telling CGL security workers that they are trespassing on Wet'suwet'en territory and asking them to leave, saying he will seize equipment and decommission vehicles used for pipeline construction. Although he was originally charged with mischief and theft over $5,000, those charges were not pursued and instead he was tried for criminal contempt. The prosecution claimed that he violated a 2019 Supreme Court injunction barring anyone from preventing, impeding or restricting CGL's pipeline construction.
The Gitxsan Huwilp Government called for the rally on February 23 after BC Supreme Court Justice Michael Tammen, in finding Chief Dsta'hyl guilty, ruled that traditional Wet'suwet'en trespass law cannot "coexist" with injunction orders handed down by the same court. "Justice Michael Tammen used 30 years of Canada/BC inertia at negotiating table to contend the law of trespass cannot coexist with the law of injunctions. The court failed in its role to reconcile the two, weaponizing the law of injunction to extinguish Wet'suwet'en and Gitxsan wilaloo (way of life) and connection to the lands," Gitxsan Hereditary Chief Moolaxan explained.
Referring to the role of the C-IRG, Gwiiyeehl said on March 6: "We also know the RCMP's federal watchdog agency opened a probe into the actions of Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG) -- the only specialized military unit in Canada set up to squash Indigenous protests against resource extraction on Indigenous lands in British Columbia. ... We also know that C-IRG is stalling that investigation by not providing document requests to The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC), which receives and oversees public grievances against the Mounties. This is not a fulsome investigation."
"When you have $50 million in C-IRG spending from 2017 to 2022 and then add an additional $36 million announced in 2023 for this private industry-friendly militarized force to stop First Nations from protecting their lands against energy resource extraction through industry-led BC Supreme Court injunctions -- you have corruption," Gwiiyeehl said.
Gitxsan Hereditary Chief Norman Moore (Moolaxan) said at the rally that "Tomorrow, we begin the process of demanding an independent review by the Canadian Attorney General and Solicitor General of this collective attempt to destroy the Wet'suwet'en and Gitxsan wilaloo (way of life) and connection to the Laxyip (lands)."
Chief Moolaxan explained, "You must understand that Hereditary laws of the Laxyip and Anaat (waters) require that Chiefs have a fiduciary duty to protect the land and resources for security of food, shelter and humanity of our peoples. ...We can exist together, but the BC Supreme Court and RCMP C-IRG are siding in favour of industry greed rather than our wilaloo, which has been in place since time immemorial. Wilaloo should not be extinguished according to the 1997 Supreme Court of Canada decision Delgamuukw v. British Columbia."
"Imagine if they took that $36 million and put it to MMIWG investigation, stopping the scourge of drugs in the community that kills our people, and keeping our community safe. Instead, they weaponize our wilaloo and give millions to C-IRG to keep our people at the end of the gun or put them in the Wilp ahlee'e (jail/bloodhouse)."
This article was published in
Volume 54 Number 20 - March 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/MS54208.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca