Widescale Support of Unions and Other Organizations for Wet'suwet'en Demands

TML Weekly is posting below excerpts from letters and media releases of various unions and organizations across Canada who are publicly taking stands in support of the struggle of the Wet'suwet'en people.

Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW)

[...] CUPW condemns the injunction against Unist'ot'en Camp and stands in solidarity with the Indigenous re-occupation of unceded Wet'suwet'en lands in northern British Columbia against Coastal Gaslink Pipeline. We call on the Government of British Columbia to respect Indigenous title and revoke permits for development. We call on the federal government to pull funding from the single largest private investment in Canadian history, and instead respect a nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous peoples and real action on climate change [...]

Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)

[...] "Canadians were shocked to see the aggressive action of heavily armed police at the Unist'ot'en camp as they removed peaceful protestors and blocked access to journalists," says Mark Hancock, National President of CUPE. "We would never accept this kind of behaviour towards striking workers on a picket line. Protest is a fundamental right, and the Wet'suwet'en people have a right to protect their unceded territory."

The five clans of the Wet'suwet'en have never signed a treaty with Canada and have never ceded their territory in central British Columbia. For almost a decade, the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs have maintained several checkpoints and camps to halt any development in their territories from proceeding without their consent. Last week, heavily armed police began dismantling these checkpoints, and forcefully removed peaceful land defenders.

"If the Prime Minister and his government are truly committed to reconciliation, to the UN Declaration [on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)], and to building a better relationship with Indigenous peoples, the time and place to prove it is right here and right now," says Charles Fleury, National Secretary Treasurer of CUPE.

National Farmers Union

The National Farmers Union (NFU) stands in solidarity with Indigenous land protectors. We support initiatives by Indigenous People including the Unist'ot'en and Wet'suwet'en to resist resource extraction and energy projects that disrupt their Indigenous food and governance systems and interfere with the health of their lands, territories, and communities.

The NFU supports the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and urges the Canadian government to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 94 Calls to Action.

Coastal GasLink is attempting to force construction of a liquid natural gas pipeline through unceded Wet'suwet'en territory. On February 6, 2020 the RCMP entered the territory and began arresting members of the Wet'suwet'en, forcibly removing land defenders, dismantling the barricades set up to protect their territory, and denying journalists access to witness and record the RCMP's activities.

These actions, carried out with support of the BC and federal governments, are clearly in violation of Canada's commitments to reconciliation, against the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) which Canada formally adopted in 2016, and in contravention of the Supreme Court of Canada's 1997 Delgamuukw Gisday'wa decision recognizing that the Wet'suwet'en people, as represented by their hereditary leaders, had not given up rights and title to their 22,000 square kilometre territory. We agree with and support the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs' governance systems and their inherent right to govern their territory through the Unist'ot'en camp and the Gidimt'en checkpoint [...]

The decisions directing the RCMP to enter Wet'suwet'en territory and remove its defenders using force, and denying journalists access to witness their actions are condemned by Canadians from coast to coast to coast. In accordance with UNDRIP and our ongoing commitment to act in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples, we must inform ourselves and deepen our understanding of Indigenous sovereignty. We therefore denounce the repression of peaceful protesters, including Indigenous land protectors, and express our support for the rights of people to engage in acts of civil disobedience in defence of the preservation of water, air, land and wildlife for future generations.

National Union of Public and General Employees

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) stands in solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en land defenders and continues to call for a peaceful resolution to the conflict [...]

The labour movement is no stranger to seeing governments invoke the law to suppress rights, and so we stand in solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en land defenders in their struggle [...]

As a family of unions committed to the full implementation of the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as well as, the Calls for Justice of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, NUPGE is deeply troubled by the current and ongoing events on Wet'suwet'en territory, including the use of exclusion zones, forceful removal of land defenders, and threats to journalists [...]

The situation is especially shocking considering BC became the first jurisdiction in Canada to pass legislation implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in November 2019.

Now is a critical moment. How governments, police, and people across Canada respond to this situation will not only test whether their commitment to reconciliation is genuine, but it will impact Indigenous and non Indigenous communities and our environment for generations to come.

Further escalations threaten to unravel progress towards reconciliation. We urge the RCMP to withdraw and ask for all parties to resume talks to reach a negotiated settlement.

Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC)

Last week, RCMP officers arrested and detained several Wet'suwet'en people on their unceded territory while they were defending their land from a major pipeline development. The Unist'ot'en community has had a camp set up since 2009 to block TransCanada Corp from building the Coastal GasLink pipeline [...]

PSAC's National Indigenous Peoples' Circle Representatives have been working to protect and defend the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Canada and abroad for a number of years. We condemn the injunction and arrest of those at Unist'ot'en Camp. We call on the provincial and federal governments to respect a nation-to-nation relationship with hereditary leadership at Unist'ot'en [...]

We ask those in the labour movement to stand in solidarity with the defenders at Unist'ot'en Camp with the goal of defeating this injunction and re-establishing the occupation of the Unist'ot'en's healing camp.

United Steelworkers

From letter to Prime Minister Trudeau: [...] Our union's members include thousands of Canadians who work in the rail sector, including members of Indigenous ancestry, who work hard every day to support their families, who support Indigenous rights and who now face uncertainty and potential job losses. We also have thousands of members whose jobs depend on commodity supply chains that rely on the Canadian railway transportation network [...]

In our view, the root cause of this current crisis is that successive governments in Canada have repeatedly ignored their responsibilities on reconciliation with Indigenous nations and peoples. For years federal governments have paid lip service to dialogue and reconciliation, but have failed to take the profound and meaningful action that is required to achieve true reconciliation [...]

This abject failure is reflected in the current protests and rail blockades across Canada and as a result, we are writing to ask you to take personal responsibility for this file and meet with all stakeholders to defuse the tensions in this conflict, find a resolution and demonstrate a genuine commitment to reconciliation. The Canadian economy, and the livelihoods of many of our members, depends on the Canadian railway system and we urge you to intervene in this dispute.

International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)

As a trade union, the IATSE supports the full implementation of the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the recommendations of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and calls for a peaceful resolution to the conflict on Wet'suwet'en territory. We are concerned with events occurring on Wet'suwet'en territory, including the use of exclusion zones, forceful removal of land defenders, and threats to journalists. Progress toward reconciliation could be unravelled if these escalations continue. We therefore urge the RCMP to withdraw and ask for all parties to resume talks to reach a negotiated settlement.

British Columbia Federation of Labour

[... The] BC Federation of Labour continues to support a negotiated settlement to this dispute and urgently calls for renewed negotiations to find a mutual solution in the spirit of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Ontario Federation of Labour

The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) affirms its solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en nation, as they steadfastly defend their territories, and with those who are actively supporting Indigenous sovereignty through protests and blockades across Ontario and Canada.

The recent arrests of land defenders is yet another shameful example of Canada's failure to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. The Wet'suwet'en nation has the inherent right to self determination, which includes the right to defend their lands. The OFL encourages the RCMP, Coastal Gaslink, and all levels of government to engage in true reconciliation -- not just through words, but in meaningful actions that reflect and create a strong nation-to-nation relationship [...]

Government actions that continue to perpetuate Canada's ongoing legacy of colonialism and cultural genocide must stop.

Nova Scotia Federation of Labour

Members of the RCMP arrested seven individuals outside the Unist'ot'en healing centre Monday [February 10] during the fifth day of enforcing a court ordered injunction against members of the Wet'suwe'ten and their supporters blocking access to work sites for the Coastal GasLink pipeline.

Arresting land defenders, [and] their supporters and raiding their camps is not the answer when people work to defend their rights in Canada. People have the right to peaceful protest [...]

The Wet'suwet'en have never ceded their land. And under Wet'suwet'en law, hereditary chiefs of five clans have authority over the nation's 22,000 square kilometres of unceded territory. The hereditary chiefs have repeatedly opposed Coastal GasLink.

The labour movement is no stranger to seeing governments invoke laws to suppress workers' rights. The Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs issued an eviction notice to Coastal GasLink for violating Wet'suwet'en trespassing laws, but it seems they are not entitled to the same rights as corporations.

The Wet'suwet'en people have inherent Indigenous rights and title that must be recognized and respected. Therefore, we stand in solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en land defenders in their struggle and support that all parties find a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

BC Teachers' Federation

The BC Teachers' Federation reaffirms our solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en nation. As a union committed to the Truth and Reconciliation's Calls to Action and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we call on the governments of BC and Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Coastal GasLink Pipeline to respect the position taken by the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs. They are insisting upon respect for Indigenous sovereignty as they have never ceded their jurisdiction to the lands they have governed and have been stewards of for millennia. All five clans of the Wet'suwet'en nation have unanimously opposed all pipeline proposals. Forcibly removing peaceful land defenders from their traditional unceded lands is in violation of the UN Declaration [...]

Our provincial government recently passed a bill that states they will honour the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Actions speak louder than empty promises that First Peoples have faced for decades. If the leaders of our province and country are truly committed to reconciliation and honouring the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, then immediate action is required. Elected leaders must act now by negotiating with the respected leaders of the Wet'suwet'en nation who hold the inherent right to self-determination, including the right to defend their lands [...]

The 45,000 members of the BC Teachers' Federation stand in solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en peoples and demand that the government of BC and Canada uphold their responsibilities laid out in the Supreme Court Delgamuukw Gisday'wa decision of 1997. We stand as witnesses at this historic moment when our governments must make a choice to uphold this court decision or continue the ongoing legacy of colonization.

Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF)

[...] We disagree with government actions that would limit the ability of citizens to exercise their right to free and peaceful assembly. We call on the federal and provincial governments to respect and uphold the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and recognize and respect Indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination. Furthermore, the federal and provincial governments should respect the Supreme Court of Canada’s 1997 ruling, Delgamuukw vs. British Columbia, which found Aboriginal title could not be extinguished and established that Wet'suwet'en never relinquished title to their territories.

Therefore, the 60,000 members of OSSTF/FEESO stand in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en peoples. OSSTF/FEESO calls on all parties to respect the position taken by the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs, respect Indigenous sovereignty, and acknowledge and that they have never ceded their jurisdiction to the lands they have governed and have been stewards of for generations. Forcibly removing peaceful land defenders from their traditional unceded lands is a violation of the UN Declaration.

BC Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU)

The BCGEU has been closely monitoring the developing situation at the Unist'ot'en camp. As a trade union committed to supporting the full implementation of the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the recommendations of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we are concerned that police action has been used to suppress the rights of both peaceful protesters and the media.

We urge the RCMP, Coastal Gaslink and the provincial government to work with the Wet'suwet'en hereditary leadership and the elected council to resolve the current dispute in the spirit of the principles articulated in those documents.

The Wet'suwet'en people have inherent Indigenous rights and title that must be recognized and respected. What happens at the Unist'ot'en camp could have lasting repercussions for generations of Indigenous and non-Indigenous British Columbians.

Emily Carr University Faculty Association (Vancouver)

[...] The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination recently called for Canada to immediately halt the Coastal GasLink pipeline, the Site C Dam, and the Trans Mountain Pipeline because these projects have not received the Free, Prior and Informed Consent of the Indigenous peoples whose lands they would pollute and destroy. Morally and environmentally in this time of accelerating climate destabilization, we cannot afford these projects. As such, we ask that colonial governments and their police forces de-escalate and abide by Wet'suwet'en law by respecting the decisions that have been made by the hereditary chiefs whose Indigenous rights must not be violated through police brutality or colonial force.

Ontario College of Arts and Design (OCAD)
University Faculty Association

The OCAD University Faculty Association stands in solidarity with Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs and activists at the Unist'ot'en Camp defending their territory and the environment [...]

We denounce the militarized actions by the RCMP to use violence and forcibly remove peaceful land defenders from Wet'suwet'en territory. This is unceded land and has been recognized as such by a 1997 Supreme Court decision that affirmed Wet'suwet'en rights to their land. International law and the Royal Proclamation of 1763 affirm the fact that Canada has no legal jurisdiction on unceded territories. The hereditary clan chiefs, leaders under the traditional form of governance, are in opposition to the construction of the Coastal Gas Pipeline, that would carry fracked gas through unceded Wet'suwet'en land.

In the past few days Canadians have witnessed the RCMP use tactics not dissimilar to those used in a police state. An extra-judicial 'exclusion zone' was declared within which media were denied press freedoms to document police actions. The images that have come through the frontlines are disturbing. Unarmed matriarchs violently arrested, some in the midst of carrying out ceremony. RCMP using attack dogs and storm trooper artillery to wrestle Indigenous land defenders to the ground. This is not what reconciliation looks like.

We call upon the federal and provincial government and the RCMP to honour the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [...] an international document that gives Indigenous people the right to control resource projects on their land. Free and prior consent is needed. Under Wet'suwet'en law all five clans have unanimously opposed all pipeline proposals. The forcible removal and construction of the Coastal Gas Pipeline is a violation of international, Canadian and Wet'suwet'en law.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was recently elected on a promise to build new relations with Indigenous First Nations. Reconciliation does not take place under the barrel of a gun. BC Premier John Horgan has said he believes 'positive reconciliation initiative' is possible -- the actions of the government and RCMP counter this sentiment.

We thank the Wet'suwet'en people who are standing up for all of us and have been honouring the land for millennia.

Greater Victoria Teachers' Association (GVTA)

The GVTA affirms the rights of the Wet'suwet'en to determine their own processes of governance and to exert sovereignty on their unceded traditional territory. We urge Premier Horgan to meet with the hereditary chiefs and we call on the RCMP to immediately stand down on Wet'suwet'en territory.

The GVTA supports those protesting peacefully to defend the Wet'suwet'en, and denounce police action against these protesters.

(Photo: Climate 604)

This article was published in

Volume 50 Number 5 - February 22, 2020