Metro Vancouver students stage walkout in support of Wet'suwet'en
Credit to Author: Stephanie Ip| Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2020 16:15:35 +0000
Metro Vancouver students plan to stage a walkout on Monday in support of the Wet’suwet’en Nation who are pushing back against the Coastal GasLink pipeline.
Organized in part by Sustainabiliteens, the walkout will see students walking out of class at Metro Vancouver high schools and universities before heading to Vancouver City Hall where a rally has been scheduled.
The rally will include speeches from Patricia Kelly, Jo Walden, Jean Swanson, Jaye Simpson, Ida Manuel and Dakota Bear.
It is unknown how many students are expected to participate.
The walkout and rally is in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en hereditary leaders who are fighting against the Coastal GasLink project, a liquefied natural-gas pipeline in northern B.C.
Coastal GasLink is building a 670-kilometre pipeline from B.C.’s northeast to Kitimat, but hereditary Wet’suwet’en chiefs say they have issued an eviction notice to stop the work, although a B.C. Supreme Court injunction prevents interference with pipeline operations.
The Coastal GasLink project is approved and permitted, and has the support of elected leaders of First Nations located along the pipeline route.
Last week, anti-pipeline protesters halted traffic by land and sea at a Vancouver Island B.C. Ferries terminal, also in support of the Wet’suwet’en. The blockade lasted throughout the morning on Jan. 20, before vehicle traffic was allowed through at Swartz Bay.
Two days after the blockade, a sit-in at the office of the B.C. Ministry of Energy resulted in a dozen arrests. The arrests came after 15 hours of negotiation.