Vancouver rally planned in solidarity with Wet'suwet'en land defenders
Credit to Author: Postmedia News| Date: Sun, 09 Feb 2020 21:18:22 +0000
A rally is set to take place Sunday afternoon at Vancouver City Hall in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en First Nation.
The event, slated to run from 1 to 3 p.m. at city hall, will see crowds gather in protest of the raids and police action taking place at the Gidimt’en checkpoint and Unist’ot’en camp in northwest B.C., where Indigenous groups and supporters have been protesting the Coastal GasLink pipeline’s construction in traditional Wet’suwet’en territory.
A number of people are slated to speak or perform at the rally, including Audrey Siegel of the Musqueam Nation, Kukpi7 Judy Wilson of the Neskonlith Indian Band and secretary-treasurer of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, B.C. Civil Liberties Association’s executive director Harsha Walia, Jolene Andrews, Lorelei Williams of Butterflies in Spirit, and Naia Lee.
The Vancouver rally is among a number of events taking place across B.C. in protest of the pipeline project. The events come as arrests continue to mount at protest camps near the Coastal GasLink pipeline’s construction zone.
RCMP officers arrested 11 people Saturday who allegedly barricaded themselves in a warming centre in a forested area near the work site.
Those arrested are accused of breaching a court injunction related to opposition to the 670-kilometre pipeline project that crosses Wet’suwet’en traditional territory near Smithers, B.C., located more than 1,100 kilometres northwest of Vancouver.
Wet’suwet’en supporters say the RCMP expanded the zone covered by the court injunction when it moved in to arrest the 11 people.
Meanwhile, Indigenous youth and supporters continue to camp overnight on the front steps of the B.C. legislature in Victoria.
Protesters blocked Victoria’s downtown Johnson Street bridge Saturday and other groups of protesters continue their presence at Vancouver ports and railway lines in Ontario.
–with files from Canadian Press