AWARE Simcoe supports the Wet’suwet’en Peoples
Wet’suwet’en First Nation supporters at the city hall rotunda in Barrie, February 8, 2020. -Shawn Gibson/BarrieToday
AWARE News Network
The following motion has been passed by the AWARE Simcoe board of directors:
“AWARE Simcoe supports the Wet’suwet’en Peoples’ right to free, prior and informed consent to be respected by the state and RCMP. This means no violent enforcement of the injunction, and no removal of Wet’suwet’en people from their own territories.
“AWARE Simcoe calls on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Government of Canada to recognize the Wet’suwet’en Peoples’ Aboriginal title to their unceded territories as described in the Delgamuukw decision by the Supreme Court of Canada. Despite this clear title to the land and the acknowledged right to free, prior and informed consent to activities taking place on this land, the government and courts of BC are prioritizing Coastal Gas Link’s proposed pipeline over the rights of the Wet’suwet’en peoples.
“AWARE Simcoe calls on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Government of Canada to ensure that the RCMP does not engage in any action against the Wet’suwet’en land defenders and that any “lethal overwatch” as sanctioned in January 2019 is specifically prohibited. It is abhorrent that the state feels it can kill people who are defending their legally ascribed rights to their territories for the sake of corporate profit.
“AWARE Simcoe notes that the only sane government action in the face of climate change is to leave fossil fuels in the ground and accelerate investment in clean and renewable energy.
“AWARE Simcoe calls on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Government of Canada to move forward their goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and take meaningful action to ensure that we do not pass on to our children the consequences of our wasteful and exploitative lifestyle.”
Link to Council of Canadians petition
Link to Wet’suwet’en Supporter Toolkit
Background
The powerful example of the Wet’suwet’en resistance
By Nora Loreto National Observer February 13 2020
It took longer than it should have, but Canadians are finally paying attention to the struggle at Wet’suwet’en. The hereditary chiefs and supporters first built cabins on their traditional territory in 2010 to try to stop a pipeline from being built across their land but their campaign has grown thanks to effective solidarity actions.
In an era where despair and cynicism about the fate of the planet is widespread, the campaign at Wet’suwet’en has been an important example of what it takes to resist corporate projects that will further pollute the land and air.
Industry, government pushed to abolish Aboriginal title at issue in Wet’suwet’en stand-off, docs reveal
By Martin Lukacs and Shiri Pasternak The Narwhal February 7 2020
The B.C. government and corporate lobbyists representing major resource industries sought the “surrender” of First Nations land rights immediately following the Delgamuukw decision, a precedent-setting legal ruling that established Aboriginal title to unceded land, according to Freedom of Information (FOI) documents obtained by The Narwhal.
The records, from B.C.’s Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, provide a glimpse for the first time of a corporate lobbying effort urging government to push First Nations to surrender their newly recognized title rights through modern treaties to achieve “certainty” for commercial interests.
Journalists’ association calls out RCMP interference with media rights
CAJ news release February 8 2020
The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) continues to receive reports that RCMP officers are blocking media from bearing witness to police actions as they implement an injunction and arrest Wet’suwet’en people.
“All week the RCMP have been unnecessarily threatening reporters who are simply trying to perform their democratic duties,” said CAJ president Karyn Pugliese.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-who-speaks-for-the-wetsuweten-people-making-sense-of-the-coastal/
This article by Jody Wilson-Raybould helps clarify some of the background to this issue and what will be necessary to move forward. I found it helpful.
Thanks Anne.
Excellent article!
The real issue is to resolve the ambiguity of indigenous governance, that is , the competing powers of Indian Act Band Councils and traditional powers. The federal government is largely at fault for the current impasse because they have frustrated any efforts to resolve this issue largely because corporate elites don’t want any real change in powers that might retard exploitation of indigenous resources.
I fully agree with you Don. The Indian Act should have been abolished a long time ago! First Nation band councils are controlled by the federal government instead of being independent. That’s why they’re not opposed to the Coastal Gas Link’s proposed pipeline.
The Wet’suwet’en traditional hereditary chiefs are standing up to the Government of Canada to protect their land, and get them to recognize the Wet’suwet’en Peoples’ Aboriginal title to their unceded territories as described in the Delgamuukw decision by the Supreme Court of Canada.
PM Trudeau needs to follow through with FN Reconciliation and end Colonialism like he promised.