On Friday, January 24, join us in visiting the main RCMP office and demand that they stand down and leave unceded Wet’suwet’en territory immediately!
We will rally outside of the RCMP office in response to the Wet’suwet’en nation’s call for solidarity actions from all communities that support them in their struggle against the CGL natural gas pipeline.
Details:
Meet at 12:30pm at Christie Pitts park (south-east corner of park, across from TTC station) where we will have a rented bus to take us all to the regional RCMP office and back.
Have a car? Offer a ride to some friends! You can either meet us at Christie Pitts and caravan, or go directly to the final location which we’ll share closer to the date.
Bring warm clothes, noisemakers, and water bottles! Food and warm drinks will be provided!
Background:
Over the past year RCMP has had a presence on unceded Wet’suwet’en territory in violation of Wet’suwet’en law. Recently, the RCMP have come under additional scrutiny for the “lethal overwatch” of Indigenous land defenders during the January 2019 raid on Wet’suwet’en territory. This rally will pressure the RCMP to withdraw their forces from the site of a check-point set up by the Gidimt’en clan of the Wet’suwet’en nation.
The RCMP were created to control Indigenous peoples using violence to enforce the pass system and most oppressive sections of the Indian Act. As a continuation of this colonial legacy, the RCMP are restricting Wet’suwet’en citizens from accessing their lands. The RCMP are demanding ID from anyone attempting to enter the territory, limiting supplies from entering the territory, and claiming that individuals leaving the territory will be detained. These actions constitue a violation of Wet’suwet’en law as well as a violation of Indigenous rights enshrined in Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution.
The RCMP continue to enforce Canadian law and industry on traditional Wet’suwet’en Territory, under the orders of the BC and Canadian governments, who have no jurisdiction of Wet’suwet’en territory. From a moral standpoint, it is completely unconscionable that Canadian courts sanction the RCMP’s invasion of an Indigenous nation to usher in a pipeline while we all face climate crisis.
We demand that:
– The RCMP stand down and leave Wet’suwet’en territory immediately.
– The remote detachment established by the RCMP be immediately removed.
– No force or lethal weapons be used against Wet’suwet’en people and their supporters.
– The RCMP refrain from blocking access to the territory for Wet’suwet’en people and their guests.
– The Wet’suwet’en be enabled to continue to live on their land free of interference from foreign governments, including Canada.
