wellofloneliness:

allthecanadianpolitics:

Federal officials have long expected a nationwide fallout of protests from an eventual RCMP action against the Wet'suwet'en nation over the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline, internal documents show.

Public Safety Canada’s Government Operations Centre (GOC) prepared a risk assessment in 2015 for an expected RCMP action on a camp set up by the Unist'ot'en, a Wet'suwet'en house group, to block TransCanada’s Coastal GasLink pipeline.  

The GOC is the 24-7 federal information nerve centre for national-scale emergency response.

The risk assessment was obtained by Shiri Pasternak, research director for the Yellowhead Institute at Ryerson University, through the Access to Information Act.

The risk assessment said a raid on the Unist'ot'en camp would likely trigger “a broader series of protests or blockades nationwide.”

The assessment said the “severity” of these events were “assessed as low” noting that they “are not highly functional due to a lack of the organization’s ability to garner the support of large groups.”

The document concluded that the “risk to the national interest” of an RCMP action on the Unist'ot'en camp was “medium-low” and it was unlikely federal resources would be needed to help British Columbia deal with the situation — the RCMP is contracted by the province to provide law enforcement.

Continue Reading.

“The Unist'ot'en blockade camp is the ideological and physical focal point of Aboriginal resistance to resources extraction projects.”

Pasternak, who is also a criminology professor and author, said the document reveals that Canadian law enforcement authorities believe Indigenous rights pose a risk to resource extraction.

“Containing those rights has become a major imperative of the Canadian state and of the provinces,” said Pasternak.

“In order to do so, they need to de-legitimize the claims of Indigenous people.”

(via allthecanadianpolitics)

allthecanadianpolitics:

Premier Doug Ford loves to boast about how his Conservative government is moving swiftly to end “hallway medicine” and adequately fund health care in Ontario.

Indeed, Ford said earlier this week in a letter to Ontario’s 68,000 public servants that he has been “moving forward at a lightning pace” to deal with hospital overcrowding.

He also told the bureaucrats that Health Minister Christine Elliott is working hard to protect the public health-care system, adding his government “will continue to ensure necessary funding for world-class health care in Ontario.”

Secretly, though, a major multi-faceted campaign is underway inside and outside the premier’s office to develop a two-tier system of health care in Ontario, complete with specialized private clinics and the ability of some doctors to charge more than standard rates for medical procedures they perform outside of a public hospital or health centre.

The campaign is filled with closed-door meetings at such places as the Albany Club, a long-time Conservative bastion in downtown Toronto, and is funded by some of Canada’s largest corporations.

Continue Reading.

allthecanadianpolitics:

The Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs have by absolutely no means agreed to let the Coastal GasLink pipeline tear through our traditional territories.

On January 7th at the Gidumt’en access point, the RCMP used excessive and brutal force. We expected a large response, we did not expect a military level invasion where our unarmed women and elders were faced with automatic weapons and bulldozers.

While the chiefs have a responsibility to protect the land, they also have a duty to protect our land defenders. Our people faced an incredible risk of injury or death and that is not a risk we are willing to take for an interim injunction.  The agreement we made allows Coastal GasLink to temporarily work behind the Unist’ot’en gate. This will continue to be a waste of their time and resources as they will not be building a pipeline in our traditional territory.

This injunction was against Warner Naziel, Freda Huson, and Jane and John Doe as individuals.  Our efforts over the past month made the RCMP, Coastal GasLink, and the colonial governments recognize that this is not an issue of individual “protestors” but rather an issue of our house chiefs’ jurisdiction to make decisions on our own lands.  We have fought for many years to make this point by politely telling it like it is. Now, with the world watching, with our voices reverberating around the globe, we have turned the tables.

There can be no question now that this is an issue of Wet’suwet’en Rights and Title. We have demonstrated that this fight is about more than a pipeline; it is about the right of Indigenous peoples around the world to exercise Free, Prior, and Informed Consent.

We have the power to tell the governments of the world that enough is enough, rather than being plowed down by force today or tomorrow. We will use our voice to continue this battle by asserting our Rights and Title.

This week, the Canadian state laid siege to our land behind the smokescreen of “reconciliation.” We see through their attempts to further colonial violence and remove us from our territories. We remain undeterred, unafraid, and unceded.

This fight is far from over.

We paved the way with the Delgamuuk’w court case and the time has come for Delgamuuk’w II.  We have never had the financial resources to challenge the colonial court system, due to the enormous price tag of an Aboriginal title case.

Who will stand with us to make sure this pipeline does not go through?

Who will support our work to reclaim our territories and assert our right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent?

Who will insist that Indigenous peoples have the right to say NO to projects that inflict violence on our people and territories?

WAYS TO SUPPORT:

We are are humbled by the outpouring of solidarity and support for our Wet’suwet’en people. We expect RCMP aggression at any time. We are still fundraising for our legal battle in the colonial courts. Please donate.

DONATE to Unist’ot’en Camp Legal Fund

DONATE to Gidimt’en Access Point

COME TO CAMP: Supporters in the local area wanting to do something should head to KM 27 now. Meet at the junction of Morice River Road and Morice West where people are gathering to plan additional responses to this incursion.

HOST A SOLIDARITY EVENT: See the International Solidarity with Wet’suwet’en event page. We are conducting peaceful actions as sovereign peoples on our territories, and ask that all actions taken in solidarity are conducted peacefully and according to the traditional laws of other Indigenous Nations. Forcible trespass onto Wet’suwet’en territories and the removal of Indigenous peoples from their lands must be stopped. Provincial and federal governments must be confronted.

SIGN THE PLEDGE: Join thousands of organizations and individuals in signing the pledge in support of Unist’ot’en

CONTACT REPRESENTATIVES: This page has been set up so you can send an email directly to relevant Federal cabinet ministers and BC Provincial cabinet ministers calling on  the RCMP and Coastal Gas Link to respect Unist’ot’en/Giltseyu-Dark House on their unceded lands.

#unistoten #wetsuwetenstrong #thetimeisnow #wetsuweten #nopipelines #notrespass #unistotencamp