Trudeau urges protesters to take down Wet'suwet'en solidarity rail blockades

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said ongoing rail blockades in support of a group of Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs fighting a pipeline in northern BC need to come down.

“Injunctions must be obeyed, barricades must come down,” he told reporters Friday. He added that police must look to see this happen peacefully.

Across Canada, protesters have blocked major roads and railways in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs in northern BC. The hereditary chiefs and their supporters have been fighting the construction of a Coastal GasLink pipeline that would cross their traditional territory.

• See also:
  • “What is happening here is anarchy”: Kenney addresses rail blockade in Edmonton
  • RCMP could relocate to BC town if Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs keep pipeline path clear
  • Wet’suwet’en solidarity demonstrations continue in Kitsilano and at UBC

Earlier this month, RCMP arrested about 30 “land defenders” while enforcing an injunction on behalf of Coastal GasLink. That angered supporters of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs, who said they were simply asserting their title to land that is rightfully theirs.

Now, Trudeau is calling for those solidarity demonstrations to end so that trains carrying people and goods can continue moving around the country.

“We must continue on this path of reconciliation. It is not, and will never be, easy,” Trudeau said.

This week, several supporters of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs have declared the concept of reconciliation dead, because RCMP and governments ignored their wishes and moved in to arrest people occupying the land.

 

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