Photo: Yintah Access, Media Centre (used by permission)

Canada must stop criminalizing Indigenous land defenders who are protecting Wet’suwet’en territory from the construction of a gas pipeline, and their right to decide what happens on their ancestral land.

The Wet’suwet’en Nation has long opposed the construction of a fossil fuel pipeline through its ancestral territory. Coastal GasLink (CGL) and Canadian authorities are building it anyway, without the free, prior and informed consent of the Nation’s Hereditary Chiefs. 

The pipeline has already caused environmental destruction and cut the Wet’suwet’en people off from their ancestral territory. They have been unable to continue traditional practices such as hunting and fishing, because the forest has been damaged by construction sites and activities. 

Access to much of the land is restricted except for the pipeline company, its private security company, and the police. When Wet’suwet’en people go out on to their own land, they are intimidated, harassed and unlawfully surveilled. Their cabins have been burned down, their camps raided, their belongings confiscated, and Wet’suwet’en women have been harassed.  

Wet’suwet’en land defenders and their allies who have acted to protect the territory and stop the pipeline have been unlawfully surveilled, intimidated, and arrested. Now, several land defenders are facing criminal charges and prison time. 

The Wet’suwet’en Nation has the right to decide what forms of economic development take place on its ancestral lands with its free, prior and informed consent. They have the right to live in safety, free from surveillance, harassment, criminalization, and gender-based violence. Amnesty International’s research has determined that the consultation process regarding the CGL pipeline was flawed and not in line with international human rights laws and standards. The continued construction of the pipeline is unlawful.

The government of British Columbia must immediately:

•    Stop the criminalization of Wet’suwet’en and other Indigenous land defenders, including dropping the criminal contempt charges against land defenders who are awaiting trial.
•    Halt the harassment, intimidation and unlawful surveillance of Wet’suwet’en land defenders.
•    Ensure that injunctions are not used to infringe the human rights of Indigenous Peoples, including forcibly removing them from their territories.
•    Stop pursuing projects on Indigenous territories without consulting with Indigenous Peoples in a way that complies with international human rights laws and standards.

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Call on B.C. Premier David Eby and Attorney General Niki Sharma to stop the criminalization of Wet’suwet’en land defenders and ensure that injunctions are not used to infringe the human rights of Indigenous Peoples.