Hereditary Chief Na’Moks of the Wet’suwet’en Nation traveled from his homeland in British Columbia to Montreal to raise awareness on Saturday about the impact of the Coastal GasLink pipeline project on the thousands of members of this community, whose territorial rights would be violated. Several of them have also been the subject of strong arrests by officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in recent years, he lamented.
The crossing of the gas pipeline of more than six billion dollars, the construction of which has been ongoing since 2019, has raised in recent years important mobilizations which culminated in the first months of the year 2020 with a major railway blockade which then hit the headlines across the country, including in Quebec.
The file was then overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the mobilization has since continued on the Wet’suwet’en territory of 22,000 km2, as has the construction of the gas pipeline, which could be completed next year. . Activists against this project deplore in particular a violation of Aboriginal land rights as well as the risk that this project will pollute a source of drinking water on Wet’suwet’en territory, in British Columbia.
But the government of this province and that of federal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau do not take into account their concerns about this project, to which Ottawa has also granted its financial support, deplored Chief Na’Moks. The latter delivered a conference in English on Saturday afternoon in front of a full house at the Maison du développement durable, in the city center, as part of an event organized by Amnesty International. Members of the Atikamekw community of Manawan were among the dozens of people who traveled for the occasion.
“This Saturday, the RCMP is going to make another raid as I speak to you,” immediately launched Chief Na’Moks, who was wearing traditional clothes. He interrupted his speech to present a disturbing video showing a series of sometimes abrupt arrests carried out by RCMP officers on Wet’suwet’en territory, where many activists tried to prevent the Coastal construction site GasLink to damage this territory rich in biodiversity and culture.
“People risked their lives protesting […] It should never happen, anywhere in the world, and especially not in Canada,” said the chef, who is heavy on his heart.
“The industry has no heart, elected officials have no heart and the behavior of RCMP officers is unacceptable,” continued the hereditary chief in a vibrant plea. If he continues to oppose this project, at all costs, it is precisely to ensure “the conservation of our culture and our territory”, he underlined.
However, “it’s as if we did not exist” for the various levels of government and the fossil fuel industry, lamented the hereditary chief, who deplores that he and his counterparts within the Wet’suwet’en territory were not sufficiently consulted on this 670 km gas pipeline project. “It was rather with the end of their gun that they consulted us,” he said.
“All this to say that communities are not considered in decisions that affect them now and in the years to come. That’s what’s terrible, ”also raised Colette Lelièvre, who is responsible for campaigns for Amnesty International. The community is also concerned about the environmental repercussions of this gas pipeline project. “For us, this is an issue of respect for Indigenous rights and it is also an issue of climate justice. »
A peaceful mobilization
Wet’suwet’en hereditary chief Na’Moks also lamented that the Royal Bank of Canada is contributing hundreds of millions of dollars in funding. However, he condemned the acts of vandalism which the current leader of the financial institution Michael Fortier was allegedly targeted earlier this week by activists opposed to the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline.
“We have always asked as leaders [héréditaires] to keep this mobilization peaceful,” he said. “I can’t control people’s actions, but I know what we’ve said is that we’re not going to put ourselves on the same level as them. They are the criminals,” he added, referring to the financial institutions that fund this controversial project.