Coastal Gaslink | Rails sabotaged and banks attacked in Montreal

Railways sabotaged, banks vandalized and businesses worried. The struggle of an indigenous community in Western Canada against a gas pipeline is pushing far-left Montreal activists to multiply the outbursts, sometimes risky, on this side of the country.

Philippe Teisceira-Lessard
Press

Since the fall, anarchists have claimed responsibility for attacks on 10 Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) facilities, as well as 7 blockades or sabotages of railroads in Greater Montreal, noted Press.

The activists thus want to denounce the Coastal Gaslink gas pipeline project, which is to link the Pacific coast to the Rockies through the territories of indigenous communities. Among them, part of the Wetʼsuwetʼen community fiercely rejects the use of their ancestral lands.

RBC is part of the project’s funding structure, making it a target of far-left activists.

On October 26, anarchists bragged about smashing windows or staining six Montreal branches of the RBC with paint. “If RBC wants to piss off, RBC will suffer the consequences”, before threatening the “members of the board” of the company, of whom they have “names and addresses”. On December 30, “more than a dozen bay windows were smashed at RBC’s Quebec headquarters in downtown Montreal,” officials said.

“Very worrying” attacks

Targeted repeatedly, the financial institution said it was worried about the possibility that these attacks could cause injuries.

“Several of our branches have been the target of vandalism and as a result, extensive damage has been done to our properties,” spokesperson Jessica Assaf said by email.

She continued, “While we respect the right of all individuals to have their voices heard on important matters that concern us all, while doing so in a peaceful manner, the actions of a small number of individuals who damage human rights. property and endanger the safety of others are of great concern. ”

RBC says it is working with police to shed light on this situation.

“We melted a section of the rails”

While some attack the banks, other activists attack the railways. Reason? “The railroad was the harbinger of colonization and genocide of indigenous peoples,” says one of their press releases.

“The evening of 25 [décembre], in Montreal, we sabotaged two railroad tracks in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en land defenders “, assures an anonymous group, which describes the railway sabotage as a” holiday opportunity “. Another text describes a more elaborate action where individuals physically blocked a train by lighting tire fires on a Montreal railway line, in front of a train.

Activists have published outright detailed instructions to sabotage the rail traffic signaling system. An anarchist also said to have “melted a section of the rails” of a railway in the port of Matane at the end of November.

On other occasions, larger groups have taken over the railway right-of-way to demonstrate during the day. This was notably the case on October 9 in Pointe-Saint-Charles, in November in the Mile End and on December 4 in Saint-Lambert. In mid-November, Notre-Dame Street was blocked in the middle of the morning rush hour by fires of tires and picnic tables.

Canadian National did not want to comment on the matter because investigations are underway. Canadian Pacific had no comment at the time of this writing.

Anonymous platform

Almost all of the anarchist demands press releases have been posted on a virtual platform that has been causing headaches for authorities for years.

Montreal Counter-Information serves as a public and anonymous bulletin board for far-left activists who want to brag about their actions.

Five years ago, the police tried to flush out the site managers after the publication of a text claiming physical assault. At the time, the site was hosted by a French company that refused to disclose the names of its customers. He has since moved.

The opposition of some of the Wetʼsuwetʼen to the construction of Coastal Gaslink was in the headlines in early 2020, with numerous train blockages in solidarity with the community across the country. In March, however, the COVID-19 pandemic quickly eclipsed their struggle from the media front.

However, actions continued in an attempt to block the pipeline construction site in northern British Columbia.

Last week, the project developer told CBC News he resumed construction after “opposition groups left” a logging road near the Morice River. They had occupied it for two weeks.

The Wetʼsuwetʼen band council has given the green light to the construction of the pipeline through its territory, but another structure – the hereditary chiefs – disapproves of the decision. The opposition claims this position.