Coastal GasLink on Friday ended civil lawsuits against two journalists covering a protest opposing the construction of a gas pipeline on Indigenous land in northern British Columbia.
Photojournalist Amber Bracken and documentary filmmaker Michael Toledano were arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on November 19 during a demonstration against the proposed pipeline in Wet’suwet’en territory.
The Canadian Association of Journalists (ACJ), which had previously criticized the arrests of Mr. Toledano and Ms. Bracken, welcomed the dropping of the prosecution.
“The surprise to see these charges dropped on a Friday before Christmas is undoubtedly puzzling, it is certainly an important moment for press freedom in Canada, but the work continues,” said the president of the ‘ACJ Brent Jolly.
At the time of their arrest, the RCMP were following Ms. Bracken and Mr. Toledano, in a database of police investigations, The Narwhal reported.
The media for which Amber Bracken was on a mission when she was arrested also denounced that “the RCMP had seized the recording devices and the professional equipment of the two journalists, actions which prevented the public from witnessing the behavior. police officers during the raid where more than ten defenders of the land were also arrested ”.
The Coastal GasLink pipeline, some 670 km long, is to transport natural gas from Alberta to the British Columbia coast for export. However, the infrastructure crosses traditional indigenous territories, where part of the population is opposed to the project.
Since 2020, numerous demonstrations and rail blockades have taken place in the country in protest against the construction of this gas pipeline.
In early December, demonstrators blocked the Canadian National railway line in Saint-Lambert to support the Indigenous Wet’suwet’en nation in their struggle.