Hundreds of protesters supporting Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs in their opposition to a Coastal GasLink natural-gas pipeline going through their territory in northern B.C. briefly shut down Douglas Street on Friday morning as they marched to the legislature.
Some have indicated they will be staying through the weekend, said spokeswoman Nikki Sanchez.
A number had already spent Thursday night in the central archway on the legislature steps, which remained piled high with bedding and supplies on Friday. Wood was burning in a metal fire pit.
Also on Friday, about 20 protesters staged a sit-in the foyer at the RBC Royal Bank on Douglas Street in the late morning. The bank was closed.
The marchers began the day by gathering at Centennial Square before heading onto Douglas. A portion of the crowd broke off by about 10 a.m. and blocked the intersection of Government and Belleville streets.
Kolin Sutherland-Wilson of the Gitxsan Nation, one of those who spent Thursday night at the legislature, said he wasn’t certain how long the group would stay in the legislative precinct.
“It’s not our intention to stay here indefinitely, but we are here as a part of a national-scale movement by Indigenous youth for Wet’suwet’en,” said the 26-year-old.
Morgan Mowatt, a 30-year-old PhD student at the University of Victoria and also a member of the Gitxsan Nation, said the intent of the Friday rally was to show the urgency of upholding the rights of the Wet’suwet’en people.
“What we’re asking for is that the B.C. government and Canadian government meet the demands of the hereditary chiefs,” she said. “So we’re just here in solidarity. We’re not an organized group. We come together as individuals to support the Wet’suwet’en as young, Indigenous people.
“We’re here in peaceful action out of love.”
Mowatt described the participants as “land defenders,” and said support is spreading. “I do think the movement is picking up,” she said. “We’re seeing a tonne of action across Canada in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en. “And it’s because what happens on Wet’suwet’en territory sets a precedent for the rest of us.”
She said the group has had backing from Victoria NDP MP Laurel Collins, but would like to hear from more politicians.
Coastal GasLink president David Pfeiffer has said the company has support from all 20 elected Indigenous governments along the pipeline path and would move forward with its construction schedule.
Supporters of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs previously held a rally at the legislature, blocked the Swartz Bay ferry terminal and occupied the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources building on Blanshard Street.
On Friday, anti-pipeline supporters in eastern Canada shut down passenger and freight train travel between Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. The protest started Thursday at a CN Rail line on Tyendinaga Mohawk territory, where a road intersects with rail tracks about 20 kilometres east of Belleville and 60 kilometres west of Kingston.
Via Rail passenger service on the Ottawa/Montreal-to-Toronto and Toronto-to-Ottawa/Montreal routes were cancelled. Passengers on board any of the trains blocked en route Thursday were advised to either get off at the station where the train stopped or return to their station of origin.
CN trains were similarly affected. Facebook messages associated with the protest said the tracks would reopen when the RCMP leave Wet’suwet’en territory.
Several people were arrested Thursday on the First Nation’s traditional territory near Houston, as RCMP officers enforced a court injunction.
— With files from the Vancouver Sun and The Canadian Press
