2020 Canadian pipeline and railway protests

The Wetʼsuwetʼen are an Indigenous nation made up of five clans including the: Gilseyhu (Big Frog), Laksilyu (Small Frog), Gitdumden (Wolf/Bear), Laksamshu (Fireweed) and the Tsayu (Beaver Clan).[6] These five clans' territory lies in the central western portion of British Columbia. The language spoken by the Wetʼsuwetʼen people is Babine-Witsuwitʼen, one of the Athabaskan languages.[7] Their traditional government, predating Confederation, is a system of chiefs representing each clan, called the hereditary chiefs. The chiefs have been represented by the non-profit Office of the Wetsuweten since 1994, before having a joint office with the Gitxsan.[8][9] The elected band councils were created by order of the Government of Canada, under the Indian Act, to govern the reserves put in place, of which the Wetʼsuwetʼen have several.

According to hereditary chief Na’Moks (John Ridsdale), "it's the hereditary chiefs' duty to protect the territory".[10] According to Na’Moks, the pipeline "is going along rivers, it will go over rivers and even in some instances, it will go under. One hundred and ninety kilometres of the proposed route will run through our territory. It threatens our water, our salmon, and our rights, our title, our jurisdiction".[10] The pipeline would also go through areas of cultural significance to the Wetʼsuwetʼen.[11]

In 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada issued the Delgamuukw-Gisdayʼwa decision, which ruled that aboriginal title exists as an exclusive territorial right for indigenous people.[4][11] The ruling was made in an appeal of a Supreme Court of British Columbia decision, which had ruled against recognition of Wetʼsuwetʼen and Gitxsan land rights. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a new trial was warranted, but encouraged a negotiated settlement.[4] The Wetʼsuwetʼen and Gitxsan then entered the treaty process with the BC government. However, the BC government's position that the Nations would only receive 4 to 6 per cent of their territory was unacceptable and the nations walked away from the process. Hence, the boundaries of the Wetʼsuwetʼen and Gitxsan nations' traditional territories are not yet recognized in Canadian law. In the absence of an agreement over aboriginal title and rights, the hereditary chiefs' position is that their full consent is required for any energy or resource projects within their territory, and the CGL does not have their consent.[12] The rights and title issue has also been the basis for several solidarity protests, which have also objected to the actions and presence of the RCMP within the Wetʼsuwetʼen traditional territory (known in Babine-Witsuwitʼen as yintah).[13]

A banner at Unistʼotʼen camp in 2012

Beginning in 2010, the Wetʼsuwetʼen hereditary chiefs and their supporters set up barricades and checkpoints along the Morice West Forest Service Road that provides access to the construction of pipeline projects that threatened their territory, originally the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines, and later also Coastal GasLink (planning for which began in 2012). The largest of those camps is Unistʼotʼen Camp, directly in the path of the pipeline, established in 2010 as a checkpoint, and has since added a healing centre.[14]

After TC Energy received its partners' go-ahead in November, it appealed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia to grant an injunction to stop the blockade of its intended route through the Wetʼsuwetʼen territory. A temporary injunction was issued in December by BC Supreme Court Judge Marguerite Church to allow CGL pre-construction work.[15]

On January 7, the RCMP conducted a raid to enforce TC Energy's injunction, removing the barricades on the Morice Forest Service Road and arresting 14 of the Wetʼsuwetʼen land defenders.[16] The RCMP faced criticism from protesters for the amount of force used in the bloodless raid, including police snipers. The RCMP set up a continuous presence along the road, setting up a local detachment called the Community Industry Safety Office.[17] The Wetʼsuwetʼen remained in place along the road, but did not make any further efforts to disrupt the CGL pre-construction work.[16]

In December, TC Energy prepared to start construction in the Wetʼsuwetʼen territory. It applied for an extension of the injunction order as the land defenders had resumed blockading access after the pre-construction work was done. This injunction was extended by Judge Church of the BC Supreme Court on December 31. The extension included an order authorizing the RCMP to enforce the injunction.[18] In her decision, Church stated: "There is a public interest in upholding the rule of law and restraining illegal behaviour and protecting of the right of the public, including the plaintiff, to access on Crown roads," and "the defendants may genuinely believe in their rights under indigenous law to prevent the plaintiff from entering Dark House territory, but the law does not recognize any right to blockade and obstruct the plaintiff from pursuing lawfully authorized activities." In a public statement, the Wetʼsuwetʼen chief rejected the decision.[19]

On January 1, after rejecting the injunction, the hereditary chiefs ordered the eviction of the RCMP and Coastal GasLink personnel from the Wetʼsuwetʼen territory.[20]

On January 30, the RCMP announced that they would stand down while the hereditary chiefs and the province met to discuss and try to come to an agreement.[21] On February 3, the Office of the Wetʼsuwetʼen asked for a judicial review of the environmental approval for the pipeline.[22] All parties issued statements on February 4, 2020 that the talks had broken down.[23]

On February 6, the RCMP began removing the blockades on Wetʼsuwetʼen territory, arresting 28 land defenders at camps along the route between February 6 and 9.[24] All were released within two days.[25] The RCMP also detained several reporters and were accused of interfering with the freedom of the press.[14][26] Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs Grand Chief Stewart Phillip stated that "we are in absolute outrage and a state of painful anguish as we witness the Wetʼsuwetʼen people having their title and rights brutally trampled on and their right to self-determination denied."[27] During the enforcement action by the RCMP, a large amount of advanced equipment was used, including heavily armed tactical teams, division liaison personnel, regular uniformed officers, canine units, helicopters, drones and snowmobiles, according to CBC News.[28]

On February 11, the RCMP announced that the road to the construction site was cleared[29] and TC Energy announced that work would resume the following Monday.[30] After the hereditary chiefs made it a condition for talks with government, the RCMP closed their local office and moved to their detachment in Houston on February 22.[31]

Throughout February and March, solidarity protests and blockades were held across the world. Most in-person actions were halted in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but online solidarity rallies continued.

On June 5, the BC Prosecution Service issued a statement saying that criminal contempt charges for 22 members of the Wetʼsuwetʼen Nation and their supporters would not be pursued. Additionally, Coastal GasLink issued a statement that they would not pursue civil contempt charges against the protesters.[32]

On February 27, 2020 meetings began between the hereditary chiefs and the Canadian and BC governments, represented by Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett and BC Indigenous Relations Minister Scott Fraser. The meetings were planned to last two days. They took place in Smithers, British Columbia. For the duration of those two days, the RCMP agreed to stop all patrols on the Morice West Forest Service Road and to shut down their mobile detachment (CISO) in the area. In addition, Coastal GasLink agreed to suspend operations in the territory during the talks.[33][34] RCMP and CGL work resumed on the territory once the meetings were complete.[35]

On March 1, after three days of meetings, the Canadian Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister, the BC Indigenous Relations Minister and representatives of the Wetʼsuwetʼen, including hereditary chiefs and matriarchs announced a proposed agreement to address the Wetʼsuwetʼen land rights, title and a protocol for addressing any future projects impacting on their territory, in the form of a memorandum of understanding (MOU). Specific details of the agreement were not immediately released, because the MOU had to first be seen and ratified by the broader Wetʼsuwetʼen nation.[36] However, it was made clear by all parties to the discussions that the agreement did not concern the Coastal GasLink Pipeline project.

On March 10, a statement was released by Theresa Tait-Day, president and one of three founders of the Wetʼsuwetʼen Matrilineal Coalition (WMC), who was stripped of the subchief name Wiʼhaliʼyte in the mid-2010s over her support of the pipeline project and suspected conflict of interest.[37] Tait-Day stated that the proposed agreement made on March 1 was not inclusive of the entire community, saying "the government has legitimized the meeting with the five [sic] hereditary chiefs and left out their entire community. We can not be dictated to by a group of five guys [sic]."[38] According to Tait-Day, "over 80 per cent of the people in our community said they wanted LNG [First Nations LNG Alliance] to proceed."[38]

Meetings were held among the individual clans of the Wetʼsuwetʼen throughout March.[39] The memorandum of understanding was ratified by the attendees of one meeting of the Laksilyu (Small Frog Clan).[40] They held a meeting via Zoom on April 22.[41] According to the hereditary chiefs, the Gilseyhu (Big Frog Clan) met once and endorsed the MOU, as did the Laksamshu (Fireweed and Owl Clan) and the Tsayu (Beaver Clan) after two meetings.[41] The Gitdumden (Wolf and Bear Clan) met twice, but their third meeting (scheduled for March 16) was cancelled due to a death in the community.[41]

A planned all-clans meeting on March 19 was cancelled, for a variety of factors including concerns among the hereditary chiefs over the spread of COVID-19 and death in the community (unrelated to COVID-19).[41][42][43][44]

On April 30, the hereditary chiefs made a joint statement with the provincial and federal governments that all five clans had agreed to ratify the MOU after having reviewed and discussed it in the prior weeks.[45] However, the elected chiefs of five Wetʼsuwetʼen band governments (Nee Tahi Buhn Indian Band, Skin Tyee Nation, Ts'il Kaz Koh First Nation, Wetʼsuwetʼen First Nation, and Witset First Nation) released their own joint statement in response the following day, calling on the agreement to be withdrawn, saying they weren't consulted properly.[46] A further statement released on May 11 called once again for the agreement to be withdrawn so the elected governments could be consulted properly, and further calling for Minister Bennett to resign. The May 11 statement was not signed by Chief Sandra George of Witset or Chief Cynthia Joseph of Hagwilget.[47]

The draft agreement was finally distributed to the elected band councils on May 7, to all other Wetʼsuwetʼen the following day, and finally it was published on the Office of the Wetʼsuwetʼen website on May 12.[41][48]

The MOU was signed by hereditary chiefs, Minister Bennett, and Minister Fraser on May 14, 2020, in a virtual ceremony via Zoom. The memorandum does not address the Coastal GasLink Pipeline project, nor does it alter Wetʼsuwetʼen rights and title.[41] The MOU states that the Canadian and British Columbian governments recognize that those rights and title are held under the Wetʼsuwetʼen's own system of governance, and commits Canada and BC to a three-month process to craft a formal Affirmation Agreement that confirm aboriginal title as a legal right. It also establishes a twelve-month timeline for negotiation on jurisdiction including over land-use planning, resources, water, wildlife, fish, and child and family wellness.[49] Further, it acknowledges that reunification of the rift between the hereditary leadership and the elected band councils is an essential part of the implementation of the MOU.[41][49][50]

On October 1, 2020, an ongoing hearing began in the BC Supreme Court. The Office of the Wet’suwet’en is requesting that the Court reject the province's decision to extend CGL's environmental certificate for five years. Lawyers for the Office of the Wet’suwet’en cited the lack of meaningful accounting for the Final report on Missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG), published in June 2019, as well as the pipeline company's long history of non-compliance with the Environmental Assessment Office's own conditions and standards. The EAO's position is that there is no basis for judiciary review of their decision, and arguments from lawyers representing CGL have yet to be heard in full, with the hearing having been expected to resume October 16.[51][52][53] As of October 21, a judicial review was still pending.[28]

Map of the Canadian National Railway system. Much of the network east of Toronto was temporarily shut down on February 13 due to protests and blockades in eastern Canada.

Other First Nations, activists and other supporters of the Wetʼsuwetʼen hereditary chiefs targeted railway lines for their demonstrations of solidarity. Near Belleville, Ontario, members of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte First Nation began a blockade of the Canadian National Railway rail line just north of Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory on February 6, 2020,[83] causing Via Rail to cancel trains on their Toronto–Montreal and Toronto-Ottawa routes.[84][85][86] The line is critical to the CNR network in Eastern Canada as CNR has no other east–west rail lines through Eastern Ontario. However, in order to mitigate major economic disruption, CNR brokered a "workaround" agreement with Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) to share tracks in order to avoid the Mohawk protesters.[87]

Other protests blocking rail lines halted service on Via Rail's Prince Rupert and Prince George lines, running on CNR tracks.[84][88] Protests on the CNR line west of Winnipeg additionally blocked the Canadian, the passenger rail route operated by VIA Rail from Vancouver to Toronto.[89] Protests disrupted multiple GO Transit rail services in Toronto, Hamilton and Exo's Candiac line in Montreal.[90][84][88] CPR rail lines were also disrupted in downtown Toronto and south of Montreal.[89] The Société du Chemin de fer de la Gaspésie (SCFG) freight railway between Gaspé and Matapedia was blockaded on February 10 by members of the Listuguj Miꞌgmaq First Nation.[91]

Starting on February 6, Via Rail announced passenger train cancellations on a day-to-day basis. Trains on the Toronto-Ottawa and Toronto-Montreal routes were cancelled first. Prince George-Prince Rupert service was suspended on February 11. Canadian National Railway (CNR) rail freight traffic was also halted along these lines. Other Canadian routes were intermittently disrupted as well.[89]

On February 13, CNR shut down its rail lines east of Toronto.[89] On the same day Via Rail, which rents these lines for its passenger service, announced it would be shutting down its entire network, with the exception of the Sudbury–White River train line and the Winnipeg–Churchill train between Churchill and The Pas, until further notice.[92][93][94]

Amtrak international service from New York City to Toronto and Montreal was not affected. Amtrak rail service between Seattle and Vancouver on BNSF Railway Company lines was intermittently blocked; Amtrak's bus operation over the same route was not affected.[95]

CNR issued multiple injunctions against the protesters, including several separate injunctions against the Mohawk protesters near Belleville. The Ontario Provincial Police decided not to act immediately on the injunctions.[96]

The rail blockade of Prince Rupert was lifted on February 14.[89] On February 18, VIA announced partial restoration of passenger service starting February 20, between Ottawa and Quebec City.[97] Via later announced it would resume some south-western Ontario routes.[98] Trans-Canada passenger service was not restored.

On February 19, a group of about 20 protesters from a group called "Cuzzins for Wetʼsuwetʼen" erected a blockade on a CN rail line in west Edmonton, Alberta. CN obtained a court injunction, and less than twelve hours after the blockade began, it was dismantled by counter-protesters after a CN legal representative arrived to serve the injunction.[99]

On February 19, activists set up a blockade on the Mont-Saint-Hilaire rail line in Saint-Lambert, Quebec, promising to stay until the RCMP leaves the disputed zone in Wetʼsuwetʼen territory.[100] The blockade caused Via Rail to postpone resuming service between Montreal and Quebec City. The Mont-Saint-Hilaire rail line was cleared on February 21, 2019 after Quebec Police arrived to enforce a CNR injunction.[101]

On February 20, another blockade of CPR tracks sprang up between Kamloops and Chase in British Columbia. The protesters left voluntarily on February 21, after the RCMP offered to leave the Wetʼsuwetʼen land. The group vowed to return in four days if a dialogue was not started between the prime minister and the hereditary chiefs.[102] This was followed by CPR writing an open letter to Prime Minister Trudeau, asking him to speak directly with the hereditary chiefs.[102] The Mont-Saint-Hilaire rail line was cleared on February 21, 2020 after Quebec Police arrived to enforce a CNR injunction.[103]

On March 5, the rail blockades in Kahnawake and the Gaspé Peninsula were removed peacefully by the First Nations involved.[104]

In early March, Canada's medical officer had advised against gatherings, as part of the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and by the second week of March, most blockades had come down. Despite the widespread closures in response to the pandemic, CGL is continuing construction in the disputed territory. Pipeline opponents launched a letter-writing campaign urging the company to stop on March 21.[105]

Businesses attacked by protesters, such as CN Rail, have filed lawsuits against protesters to recover damages.[106]

Mohawk protesters by the level crossing at Wyman Road in Tyendinaga. This blockade along a critical rail line led to CNR shutting down its network in eastern Canada.

The blockades led to the shutdown of CNR's Eastern Canadian network, causing a complete halt of freight traffic from Halifax west to Toronto.[89] On February 19, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters estimated that CA$425 million in goods were being stranded each day of the shutdown.[107] An executive of the Business Council of Canada called the shutdown "potentially a catastrophe for the economy" and said that rail "is the backbone of infrastructure in this country."[108]

Due to a poor growing season which resulted in an unusually late harvest just before Christmas, Canadian wheat and barley shipments were already in a backlog and were further impacted by the rail blockades.[109] Spring farm supplies such as fertilizer were also delayed by the rail shutdown.[110] Canadian grain farmers have previously advocated to have rail transport declared an essential service.[109] Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Mary Robinson warned of "huge financial consequences" as farmers do not get paid until products are delivered to the market.[111]

Dennis Darby, president and CEO of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association, states that Canadian manufacturers rely on 4,500 rail cars per day, which represent both supply chain and delivery of finished products. Many of these products are too large or bulky to be shipped by other means. The total value of these deliveries amounts to CA$200 billion annually.[112] Chemicals trade group Responsible Distribution Canada warned of shortages of chlorine to purify drinking water.[111] Supply chains for chlorine, jet fuel and de-icing fluid all rely on rail transport: "You can't put it in a truck and send it down the 401" said an executive of the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada.[108] Mining, which accounted for 20% of Canada's 2018 exports, also moves "most" of its output by rail.[108] By February 21, four thousand containers reportedly sat on the docks of Montreal waiting for transport and no grain had arrived for shipment at the port. In Halifax, the Atlantic Container Line has diverted to New York and Baltimore. In Vancouver, goods waiting to be shipped east led to a backlog of 50 ships waiting to be unloaded.[113]

The disruption of propane rail shipments was expected to lead to shortages and rationing,[114] during a time when many communities were experiencing extremely cold weather.[115] In Atlantic Canada, at the end of the propane supply line, reserves fell to a five-day supply by February 14.[112] Superior Propane, Canada's largest supplier, rationed distribution in Atlantic Canada.[113]

SCFG laid off five of its 30 employees on February 14.[91] On February 18, CNR laid off 450 employees for reasons related to the pipeline disruptions; the company has stated that as many as 6,000 of its 24,000 employees could be laid off.[116][117] On February 19, Via Rail announced temporary layoffs of up to 1,000 people due to the blockades.[118] By the first week of March, the majority of the laid-off Via Rail employees and all of the affected CNR employees were recalled.[119][120]

On March 13, Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux released a report that the protests would leave "a minimal dent in the pace of economic growth", estimating that the blockades would reduce Canadian economic growth by 0.2% for the first quarter of 2020.[121] For the whole year, the expectation was for the GDP to fall by CA$275 million , about 0.01% of the total GDP, which Giroux referred to as "a blip", despite the warnings by businesses of shortages, referred to by the PBO as "overblown".[87] The PBO said that the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic would likely have a greater impact on the economy.[121]

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