Protests are continuing across the country in support of a protest in northern British Columbia led by hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation. One of those protests occurred in Ottawa on Feb. 7. On that day, protesters marched downtown. The dispute began Dec. 31, when B.C.’s Supreme Court ruled against the hereditary chiefs in their dispute over the Coastal GasLink Pipeline . Today there is a special focus on a blockade of Via Rail tracks by members of the Tyendinaga Mohawk First Nation near Belleville, Ont.
Approximately 200 Wet’suwet’en supporters marched through downtown Ottawa Feb. 7 to protest the Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline project. The protest was spurred on by an RCMP action to remove protesters in B.C. [Photo © Ciara Hain] Supporters gathered in front of Parliament’s visitors’ centre before their three-hour march. Leaders of the protest played drums and gave rousing speeches to the crowd before taking to the streets. [Photo © Anthony Walsh] Organizers handed out informational pamphlets to let onlookers know of the pipeline project’s alleged dangers. According to the pamphlets, the pipeline would carry fracked methane gas which could pollute water tables and cause earth tremors. [Photo © Anthony Walsh] Protesters are also concerned the federal police force overstepped legal boundaries by raiding the Wet’suwet’en camps. On Feb. 6, tactical units from the RCMP raided and arrested six people from an access point in northern B.C., while preventing journalists from photographing the officers. For more information on these arrests, click here . [Photo © Ciara Hain] Sophia Sidarous is a member of the Metepenagiag Mi’kmaq Nation in New Brunswick. “The colours of black and red signify that we’re sombre and we’re in mourning, and I’m in mourning for the Wet’suwet’en right now,” Sidarous said. [Photo © Leila El Shennawy] Protesters chanted, “Water is life, water is sacred. Stop the pipeline, stop the hatred!” as they marched through downtown. [Photo © Anthony Walsh] Timothy Kitz is a member of Indigenous Solidarity Ottawa, one of the groups which organized the protest. Kitz says the protest is important because Canadians live on primarily stolen ground. He says it is unjust for the Canadian government to steal more land for the CGL pipeline. [Photo © Anthony Walsh] Supporters and members of the Wet’suwet’en Nation say they fear the 670-km natural gas pipeline will destroy their land and ways of life. [Photo © Ciara Hain] Protesters make their way down O’Connor St. from Wellington St. [Photo © Leila El Shennawy] RCMP officers looked on as marchers chanted “RCMP has got to go.” [Photo © Ciara Hain] Volunteers directed traffic at the intersection of Metcalfe and Queen. [Photo © Leila El Shennawy] The protestors turned onto O’Connor Street, before forming a circle on Slater and Metcalfe Street and ending at the Extinction Rebellion camp in front of the National War Memorial. [Photo © Leila El Shennawy]
