Westman chiefs’ reactions mixed on pipeline protests

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This article was published 18/02/2020 (1519 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Rail blockades over a natural gas pipeline in British Columbia received mixed reactions Tuesday from chiefs in western Manitoba.

“I don’t think they should be blocking (the rail lines),” said Waywayseecappo First Nation Chief Murray Clearsky.

“I think they should let the pipeline go through,” he said, adding it is good for the economic well-being of the First Nations people.

“If you’re so closely related to the land of your territory, then live off it,” said Clearsky, who has been chief of the elected band council for 32 years.

Waywayseecappo is located near Russell, about 150 kilometres northwest of Brandon.

Birdtail Sioux First Nation Chief Ken Chalmers said it should be up to elected councils, not hereditary chiefs, to make these kinds of decisions based on the wishes of those who elected them.

The blockades were sparked by opposition to the construction of a $6.6-billion natural gas pipeline through traditional Wet’suwet’en territories in northwestern B.C.

Protesters have blocked rail lines in several parts of Canada to show solidarity with hereditary Wet’suwet’en chiefs against the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline through their traditional territories, even though it has received approval from elected band councils.

“I look at it as a democracy and the elected chief and council out there representing all the people that are in their communities,” Chalmers said. “They’re elected by all of the people that are in their communities.”

He added, “When the community has elected leaders to find economic development and they support that, I think they should follow the community’s wishes.”

At the same time, he said, they need to take into account potential environmental impacts and make sure they are watched closely.

Birdtail Sioux is located about 135 kilometres northwest of Brandon.

But Chief Norman Bone, from the Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation near Elphinstone, about 100 kilometres north of Brandon, said blockades are sometimes the only way people can get their message across.

“The way I look at it is, in terms of worthwhile, I think it brings attention to some of the difficulties we have as First Nations,” he said. “Sometimes it’s the only avenue we have, even though we try to make some kind of arrangements. Then you have no choice but to block a road or stop the trains just to get the attention.”

Neither Gambler First Nation Chief David LeDoux nor Sioux Valley Dakota Nation Chief Jennifer Bone could be reached for their thoughts Tuesday afternoon.

Since the RCMP enforced an injunction to keep the hereditary chiefs and their supporters away from work sites, protests have shut down railways in eastern Canada and blocked traffic in multiple cities.

Around 100 demonstrators braved the bitter cold Tuesday in downtown Winnipeg to show support for the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs.

“We gather in a spirit of solidarity, of peace of love and of respect,” Eric Reder, of the Wilderness Committee, said before the lunch-hour march from the Manitoba legislature to the Law Courts building and back. “People across this country want to get the relationship with Indigenous peoples right.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday it’s past time to resolve the nationwide blockades and tensions over the pipeline project and is asking demonstrators to engage with his government to seek a solution.

Speaking in the House of Commons Tuesday morning, the prime minister warned that a path forward won’t be easily found, but said everyone has a stake in getting this right.

He said the protests are serious and a critical moment for the country.

Trudeau is under increasing pressure to end the blockades, which he says he wants to do quickly but peacefully.

Trudeau said people are upset and patience is running short.

“We need to find a solution and we need to find it now,” he said.

Trudeau said he is formally extending his government’s hand in partnership and trust to Indigenous demonstrators.

Opposition Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said Trudeau’s speech was a weak response and a failure of leadership. He called on the prime minister to denounce what Scheer called radical activists.

The response, and heckling in the House of Commons, came hours after the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations called for calm and constructive dialogue to ease tensions.

National Chief Perry Bellegarde told reporters in Ottawa that governments and industry have to give the time and space to work with the Wet’suwet’en people.

Bellegarde said he has spoken with all parties involved to find a way forward.

“We say we want to de-escalate and we want dialogue,” he said.

“And I say our people are taking action because they want to see action — and when they see positive action by the key players, when they see a commitment to real dialogue to address this difficult situation, people will respond in a positive way.”

Other chiefs speaking alongside Bellegarde on Tuesday morning suggested it may be time to bring the situation to a peaceful conclusion and bring down the blockades.

Indigenous-relations ministers both federally and in B.C. are seeking to meet leaders of British Columbia First Nations in hopes of finding a solution.

The House of Commons was to hold an emergency debate on the issue Tuesday evening after the New Democrats and Bloc Québécois successfully lobbied Speaker Anthony Rota.

The parties want a chance to debate and ask the government questions about the blockades.

Also Tuesday, Via announced it expects to resume partial passenger service Thursday between Ottawa and Quebec City, including a stop in Montreal.

 

» brobertson@brandonsun.com,

with files from The Canadian Press and the Winnipeg Free Press