After two days of court hearings, everyone arrested at the 台湾MM裸聊室 GasLink (CGL) pipeline construction site in northwest B.C. have been released.
Last week, the RCMP arrested 29 people from the site near Houston, while enforcing an injunction order for CGL and clearing blockades set up by a Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n group and their supporters. Among those arrested were Gidimt鈥檈n Checkpoint鈥檚 key leader Sleydo鈥� (Molly Wickham ) and two journalists.
Some arrested, including the journalists, were released on Nov. 22, with conditions to comply with the injunction. All are expected to reappear in court on Feb. 14.
While non-Wet鈥檚utwet鈥檈n members were told to stay out of the injunction zones, those who are Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n can return to hunt, fish, trap and conduct cultural practices. The journalists can return for their work, but were told to be mindful of the injunction and keep the peace.
Sleydo鈥�, who was among the last to be released (on Nov. 23, with similar conditions), was told not to be within 75 metres of any CGL worksites, as opposed to 10 metres for all others arrested).
Even though CGL鈥檚 lawyer pleaded to bar Sleydo from returning to the area given past instances where she breached injunction orders, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Marguerite Church said the 鈥渂lanket exclusion鈥� would prevent her from exercising her constitutionally protected Indigenous rights in those areas.
Church also warned Sleydo鈥� that violating the conditions of her release would lead to stricter orders in the future.
Upon release, Sleydo鈥� said in a Facebook video statement, 鈥淭his injunction has no jurisdiction on our territories, [it is] an inadequate piece of law that has been been used to violate human rights, to violate Indigenous rights, to violate Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n law. It鈥檚 not something that should be used when there鈥檚 issues of Indigenous land and Indigenous law in dispute with the so-called Canada and the Crown.鈥�
She also said she was removed from her territory 鈥渋llegally鈥� and called everything that happened since their arrest on Nov. 19 a violation of human rights.
鈥淚t was a violation of our human rights, and violation of me as a Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n woman,鈥� she said in the video uploaded by Gidimt鈥檈n Checkpoint.
