Conflict over the Coastal GasLink pipeline near Houston has resulted in further arrests.
Following an incident in which a pipeline employee was allegedly swarmed on March 26 by a group of masked individuals wearing camouflage at the 43-km mark of the Morice West Forest Service Road, the RCMP obtained two search warrants related to theft under $5,000.
Itsa国际传媒檚 alleged that during the incident, the group gained access to a Coastal GasLink company vehicle, poured some sort of liquid over it and stole a chainsaw from the truck bed.
During the execution of one of the police warrants on March 29, at a camp known as the Gidimtsa国际传媒檈n village site at the 44.5 kilometre point on the road, police say four occupants refused to cooperate and another attempted to prevent officers from executing the warrant.
All five were arrested under accusations of obstructing a peace officer.
Harrassment and intimidation: Gidimtsa国际传媒檈n
In a statement on the Yintah Access website, the group said a large force from the RCMPsa国际传媒檚 Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG) raided the village site arresting mostly Indigenous women, including Gidimtsa国际传媒檈n Chief Woossa国际传媒� daughter.
Sleydosa国际传媒� (also known as Molly Wickham), a spokesperson for Gidimtsa国际传媒檈n checkpoint, said the alleged incident is merely an excuse for further harassment.
sa国际传媒淭his harassment and intimidation is exactly the kind of violence designed to drive us from our homelands,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淭he constant threat of violence and criminalization for merely existing on our own lands must have been what our ancestors felt when Indian agents and RCMP were burning us out of our homes as late as the [19]50s in our area. The colonial project continues at the hands of industrysa国际传媒檚 private mercenaries sa国际传媒� C-IRG.sa国际传媒�
Police specialized force under scrutiny
This month, the C-IRG, which was established in 2017 sa国际传媒渢o provide a coordinated response to public order events related to large-scale resource-based industrial projects in British Columbia,sa国际传媒� has garnered a lot of public attention in northwest B.C.
On March 9, chair of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP Michelaine Lahaie initiated a systemic review of the unit, which local First Nations refer to as a sa国际传媒渕ilitarized squadronsa国际传媒� of the RCMP.
A CRCC release said the review will examine whether the C-IRGsa国际传媒檚 policies, procedures, guidelines and training are consistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and reflect previous relevant CRCC recommendations and other good/leading practices.
It will also seek to determine if the C-IRGsa国际传媒檚 operations and actions are consistent with B.C.sa国际传媒檚 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and the calls for justice from the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Inquiry.
Also on March 9, the neighbouring First Nation Gitxsan a issued a ban of the C-IRG from its traditional territories.
Subsequently, the RCMP said while they would do everything they can to respect the ban, they have obligations and responsibilities to enforce court injunctions and maintain public safety, tasks for which the C-IRG unit is sa国际传媒渦niquely situatedsa国际传媒� because of specific training and resources.
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