A current example of disrupting lawful development activity in Canada is the illegal protests against the LNG pipeline in BC. Amy Judd writes at Global News RCMP arrest 14 at anti-pipeline protest in northern B.C. Excerpts in italics with my bolds.
The RCMP say it has arrested 14 people Monday evening for allegedly violating the conditions of an interim court injunction requiring the removal of a blockade to a forest service road in northern British Columbia that is preventing access to a pipeline project.
The interim injunction issued by the B.C. Supreme Court in mid-December orders anyone who interferes with the Coastal GasLink project in and around the Morice River Bridge to remove any obstructions.
In statements issued today, the RCMP say they arrived on scene around 11 a.m. By 3 p.m., they entered the blockade, after a meeting with a number of hereditary elders and CGL failed to resolve the issue without police involvement.
By 6:45 p.m., they had made a number of arrests from the blockade set up by Gitdumt'en on Morice West Forest Service Road. RCMP also say they observed a number of fires being lit along the roadway by 'unknown persons', with large trees felled across the roadway.
Click on link below to watch video report.
In their statement, the RCMP dispute reports that they jammed communications in the area in order to prevent the media and public from communicating the unfolding situation to the outside world. They say the area is extremely remote, and even police had limited access to communication, other than their radios.
They also say reports that the Canadian Military were present are erroneous, saying they have deployed Tactical and Emergency Response Teams as part of their 'measured and scalable approach to enforcing the court ordered injunction'.
RCMP say they set up a 'temporary exclusion zone', where the police do not allow access to anyone – media or otherwise – who is not part of the enforcement team.
The dispute centres around the GasLink pipeline project, which is intended to convey natural gas from fracking projects in the Peace Region to the future $40-billion LNG Canada plant in Kitimat.
The pipeline route travels through Wet'suwet'en First Nation territory, and the nation's elected leaders signed a benefits agreement with the province for Coastal GasLink in 2014.
However, some Wet'suwet'en oppose the development and have established a years-long camp, known as Unist'ot'en, blockading the Morice River Bridge.
In December, a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled in favour of Coastal GasLink, granting an injunction against demonstrators occupying the area around the bridge.
The order has since been expanded to include the Morice West Forest Service Road, where other Wet'suwet'en demonstrators have set up a second checkpoint known as the Gitdumt'en access point.
The protesters assert that the project is infringing Aboriginal title, citing the 1997 Delgamuukw Supreme Court of Canada ruling. The court found that the Wet'suwet'en had not given up title to 22,000 square km of territory, and demonstrators say those rights are represented by their hereditary chiefs.
RCMP say their first priority is safety but protesters say they are worried about what they call an "invasion."
"It's important for the government because they want the tax money coming in," said Jeffery Brown, Chief Madeek, Head Chief of the Gidumt'en clan of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation.
"[It's] important to get [the pipeline] through but even to get it through, there's a moratorium on the coast to get that lifted and I'm sure they're gonna try and do that, too."
The RCMP issued a media release Sunday morning affirming its role in enforcing the injunction, and stating that police have been in dialogue with the camp in recent months about possible enforcement.
"We would like to emphasize that the RCMP respects the Wet'suwet'en culture, the connection to the land and traditions being taught and passed on at the camp, and the importance of the camp to healing," states the release.
"Should enforcement take place, the RCMP will be prepared to ensure the safety of everyone involved — demonstrators, police officers, area residents, motorists, media and general public."
The Wet'suwet'en are seeing support from across Canada and a number of events are being planned by groups standing in solidarity with them. Those events start Tuesday in Victoria and Vancouver.
Coastal GasLink says it consulted with hereditary chiefs for more than five years and secured 20 project agreements with elected First Nations councils all along the pipeline route.
"We understand that there are those that share different opinions so we want to continue to work with those individuals to find solutions," Jacquelynn Benson of Coast GasLink said.
The company says seeking an injunction was a last resort.
Pipeline Protests Fueled by $$$ from Alarmist US Billionaires
From CBC News January 22, 2019 Debate grows over impact of American funding being directed towards Canadian environmental campaign. Excerpts below in italics with my bolds.
Alberta at Noon host Judy Aldous spoke to researcher and blogger Vivian Krause, as well as award-winning Calgary author Chris Turner, Monday about the degree to which U.S. dollars are shaping the conversation we're now having in Canada about building pipelines.
Krause has estimated that various U.S. funders have contributed in the neighbourhood of $40-million in recent years to hundreds of Canadian environmental and Indigenous groups. The goal is to help them spread a message about the need to land-lock Alberta crude through protests against the construction of new pipelines.
Krause believes those American dollars are financing a message that has turned the conversation around, adding topics like pipeline development have become toxic.
"The campaign has been devastating," Krause said.
"I think the campaign is the reason why Northern Gateway was cancelled: Energy East, Keystone, Trans Mountain.
"And this is the same organization, same strategy, same funders that stopped the Mackenzie [Valley] gas pipeline. I think the coastal gas pipeline is also in serious trouble.
"I have no hope for any pipeline [being approved for development] until this campaign is brought to an end," she said.
Turner, meanwhile, said that foundations such as the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Hewlett Foundation, and the U.S. environmental group the Tides Foundation have far less of ability to manipulate the environmental agenda in Canada than Krause suggests.
He didn't disagree with the numbers but disputed Krause's interpretation of them.
Krause said she isn't opposed to the principle of funding environmental groups from outside the country. However, she said she feels there has been a disproportionate focus on the oilsands by American environmental activists, particularly considering the U.S. is now one of the top oil producers on the planet.
She also suggested that by turning up the heat on Canadian energy development, those same activists are enabling — or perhaps are motivated by — a desire to open up markets for American oil producers.
"But here's the thing," she added. "Guess whose oil is getting to market and is getting the highest prices? It's not Canadian oil or gas. It's American oil and gas."
She asked why environmentalist don't instead focus on "landlocking the development of American oil and gas."
Summary
Hey PM Trudeau, how about a wall to protect Canadians from US billionaires funding the overthrow of our governments' policies? Can we be a nation without controlling our borders?
from Climate Change Skeptic Blogs via hj on Inoreader http://bit.ly/2TeVtub
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