On November 10, Peace Brigades International-Canada observed Decolonial Solidarity painting “RBC STOP THE DRILLING” and “RBC, DEFUND CGL” outside a Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) branch in downtown Ottawa.

They also painted salmon on the sidewalk to represent that real salmon now being put at risk due to Coastal GasLink (CGL) drilling under the Wedzin Kwa river.

Decolonial Solidarity used non-permanent, water-soluble paint to send this message to RBC and to raise broader public awareness about what is happening now on Wet’suwet’en territory in northern British Columbia.

Stand.earth has documented: “RBC is among top commercial banks providing the CGL project with working capital, including CAD $275 million in project finance, a co-financed $6.5 billion loan, a $40 million corporate loan, and $200 million in co-financed working capital – while acting as financial advisor for the pipeline.”

This drilling is happening despite the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination calling on Canada – through its Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedure – to stop construction on the pipeline until the company secures the free, prior and informed consent of the Wet’suwet’en.

The Committee monitors State compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, to which Canada is a signatory.

Ottawa police did question Decolonial Solidarity and were assured that, like chalk, the water-soluble paint is not permanent.

Lawyer Michael Spratt has previously written: “It is not a criminal offence to chalk a sidewalk. It can be a criminal offence to make permanent markings on public property. But chalk is not permanent.” Spratt has also argued that the right to freedom of expression with chalking is protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The permanent damage to Wet’suwet’en territory is undeniable.

Dogwood photo: Wet’suwet’en hereditary chief Na’Moks observes some of the damage on the territory on November 4, 2022.

Gidimt’en Checkpoint/The Narwhal photos of one portion of the 190 kilometre CGL pipeline route through Wet’suwet’en territory.

The Narwhal has reported: “Coastal GasLink is drilling under the Wedzin Kwa (Morice River) as spawning salmon lay their eggs throughout the river system.”

The Wet’suwet’en have highlighted: “Wedzin Kwa is a spawning ground for salmon and a critical source of pristine drinking water on the territory.” Gidimt’en water protector Molly Wickham adds: “Our way of life is at risk. Wedzin Kwa is the river that feeds all of Wet’suwet’en territory and gives life to our nation.”

Wickham has also stated: “Our identity as Indigenous peoples is tied to the land, to our water, to the fact that we harvest salmon every year. We know that the people who are killing themselves are the people who don’t have that connection to who they are as an Indigenous person. And if we don’t have that our people will die. And that’s the genocide.”

We continue to follow what is happening on Wet’suwet’en territory with concern.

Photo by Dogwood.

Narwhal local journalism initiative reporter Matt Simmons reports on Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chief Na’moks being stopped on Friday November 4 from monitoring construction of the Coastal GasLink fracked gas pipeline on his territory.

Excerpts from the article include:

“If you pass this gate, sir, my understanding is that you will be arrested by the RCMP,” a pipeline security guard told the Chief and his supporters.

He was standing in front of a yellow gate across the access road to where the company is drilling under Wedzin Kwa (Morice River) about two kilometres away.

In 2019, the B.C. Supreme Court issued an injunction against anyone “obstructing, blocking, physically impeding or delaying access” in the area.

Na’moks told the security workers why he was there — to monitor the pipeline construction as part of his responsibilities as Chief — and assured them he had no intention of impeding any work. He had previously visited the site numerous times without incident.

“I work for Coastal GasLink and my responsibility is ensuring the safety and security of this active worksite,” the security guard said in response, reading from a prepared script.

He provided his private investigator licence number and said he’s employed by Forsythe Security.

Beside the gate, a sign notes the existence of the court order and states that anyone having notice of it is restrained and prohibited from physical interference with Coastal GasLink business.

It also states that individuals are prohibited from “approaching within 10 metres of any individual or vehicle” being used for pipeline work and from “threatening or intimidating Coastal GasLink or other persons in a contractual or economic relationship with Coastal GasLink.”

However, the court order does not mention “threatening or intimidating” nor proximity to employees or vehicles.

Kris Statnyk, Na’moks’ legal counsel, was standing at the gate with him. He asked to speak with the RCMP, noting the private security workers do not have authority to enforce the court injunction.

After about twenty minutes, Sergeant Jason Charney, with the force’s Community-Industry Response Group, walked toward the gate, but stopped short and waved a security worker over. They spoke briefly and Charney walked away.

The Community-Industry Response Group, commonly called C-IRG, is a special unit of the force set up in 2017 to police opposition to industrial projects.

Video: RCMP Staff Sergeant Jason Charney on Wet’suwet’en territory, October 9, 2021.

The worker told Na’moks to telephone Ken Floyd, a senior C-IRG officer. No number was provided and cell reception is about an hour’s drive away on the snowy backroads.

In April, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued Canada a third rebuke for its conduct on Wet’suwet’en and Secwepemc territories. It named C-IRG specifically and reiterated its call to withdraw police and private security services.”

The full article by Matt Simmons can be read at “You will be arrested’: Coastal GasLink security denies Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chief access to monitor project construction.

To support reporting by The Narwhal, click here.

Further reading: PBI-Canada observes Decolonial Solidarity projection action at RBC bank in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en land defenders.

We hope you will be able to join us on Tuesday November 15 at 10 am ET to hear PBI accompanied environmental defenders speak about the United Nations COP27 climate summit now happening in Egypt.

To sign up for this webinar, please click here.

You will meet via this webinar Yuli Velásquez (Colombia), Walter Rene López Pérez (Guatemala), Ana Paola Torres Barranco (Mexico), Amaru Ruiz (Nicaragua), Christopher Castillo (Honduras) and Gladys Losike (Kenya).

Yuli has survived three armed attacks against her, a colleague of Ana Paola was killed, Amaru has had to flee Nicaragua, Christopher has faced nine years in prison on trumped up charges. All have paid a personal price for resisting environmental harm.

To hear more from them, register here.

More than 1,733 land and environmental defenders have been killed over the past 10 years. The UN Human Rights Council has affirmed that defenders “must be ensured a safe and enabling environment” to do their work and “in recognition of their important role in supporting States to fulfil their obligations under the Paris Agreement.”

Will COP27 take meaningful steps to protect those on the frontlines of the climate crisis? If not, how do we protect those who protect the environment?

To hear this discussion, join us this coming Tuesday.

To help us cover the costs of this webinar, including simultaneous translation from Spanish into English, please consider making an online donation or sending a cheque (our mailing address is 211 Bronson Avenue, Suite 220, Ottawa, Ontario, K1R 6H5).

Updates

PBI-Canada observes Decolonial Solidarity projection action at RBC bank in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en land defenders

PBI-Canada visits CUPE picket lines in Ottawa following provincial legislation that overrides the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

PBI-Colombia accompanies Justice and Peace Commission as Norwegian MPs visit the Amazon Pearl Campesina Reserve Zone

PBI-Guatemala accompanies UVOC at sentence notification hearing in La Tinta, Alta Verapaz

PBI-Mexico accompanies the Cerezo Committee at meeting of Special Search Commission on the forced disappearance of Cruz and Reyes

PBI-Honduras accompanies COPINH at trial of soldier accused of the attempted murder of Lenca defender Allan Garcia

For daily updates, please follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

On November 5, the day before the United Nations COP27 climate summit began in Egypt, PBI-Canada observed a Decolonial Solidarity screening of Wet’suwet’en resistance videos on the side of a Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) branch in downtown Ottawa.

The video in the photo above includes Wet’suwet’en land defender Molly Wickham (Sleydo’) stating: “We want all the investors of the Coastal GasLink pipeline project to know this is a bad investment. We want everybody to know that the Wet’suwet’en are standing up against the climate chaos that is happening in the world right now.”

RBC is financing this fracked gas pipeline, including $275 million in project finance, a co-financed $6.5 billion loan, a $40 million corporate loan, and $200 million in co-financed working capital. RBC also acts as a financial advisor to Coastal GasLink.

RBC at COP27

Now, the Financial Post reports: “Canada’s delegation heading to the United Nations’ COP27 climate change conference this week in Egypt will not include Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but there will be a Canada Pavilion for the first time and it includes representatives from the oilsands industry, which is attracting some intense criticism.”

The article continues: “This year’s event has attracted corporate representatives from the Royal Bank of Canada, pipeline giant Enbridge Inc. and oil majors Cenovus Energy Inc. and Imperial Oil Ltd. Attendees also reported seeing a representative from Suncor Energy Inc. at the Pavilion on Tuesday.”

The criminalization and murder of land defenders

The UN Human Rights Council has affirmed that “human rights defenders, including environmental human rights defenders, must be ensured a safe and enabling environment to undertake their work free from hindrance and insecurity, in recognition of their important role in supporting States to fulfil their obligations under the Paris Agreement.”

That resolution was adopted in March 2019. At least 639 land and environmental defenders have been killed since then.

Many more defenders have been threatened, criminalized and judicialized for protecting land, water and territory and resisting extractivism.

More than a dozen land defenders, including Sleydo’, arrested by the RCMP on Wet’suwet’en territory in November 2021 are facing criminal contempt charges.

In the video shown on the side of the RBC branch in Ottawa, Sleydo’ says: “We will continue to protect our lands, continue to protect our clean drinking water, continue to protect our salmon for future generations.”

This video shows the RCMP tearing down the door of a cabin on November 19, 2021, to arrest Sleydo’, two journalists and others.

Protection measures needed

In the lead up to COP27, Global Witness, CIVICUS and other organizations released a set of recommendations for policymakers attending COP27 calling on them to take meaningful steps to protect those on the frontlines of the climate crisis.

Silvana Baldovino of the Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental (SPDA) highlighted: “A higher recognition and incorporation by UNFCCC and COP27 of the role of defenders in facing the climate crisis is crucial to move States towards stronger protection schemes.”

On COP27

And yet, a “safe and enabling environment” for environmental defenders is not on the agenda of the COP27.

Last year, Tla’amin land defender Ta’Kaiya Blaney explained: “COP26 is a performance, it’s an illusion constructed to salvage capitalist economies rooted in resource extraction and colonialism. I didn’t come here to fix the agenda I came here to disrupt it. Colonialism is what caused climate change and I’m not going to my colonizers for solutions.”

We continue to follow this with concern.

Image from Gidimt’en Yintah Access RBC Toolkit.