Photo from Secwepemc land defender Kanahus Manuel’s Twitter feed.

There are several key Indigenous land defence struggles happening during this federal election in Canada.

They include the blockades against Teal Jones logging old growth forests at Ada’itsx (Fairy Creek) on Pacheedaht and Dididaht territories, the Tiny House Warriors resistance to the Canadian government owned Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline on unceded Secwepemc territory, and the ongoing Wet’suwet’en opposition to the TC Energy Coastal GasLink fracked gas pipeline on their territory.

There is also the Enbridge Line 3 tar sands export pipeline now being resisted by the Giniw Collective and others in Minnesota.

How have these issues surfaced during this federal election?

RCMP repression of land defenders at Ada’itsx (Fairy Creek)

On August 24, Indigenous land defenders opposed to old-growth logging at Fairy Creek gathered outside the Marriott Pinnacle Hotel where Liberal leader Justin Trudeau was staying while on a campaign stop in Vancouver.

CBC reported: “Protester xʷ is xʷ čaa [Kati George-Jim] said it was necessary to come to Vancouver to get the leader’s attention.” She is quoted as saying: “We’re here because Justin Trudeau doesn’t believe that clear-cut logging puts Indigenous people at risk of dying. We have to come here because Justin Trudeau is funding, through the federal government, the RCMP, who are now invading sovereign Indigenous territories.”

That article adds: “The Liberal Party later told reporters that Trudeau had gone out for dinner rather than heading straight to the hotel as planned because of security concerns from the RCMP.” When asked by a reporter why he didn’t engage with the Indigenous youth, Dogwood tweeted Trudeau “dodged” answering the question.

While this is happening under an NDP provincial government, several NDP federal candidates have been critical of the police repression of the land defenders.

Leah Gazan, the NDP candidate for Winnipeg Centre, tweeted: “The BC Provincial Court condemned RCMP tactics & methods at #FairyCreek.Excessive force used against this Nuu-Cha-Nulth & Coast Salish woman & others is wrong. The RCMP are obliged to follow the rule of law & must stop this brutality NOW!”

And Matthew Green, the NDP candidate for Hamilton Centre, tweeted: “The State’s monopoly on violence is always employed to protect corporate profits and capital at the expense of planet and those fighting to protect it. I strongly condemn these brutal paramilitary attacks on peaceful protestors at #FairyCreek.”

Paul Manly, the Green Party candidate for Nanaimo-Ladysmith, who has visited the blockades at Fairy Creek, has commented: “These land defenders aren’t going to stop. They’re not going to stop even with this brutality that we’re seeing from the RCMP. They are determined to protect these forests, and these forests are key for climate change.”

Trans Mountain pipeline on unceded Secwepemc territory

On August 27, the Toronto Star reported: “NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh — a vocal opponent of the Trans Mountain expansion — might not scrap the controversial pipeline project if his party wins power in the Sept. 20 federal election.”

The video of his comment can be seen here.

The pipeline expansion project is currently being built on unceded Secwepemc territory in British Columbia without their free, prior and informed consent. The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has called its construction to be stopped until that consent is given.

On August 29, Singh again made similar comments about the pipeline being built on unceded Indigenous territory, but this time noting: “When we form government we will look at the asset and make the best decision for Canadians.”

The Liberals and Conservatives support the construction of this pipeline, while the NDP (keeping in mind Singh’s recent comments) and Greens have opposed it.

The Coastal GasLink pipeline

While NDP leader Singh has said he is opposed to Trans Mountain, he has expressed his support for the Coastal GasLink fracked gas pipeline being built on Wet’suwet’en territory. Two militarized RCMP raids on that territory – on January 7, 2019, and February 6-10, 2020 – resulted in the arrest of 36 land defenders.

On January 13, 2019, just after the first RCMP raid, Singh stated: “I’ve already mentioned my support for this project given the fact that they’ve done consultation in a very meaningful way broadly speaking and the vast majority of Indigenous elected bands and chiefs have all shown support.”

In that interview, Singh says: “The treatment of the protesters [by the RCMP] was concerning.”

The Liberals, Conservatives and NDP support this pipeline, while the Greens oppose the pipeline on Wet’suwet’en territory.

“Critical infrastructure”

On August 19, The Narwhal reported: “Erin O’Toole’s Conservative Party is proposing to amend Canada’s Criminal Code to stop protests that disrupt key infrastructure such as pipelines or railways — a federal election proposal that many say will unfairly target Indigenous land defenders.”

The Conservative Party platform says (on page 33): “Last year’s rail blockades [in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en land defenders] demonstrated the importance – and vulnerability – of the infrastructure that ties our country together. Canada’s Conservatives will amend s. 431.2 of the Criminal Code to create an offence of interference with an infrastructure facility or a public transportation system punishable by either summary conviction or indictment, depending upon the severity of the offence.”

Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation has urged the Conservatives to reconsider its proposal because “the more the state tries to repress defenders and people supporting Indigenous people, the more pushback they’ll get.”

Line 3 pipeline

The Trudeau government approved this export pipeline on November 29, 2016. If completed it will move 760,000 barrels per day from a terminal near Hardisty, Alberta through northern Minnesota to Superior, Wisconsin.

While the Canadian portion of the pipeline has already been built, more than 700 people have been arrested since June in Indigenous-led protests against the construction of the pipeline in Minnesota.

To date it does not appear that the Line 3 pipeline has been raised in the context of the federal election in Canada.

This is somewhat surprising given the pipeline is being built by Calgary-based Enbridge and the concerns about their funding of police operations against land defenders, as well as the intelligence sharing by Minnesota public officials with Enbridge.

Ojibwe water protector Tara Houska who is on the frontline of this struggle has stated: “[Minnesota police have] billed over $1.7 million to the Public Safety Escrow Trust, in which Enbridge is dumping millions of dollars to incentivize and encourage police officers to repress, suppress and surveil, harass Indigenous people and our allies that are helping us try to stop this pipeline from happening in our treaty territory.”

Debates and election day

Indigenous land defence struggles, and other issues related to climate change, megaprojects, Indigenous sovereignty and human rights, may still come to the fore prior to election day on September 20. This could even potentially happen during the French-language debate on September 8 and the English-language debate on September 9.

As of August 28, polling suggests that none of the parties will achieve the 170 seats needed for a majority government in the House of Commons. For instance, Eric Grenier is now projecting 138 seats for the Liberals, 132 for the Conservatives, 40 for the NDP,  27 for the Bloc Québécois and 1 for the Green Party.

This short article does not review the position of all political parties with candidates in this election and we encourage you to review all the party platforms and statements.

The Indigenous Environmental Network and Oil Change International report can be read here.

Duane Johnson, St. Louis County Emergency Management Coordinator-Sheriff’s Office, forwarded to an Enbridge security officer a list of names of water protectors who had attended a Line 3 organizing meeting in January 2021.

It has been previously documented that Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. pays into an escrow account that then pays for Minnesota police actions against Indigenous water protectors and allies seeking to stop the construction of the Line 3 tar sands pipeline.

Now, based on records The Intercept has obtained through public information requests, the relationship between the Canadian company and public safety officials and police in Minnesota appears closer than had been previously understood.

Their article notes: “Emails between Enbridge and members of the Northern Lights Task Force — a group consisting of sheriffs and public safety officials coordinating plans for expected protests against Line 3 — describe several joint training exercises and other coordination meetings set up by the energy firm.”

“In October 2020, according to emails, Enbridge organized an all-day training at the company’s Bemidji Emergency Operations Center. …The email sent out ahead of the training included a series of ‘Incident Briefing Maps’ laying out scenarios where Enbridge and law enforcement might need to coordinate a response. …The list of scenarios — which were drawn up by the Response Group, a controversial crisis management firm that works for the energy industry — laid out four possible events: demonstrators blocking traffic, the breach of a construction site, ‘swarming’ of a pipeline hub while streaming on social media, and project opponents locking themselves to the gate of an Enbridge office.”

The Intercept further notes: “By the time construction on Line 3 began [in December 2020], a comfortable working relationship appeared to have been established between Enbridge and some of the public safety agencies invited to the company’s meetings.”

“Public officials repeatedly expressed interest in exchanging information on pipeline opposition with Enbridge.”

“St. Louis County Emergency Management Coordinator Duane Johnson copied Enbridge’s security lead for the Line 3 project on an email inviting first responders to work out of the law enforcement emergency operations center as they monitored intelligence on a potential direct action the next day. ‘There is considerable intel on something brewing tomorrow. Let me know if you’d like to come over and work out of the EOC tomorrow just in case something pops,’ the official wrote, referring to the emergency operations center.”

The article then highlights: “In another email, Johnson requested that Enbridge’s Line 3 security lead attend regular intelligence meetings. …The Enbridge security officer was kept in the loop. [Then on January 7, 2021], Johnson copied him on another email, forwarding a list of names of water protectors who had attended a ‘Line 3 Organizing Meeting’ the night before.”

County Emergency Managers are part of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, a division of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. The Duluth News Tribune has reported: “Johnson has worked for the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office since 1995 and has served in his current capacity since 2015.”

The full article can be read at: Minnesota Law Enforced Shared Intelligence on Protest Organizers with Pipeline Company.

Photo: Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole, his wife, Rebecca, and their children check out a CF-18 Hornet parked near their campaign plane as they arrive in Edmonton, Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz.

What do the platforms of the parties that hold seats in the House of Commons tell us about their positions on the planned purchase of new fighter jets next year?

Liberals

The Liberal Party’s platform does not mention fighter jets.

It only notes (on page 69): “Remain a leading contributor to NATO operations, including by extending Operation Reassurance in Eastern Europe and maintaining Canada’s regular participation in NATO’s aerial and maritime patrol operations.”

This is in keeping with the Liberal government’s rationale for purchasing new fighter jets: “A modern fighter jet fleet is essential for defending Canada and Canadian sovereignty and contribute to our NORAD and NATO commitments.”

Notably, the Liberal Party’s 2015 platform (on page 70) stated: “We will not buy the F-35 stealth fighter-bomber. We will immediately launch an open and transparent competition to replace the CF-18 fighter aircraft. The primary mission of our fighter aircraft should remain the defence of North America, not stealth first-strike capability. We will reduce the procurement budget for replacing the CF-18s, and will instead purchase one of the many, lower-priced options that better match Canada’s defence needs.”

Despite this, the F-35 is one of the three fighter jets that are being considered in the Future fighter capability project acquisition process.

If the election were held today, the Liberals are projected to win 138 seats (the most seats of all the parties at this point, but not a majority).

Conservatives

The Conservative Party’s platform does explicitly mention fighter jets.

On page 100, their platform notes: “Fast-track the selection of a new fighter jet to replace our aging CF-18s through the current open competition and get the new fighter fleet into service as quickly as possible.”

The Conservatives are currently projected to win 132 seats.

NDP

The New Democratic Party’s platform states (on page 109): “In contracting for new military equipment, including ships and fighter jets, New Democrats will ensure maximum industrial benefits and jobs. This will help ensure the survival of healthy shipbuilding and aerospace industries all across Canada.”

The NDP are projected to win 40 seats.

Bloc Québécois

The Bloc Québécois platform does not mention fighter jets. It explains (on page 19): “In terms of international relations, Quebec has for official policy the Gérin-Lajoie doctrine. This states that everything that is within the jurisdiction of Quebec on its territory is under the jurisdiction of Quebec in the world.”

That said, in 2012, the Bloc appears to have supported the purchase of the F-35s if there were economic benefits for Quebec, while there was also the view that social housing was more needed than fighter jets.

The Bloc is projected to win 27 seats.

Greens

The Green Party has not released its platform, but its Foreign Affairs and Security policy statement notes: “Canada now needs a general purpose, combat capable force that can provide realistic options to the government in domestic security emergencies, continental defence and international operations.”

Their statement on the equipment needed by the armed forces does not include fighter jets, but rather: “naval and coast guard vessels that can operate in the Arctic Ocean, fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft, and helicopters.”

Green Party leader Annamie Paul also wrote critically last November about the purchase of the fighter jets in this Hill Times article.

The Greens are currently projected to win 1 seat.

The 44^th federal election in Canada will take place on Monday September 20.

For more on the campaign to stop Canada’s planned warplane purchase, please see the No Fighter Jets website.

Photo: Grindstone Island where PBI was founded.

The founding meeting of Peace Brigades International began 40 years ago this evening on Grindstone Island, which is situated about 100 kilometres southwest of Ottawa, Canada on unceded Algonquin, Anishinabek territory.

In his overview of the founding meeting, Daniel N. Clark notes that Hans Sinn chaired the first session of the consultation on the evening of Monday August 31, 1981.

On the morning of Tuesday September 1, Charlie Walker began the session with a reading from Martin Luther King, Jr. The discussion turned to the possible deployment of peace brigades in Guatemala and Mexico.

On Wednesday September 2, the discussion moved to the mission, characteristics, size, leadership style, discipline, partisanship, and roles of the organization.

On the final day at Grindstone, the Founding Declaration was adopted.

That Declaration, which is dated Friday September 4, 1981, states: “We are forming an organization with the capability to mobilize and provide trained units of volunteers. These units may be assigned to areas of high tension to avert violent outbreaks.”

As the vision of the organization continued to take shape, the concept of unarmed accompaniment came into being in April 1985 in Guatemala.

For more on the ongoing work of Peace Brigades International, our annual reviews from 1990 to present can be found here.

Photo: In September 2019, Brent Patterson met with Han Sinn who chaired the first session of the founding meeting of PBI on August 31, 1981.

In December 2010, the UN General Assembly expressed its deep concern about the increase in enforced or involuntary disappearances in various regions of the world, including arrest, detention and abduction.

The General Assembly also expressed concern about the number of reports concerning harassment, ill-treatment and intimidation of witnesses of disappearances or relatives of persons who have disappeared.

It then declared August 30 the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances to be observed beginning in 2011.

Colombia

On August 30 of this year, PBI-Colombia tweeted: “Today on the International Day of #DesapariciónForzada, we remember the victims and relatives of this painful crime. We also recognize your companions as the @nydia_erika whom we accompany in the commemoration of the 34 years of disappearance of Nydia Erika Bautista.”

Mexico

PBI-Mexico also tweeted: “In the framework of the International Day of the Victims of #DesaparicionesForzadas, we accompany @CdhPasodelNorte and @UnidasVerdad in an act to resignify [rededicate] the monument to the mother in Ciudad Juárez.”

PBI-Mexico additionally tweeted: “Today in #CDMX [Mexico City], PBI-Mexico accompanies @comitecerezo, organizations and relatives of missing persons in the March for the International Day of the Victims of #DesapariciónForzada who have arrived at the Zócalo [the city’s main square] with the slogan: ‘They were taken alive, alive we want you!’”

Honduras

PBI-Honduras tweeted: “PBI observes the mobilization in Tegucigalpa against the ZEDEs [special economic zones] and the delivery of the territory. This action matches the #DiaDelDetenidoDesaparecido [Day of the Disappeared Detainee].”

Guatemala

And PBI-Guatemala posted: “Today is the International Day of the Victims of Forced Disappearances; we share this webinar remembering missing people from the #MilitarDiario [Military Diary case].”

PBI-Guatemala also posted from Caso Creompaz: “Today on the International Day of the Victims of #ForcedDisappearance, we remember the victims of the #CasoCREOMPAZ that for more than thirty years remained missing until their remains were found at this military base. Many more missing people missing from finding and lack of JUSTICE!”

Canada

Regrettably, Canada has not signed the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED) adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 20, 2006.

Speculation has included Canada did not sign this convention because of its role in the enforced disappearance of detainees in Afghanistan (and the transfer of those detainees to Afghan secret police with the foreknowledge they would be tortured).

Canada may have also not signed the Convention given the high number of missing Indigenous women in Canada (which has been linked to colonization and systemic oppressions) and to the state abduction of Indigenous children to “residential schools” (where thousands died and parents were left not ever knowing the whereabouts of their children).

As of August 2017, 57 countries have ratified the Convention. The UN Human Rights Office has launched an initiative to increase that number to 112 by 2022.

Photo of arresting officers from video posted on Twitter.

On August 27 at around 9 pm, Secwepemc land defender Kanahus Manuel tweeted: “Protesting at the deputy prime minister @cafreeland office and then a couple hours later I am in handcuffed and sitting in jail at Toronto International Airport. I was targeted for being #secwepemc fighting the #transmountain.”

Trans Mountain refers to an 890,000 barrel per day tar sands pipeline expansion project owned by the Canadian government that is currently being constructed in Alberta and British Columbia. 518 kilometres of the pipeline would cross Secwepemc territory in British Columbia without their free, prior and informed consent.

At about 5 pm Manuel tweeted: “RCMP have me at Toronto airport and surrounded.”

According to a tweet from her son Sqelecw, she was held at “the peel regional police station airport division.”

Following her release, Manuel gave an interview to Real Peoples Media.

She said she was arrested for breach of bail conditions, specifically for having a “baton” in her suitcase. Notably, Manuel explains those bail conditions are related to an “intimidation charge” against her that was dismissed in court by Judge Frame on May 21.

Manuel adds: “I just believe that it is a targeted attack against us as land defenders. We are clearly Indigenous people travelling as a group and they targeted me and pulled me out singly. This is all happening while Trans Mountain is invading our home.”

She further notes: “We are going to need some assistance from the people here on the ground and up at Blue River. We need security, we need security for land defenders, that’s where it’s come to at this point. This is a petro-police state. And how they are surrounding everybody when they stand up to oil and gas.”

The day prior to Manuel’s arrest in Toronto, an open letter signed by Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, Mi’kmaq lawyer Pamela Palmater, Métis artist Christi Belcourt, Mohawk policy analyst Russell Diabo, Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chief Na’Moks and many others highlighted: “We are deeply concerned about the escalation of intimidation and surveillance of land defenders at the THW [Tiny House Warriors] camp and in particular the many gender-based threats and acts of violence they have experienced both online and in person.”

Given Manuel and the two people with her missed their flight because of this arrest, they are now also seeking mutual aid support for their flight back home.

Manuel’s follow up court date in relation to this charge of breach of conditions will be on November 22 at 9 am at Davis Court in Brampton, Ontario.

Tweet by Christi Belcourt, a well-known Michif (Métis) visual artist.