Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs plan rally at legislature over Coastal GasLink
![Wet'suwet'en Vancouver rally Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chief Namoks (John Ridsdale), centre, leads a protest march against fracking in Vancouver, on Monday, August 15, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2022/9/25/wet-suwet-en-vancouver-rally-1-6083953-1664154550167.jpg)
Hereditary chiefs of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation and their supporters are planning a rally at the B.C. legislature on Tuesday to "make an important announcement" about their efforts to stop a natural gas pipeline under construction on their territory.
"The Hereditary chiefs will issue formal public comment about a recent incident of being denied access to ancestral lands by Coastal GasLink," reads a news release issued Friday to announce the gathering.
"The gathering will also address current colonial governments’ failure to fulfill commitments to Wet’suwet’en rights and title as agreed in a memorandum of understanding signed in May 2020."
The rally is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. Tuesday, with a news conference scheduled for 4 p.m.
The Coastal GasLink project involves the construction of a 670-kilometre pipeline that will carry natural gas across northern B.C. to the LNG Canada terminal in Kitimat. Once at the terminal, the gas will be liquefied and shipped to international customers.
In August, the company said the project was 70 per cent complete.
Dozens of protesters and Indigenous land defenders have been arrested along the pipeline's route through unceded Wet'suwet'en territory since a 2019 B.C. Supreme Court order issuing a temporary injunction against interference with pipeline construction.
While Coastal GasLink has agreements with all of the elected First Nations leaders along the pipeline's route, many Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs remain opposed to the project.
In early 2020, opposition to the pipeline led to nationwide protests and blockades.
More recently, police have set up "roving patrols" along forest service roads near the pipeline construction site after a February incident in which police say 20 people "armed with axes" attacked workers and destroyed property at the site.
After a recent visit to Wet'suwet'en territory, BC Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau and MLA Adam Olsen questioned the degree of surveillance from RCMP in the area, which Olsen described as "oppressive" and Furstenau said is "constant" for the people who live there.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6952207.1720136375!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Britain's Labour on track for landslide victory, exit poll suggests, amid anger with Conservatives
Britain's Labour Party headed for a landslide victory Friday in a parliamentary election, an exit poll suggested, as voters punished the governing Conservatives after 14 years of economic and political upheaval.
'Ford's dry summer begins': LCBO workers set to strike Friday after talks fall apart
Thousands of employees with the Liquor Control Board of Ontario are set to walk off their jobs on Friday as the union says 'talks have broken down' and it is not hopeful that a deal will be reached to avert a strike.
Saskatchewan has the lowest hourly minimum wage. How does it stack up to the rest of Canada?
Hourly minimum wages increased in several Canadian provinces this spring with more on the horizon, which economists say will likely impact workers and businesses differently.
Trying to sell or buy a home this summer? What a realtor says you should know
In the first few weeks of summer, the real estate sector is experiencing an upturn marked by more housing inventory, a Canadian realtor says
Canada to host the 70th annual NATO session in Montreal
Canada will host the 70th annual session of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Parliamentary Assembly from Nov. 22 to 25 in Montreal, Que.
No Frills grocery stores drop 'multi-buy' offer
As receipts tick ever higher for Canadians at the grocery store and shoppers continue to search for savings, one Canadian grocer has ended a perceived deal.
CSIS director David Vigneault stepping down after seven years on the job
David Vigneault says he is stepping down from his job at the head of Canada’s spy agency. The director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, who spent seven years at the helm, is leaving the public service altogether.
Hurricane Beryl churns toward Mexico after leaving destruction in Jamaica and eastern Caribbean
After leaving a trail of destruction across the eastern Caribbean and at least nine people dead, Hurricane Beryl weakened as it chugged over open water toward Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday, going from the earliest Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic to Category 2 by the afternoon.
Son asks court to sell B.C. home he co-owns with his mother, despite her objections
A B.C. judge has ordered the sale of a Surrey home despite the objections of the woman who lives there, who owns it jointly with her son.