NDP MP Nathan Cullen to visit Unit'stot'en blockade site near Houston, as RCMP members stage for potential injunction enforcement

All eyes are on the Bulkley Valley this morning as gas line protestors
at the Gidimt'en camp await the prospect of the serving of a court injunction
by the RCMP over their protest camps

**See update from MP Cullen at bottom of post**

The lines are drawn in Wet'suwet'en territory with those on a blockade at the Gidimt'en camp south of Houston vowing to hold their ground in the face of a federal court injunction to allow passage of Coast GasLink employees into the area.

Standing in the wings, a growing number of members of the RCMP which has been tasked to enforce the court injunction, with reports from the Houston area indicating that the serving of the injunction may be in the offing.

Prior to the injunction ruling, the Mounties had been maintaining a dialogue with residents of the Unist'ot'en camp in recent months as part of their Liaison and Indigenous Policing Section.

On Sunday, the RCMP provided an outline of their plans in relation to enforcement of the injunction that was put in place in December, the statement providing for an outline of the main focus for their efforts in the region.

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 primary concerns of the police are public safety, police officer safety, and preservation of the right to peaceful, lawful and safe protest, within the terms set by the Supreme Court in the injunction.  

In planning for the enforcement of this injunction, police are taking the remote location of the Morice River Bridge into account and will be ensuring that enough police officers will be present in the area to keep the peace and ensure everyone’s safety. 

We also want to assure the residents that the day to day policing operations within the Houston area will be unaffected throughout the enforcement of the injunction.

The full statement from the RCMP on their policing plans to enforce the injunction can be reviewed here.

The RCMP plans were countered by updates from blockade organizers, who issued an alert to their members and supporters noting that police action was imminent in the area.

Joining in on the commentary of the weekend was the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs which outlined through a statement its concern about safety and well being of those in Gidimt'en camp with the prospect of RCMP enforcement possible, while questioning the legalities of the court ruling of December.

The Union also called on the provincial and federal governments "to revoke the permits for the project until the standards of free, prior and informed consent are met"

Set to visit the region today in NDP MP Nathan Cullen, who represents the Skeea-Bulkley Valley riding which includes the region of the Morice River which is the central point of the protest against the construction of an LNG pipeline that would connect the gas fields of Northeast BC to the Kitimat LNG project.

On Sunday, making use of his social media portals Mr. Cullen advised  that he will be issuing a wider statement of his own after he has spoken to all sides of the current situation that is developing in the Bulkley Valley.

Update: NDP MP Nathan Cullen issue a statement on the ongoing situation in the Bulkley Valley at mid afternoon Monday, calling on Trans Canada, the provincial and Federal governments to continue  dialogue with the Wet'suwet'en. 

See the full staetment  here

Some background to the Coastal GasLink project and the split opinions in the Wet'suwet'en territory can be found from our archive page for 2018 here.

Updates for 2019 can be reviewed here as we move through the month and year.

For notes related to the work of the Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP see our archive page here.

To return to the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.