ALL EYES ON PARLIAMENT: RALLY FOR THE WET’SUWET’EN
9:00 AM on Monday Feb. 24th, 2020
Parliament Hill, -
9:00 AM on Monday Feb. 24th, 2020
Parliament Hill, -
Ottawa, show up like never before!!!
We need to unite and keep up the pressure in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en nation!
On Monday, February 24th, MPs are meeting all day. There is no other Ottawa, there is no other federal parliament housing those who are elected to make decisions on our behalf.
Join Indigenous Youth and their allies to pressure MPs to meet the Wet'suwet'en's DEMANDS to:
- Get the RCMP off Wet’suwet’en land.
- Get Coastal GasLink (CGL) off Wet’suwet’en land.
- Meet with the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs.
We need to hold MPs accountable and ensure they uphold the RULE OF LAW, which includes:
- Indigenous law: Wet’suwet’en law and governance give authority to the Hereditary Chiefs to make decisions on the ancestral lands (whereas the band councils created by the Indian Act only have jurisdiction over their respective reserves).
- Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution, which protects the existence of Indigenous/Aboriginal rights and titles to the land, prior to the arrival of Europeans. The right to benefit from the land and exclude others from using the land is part of what Canadian courts have described as Aboriginal title. Aboriginal title, including Wet’suwet’en Aboriginal title, takes precedence over the Crown’s underlying interest in the land.
- The Supreme Court of Canada recognized that BC’s authority to issue permits for Indigenous lands, including the type of permits issued for the Coastal GasLink pipeline, is not based on established legal authority. It is based on the fact that the Province has proceeded, for over 150 years, to make unilateral decisions about Indigenous lands. The fact that the Province has acted since the 1860s as though it has full authority to decide how Indigenous peoples’ lands are used does not make doing so legal or just.
- Canadian Charter of Right and Freedoms, such as s. 2 protecting freedoms of peaceful assembly and the press; and s. 7 protecting the right to life, liberty and security and the right not to be deprived thereof.
Source: firstpeopleslaw.com/index/articles/438.php
Dress for the cold!
Invite your friends and your family, and bring banners and signs!
**********
The Wet’suwet’en camps have been raided and are now reoccupied, heavy RCMP presence is ongoing, the Coastal GasLink (CGL) workers are unhindered, and some land defenders cannot return to the injunction zone or they will be jailed until they appear in court. One land defender is still detained - without charge - as she has refused to sign the release conditions to abide by the colonial injunction.
The Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs are responsible under Wet’suwet’en law and governance for making decisions relating to their ancestral lands. They have said NO to the pipeline and this must be respected, as their lands are not Canadian territory. Canada has signed and BC has put into law the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) so they must respect the rule of law and uphold the principle of free, prior and informed consent included in it.
Media statement from Gidimt’en: https://www.facebook.com/212798726332588/posts/521619158783875/?d=n
***This action is taking place on unceded Algonquin territory. This stolen land must be returned to the Algonquin nation.
We need to unite and keep up the pressure in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en nation!
On Monday, February 24th, MPs are meeting all day. There is no other Ottawa, there is no other federal parliament housing those who are elected to make decisions on our behalf.
Join Indigenous Youth and their allies to pressure MPs to meet the Wet'suwet'en's DEMANDS to:
- Get the RCMP off Wet’suwet’en land.
- Get Coastal GasLink (CGL) off Wet’suwet’en land.
- Meet with the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs.
We need to hold MPs accountable and ensure they uphold the RULE OF LAW, which includes:
- Indigenous law: Wet’suwet’en law and governance give authority to the Hereditary Chiefs to make decisions on the ancestral lands (whereas the band councils created by the Indian Act only have jurisdiction over their respective reserves).
- Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution, which protects the existence of Indigenous/Aboriginal rights and titles to the land, prior to the arrival of Europeans. The right to benefit from the land and exclude others from using the land is part of what Canadian courts have described as Aboriginal title. Aboriginal title, including Wet’suwet’en Aboriginal title, takes precedence over the Crown’s underlying interest in the land.
- The Supreme Court of Canada recognized that BC’s authority to issue permits for Indigenous lands, including the type of permits issued for the Coastal GasLink pipeline, is not based on established legal authority. It is based on the fact that the Province has proceeded, for over 150 years, to make unilateral decisions about Indigenous lands. The fact that the Province has acted since the 1860s as though it has full authority to decide how Indigenous peoples’ lands are used does not make doing so legal or just.
- Canadian Charter of Right and Freedoms, such as s. 2 protecting freedoms of peaceful assembly and the press; and s. 7 protecting the right to life, liberty and security and the right not to be deprived thereof.
Source: firstpeopleslaw.com/index/articles/438.php
Dress for the cold!
Invite your friends and your family, and bring banners and signs!
**********
The Wet’suwet’en camps have been raided and are now reoccupied, heavy RCMP presence is ongoing, the Coastal GasLink (CGL) workers are unhindered, and some land defenders cannot return to the injunction zone or they will be jailed until they appear in court. One land defender is still detained - without charge - as she has refused to sign the release conditions to abide by the colonial injunction.
The Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs are responsible under Wet’suwet’en law and governance for making decisions relating to their ancestral lands. They have said NO to the pipeline and this must be respected, as their lands are not Canadian territory. Canada has signed and BC has put into law the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) so they must respect the rule of law and uphold the principle of free, prior and informed consent included in it.
Media statement from Gidimt’en: https://www.facebook.com/212798726332588/posts/521619158783875/?d=n
***This action is taking place on unceded Algonquin territory. This stolen land must be returned to the Algonquin nation.