Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) moved in this morning to clear a blockade of railway tracks in eastern Ontario. Mohawk activists had been protesting next to the tracks for the past eighteen days, in support of Chiefs from the Wet'suwet'en nation in British Columbia, who oppose the construction of a gas pipeline across their territory. Thankfully, this morning's action seems to have been mostly violence-free, aside from a little yelling and scuffling. That said, however, this should all have been resolved much sooner and without any police involvement at all. Blame for the fact that didn't happen attaches both to the government and the Chiefs.
Let's start with the government. Justin Trudeau brags that he has made reconciliation with Canada's indigenous peoples a cornerstone of his government. Throw a powwow or a potlatch, and Justin will be there, quite possibly bearing a lachrymose apology for some long-ago misdeed by previous governments. And yet, with the blockade and other protests already underway, Trudeau jetted off to Africa to pursue his campaign for a seat on the UN Security Council, only getting engaged in the matter when both sides were literally and metaphorically dug in.
This left things in the charge of Trudeau's Minister for Crown-Indigenous Relations, Carolyn Bennett. To describe Ms Bennett as unimpressive would be an understatement -- she gives the impression of being almost catatonic. Her attempts to reach the Wet'suwet'en Chiefs went unanswered, which is unsurprising if you stop to think about it. Trudeau has been keen to hang out with you and treat you as equals when the going is good, but when there's a problem he suddenly has better things to do. There haven't been any reports of the Chiefs feeling insulted, but if they do, I wouldn't blame them.
How are the Chiefs themselves to blame? There are actually two sets of Chiefs in the Wet'suwet'en territory. The hereditary Chiefs, who see themselves as custodians of the traditional land, have consistently opposed the gas pipeline. However, many of the elected village Chiefs have signed on in support of the project, in the hope of securing money and jobs for their people.
Things flared up when the pipeline company obtained an injunction to stop protesters from blockading their worksite on Wet'suwet'en land. The RCMP showed up in full military regalia to
end the blockade, the hereditary Chiefs appealed for solidarity, and the Mohawks in Ontario responded, bringing us to where we were as of early this morning when the OPP moved in.
The hereditary Chiefs have been consistent with two demands: remove the RCMP from their territory, and halt construction on the pipeline so that there can be further discussions about mitigating its impact. Here is where there is blame to be laid: both of those things have been offered. The RCMP agreed to stand down almost a week ago, and in the last few days the provincial government in BC ordered the pipeline company to stop work for a 30-day consultation period. Why did that not break the logjam? Well, that could be because four of the five hereditary Chiefs decided to spend several days visiting their Mohawk sympathizers in Ontario and Quebec, rather than working directly to bring the crisis to an end.
Is this the end of the matter? Almost certainly not. Indigenous blockades of this type are a recurring event, although most do not last as long or cause as much impact as this one has. The underlying issue -- which can be stated in broad terms as "this land is yours, Chiefs, until such time as we need to do something with it" -- is entirely unresolved. Even if the Wet'suwet'en people can now make a deal over the gas pipeline, there are plenty more such disputes ahead.
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