The BCCLA is appalled by the increasing and overwhelming presence of militarized RCMP in unceded, un-surrendered Wet’suwet’en territory. We also condemn the RCMP for its use of an illegal exclusion zone established at the 27 kilometre mark of the Morice Forest Service Road. RCMP presence in Wet’suwet’en territory is a violation of the rule of law, Wet’suwet’en law, Indigenous rights and responsibilities, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

The Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs have repeatedly asserted that Coastal GasLink and the RCMP do not have consent to be on their territory. Yet again, the unlawful actions of the RCMP is putting the lives of the Wet’suwet’en people and their allies in grave danger. The BCCLA is utterly dismayed that during a state of emergency and climate crisis the government of BC has chosen to send busloads of RCMP officers to invade Wet’suwet’en territory and violently criminalize Wet’suwet’en water protectors instead of deploying those resources to assist with relief efforts in areas of the province that are flooded.

We demand that the RCMP be commanded to stand down and immediately vacate Wet’suwet’en territory.

Read the open letter regarding the RCMP exclusion zone in Wet’suwet’en Territory