Roundup: Will the RCMP’s pledge be enough?

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The question as to whether or not there was progress on dismantling the protest blockades is a rather fraught one, as the news that the RCMP in BC had announced their plans to withdraw their forces from the pipeline site with the proviso that the company be allowed access, which doesn’t sound like it sits well with those hereditary chiefs, because they insist that their eviction notice for Coastal GasLink stands. However, if removing the RCMP from Wet’suwet’en territory is the condition for the sympathetic protests blockades to come down, then we’ll see if that has the promised effect – we may not find out until the four hereditary chiefs who have travelled to Mohawk territory in Ontario have their meeting. In the meantime, Justin Trudeau had a teleconference with the premiers, who expressed frustration but had no consensus on how they would solve the impasse – though François Legault is threatening to send the police after the blockade near Montreal (though we’ll see if the police there respond to political direction, because that would be a violation of police independence). Oh, and while a lot of people are claiming that CN is blaming previously announced layoffs on the current blockade situation, the Teamsters has come out to say that these current (temporary) layoffs are different from those previously announced, so there goes another talking point.

Meanwhile, there has been increased reporting about those Wet’suwet’en voices who are both in favour of the pipeline, as well as those who are don’t appreciate the protesters invoking them, given that they say the dispute is none of their business. As part of that, here is a lengthy thread that tries to get a better sense of the house and clan structure of the Wet’suwet’en, along with trying to get some clarity as to the status of hereditary chiefs, while this thread explains a bit more of their decision-making structure, and what may be an issue at present with some of the politics with the anti-pipeline factions. It’s complex, and resists easy narratives.

I would add that what I wrote yesterday still stands – that the company still needs to act here, because the reporting on the timeline of the decision-making and consultation seems to indicate that they cut the corners around consultation with the hereditary chiefs, and until they pull back and go through that process, then some of these problems won’t get resolved, and the current situation will drag on until things get really uncomfortable, and people start demanding drastic action, which will only hurt the cause for everyone.

Good reads:

  • Chrystia Freeland says that the government has agreed to some rules changes for transparency for future trade negotiations in exchange for NDP support.
  • François-Philippe Champagne hosted a meeting to the Lima Group to try to reinvigorate the push to democratically oust the Maduro government in Venezuela.
  • The flight carrying Canadians evacuated from a Japanese cruise ship is on its way back to Canada (where passengers will go into another quarantine).
  • The Senate continues to debate changes to its harassment policies, and keep ignoring that with the Meredith case, no formal complaints were ever filed.
  • The Commons industry committee is looking to study the problem of spam callers.
  • Conservative MP Michelle Rempel released a manifesto called the “Buffalo Doctrine” to list Alberta’s grievances. (I have a column on this coming out later today).
  • First Peter MacKay encouraged vigilantism against protesters in a tweet, deleted it, then repeated the encouragement in a fundraising letter.
  • Not to be outdone, Erin O’Toole promised to criminalize such blockades in the future, ignoring that those kinds of laws are already on the books.
  • The Canadian Press’ Baloney Meter™ tests the assertion that the government can direct the RCMP or other police forces. (Spoiler: It’s a lot of baloney).

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2 thoughts on “Roundup: Will the RCMP’s pledge be enough?”

  1. Buffalo chip, won’t you come out tonight, and dance by the light of the moon!

    The longer these protests drag on, the less likely it becomes that the protesters will have a sympathetic government, as is Trudeau’s, willing to extend an olive branch and talk things over with them, because the rest of the country will get fed up and throw the nice guy out. Do they really think they’ll get anywhere on anything they seek to accomplish with the racist, tough-on-crime Cons?

    The company isn’t going to alter or cancel their plans for the project. Industry figures they can wait out Trudeau and get Macho MacKay or Top Gun O’Toole on their side to go in and crack skulls on industry’s behalf. Or vigilantes will do it — remember those angry truck drivers last year on the Hill? — and then there’ll be no choice but to send in the riot cops or the troops in full body armor to clear the scene. Sheriff Andy (who enthusiastically embraced the yellow vests), reportedly told a FN elder in his own riding “I don’t need your Indian votes to win” and the truth is, the Cons do not, nor do they really care. Harper himself infamously said that indigenous issues were not on his radar. Trudeau is not perfect on this file, but at least he makes a good faith effort — at substantial political cost — to care.

    The tribe really does not have a winning hand in the long run here. The rest of Canada has elections even if they do not, and patience with Trudeau’s call to compassion is all but guaranteed to wear thin. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction; see the 1960s race riots and Nixon’s subsequent election, or Black Lives Matter leading to Donald Trump. Money talks, and (white) capital always wins. When they do, it won’t be pretty, as history has shown. But the tribe still an opportunity to head off a worst-case scenario by meeting the current government halfway, so why don’t the chiefs at the very least agree to have a sit-down with Trudeau’s negotiators? They may not get another chance. 🙁

  2. Can’t wait for Rempel’s “manifesto” should be a doozy.
    As for your point about hearing from proponents of the pipe, this is something that should have been done from the time that the “hereditary chiefs began their first walk into infamy.
    The “media” have again let the populus down by grabbing the sensational over the substance and as usual the many interests out there jump all over sensationalism and now we are in big trouble. There should be no meetings unless the consenting chiefs are invited.

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