Wet’suwet’en solidarity march draws large crowd to Bell Boulevard

People attending the march arrived at the Shoeless Joe’s parking lot, at the corner of Bell Boulevard and North Front Street, at about 3 p.m. with signs, drums, and slogans looking for change in the way the federal government is handling the issues related to the railway demonstrations that sprung up across the country in response to the RCMP enforcing a court injunction in favour of Coastal Gaslink’s pipeline.

 

Protester Anthea Weese, 71, is a member of Amnesty International’s Quinte chapter for 13 years. She was there because she supports the Hereditary Chiefs in Wet’suwet’en and doesn’t see what’s wrong with defending the land and water, she said.

 

“Denying land rights to people who are supporting the Earth and supporting clean water when we’re in a climate crisis is just crazy,” she said.

 

She also noted that the railway actions, like the one in Tyendinaga, were an effective way to get the attention of the country.

 

“I don’t want to use the word blockade because in Tyendinaga the tracks were never blocked – the camp was set up very close to the tracks but it was on Tyendinaga land, not CN land,” she said.

 

“The railway actions have been brilliant in terms of getting the attention of the country and there’s a national conversation happening now such as there has never been before and so it’s nervy days – scary days but hopefully this will come out for the better of human rights.”

 

“People need to understand that the actions that have been happening all across the country are necessary to get attention,” she said.

 

On Feb. 24., the OPP moved to enforce an injunction in favour of removing the land defenders in Tyendinaga who had set up camp near the railway tracks at Wyman Road.

 

Despite several arrests, people remain at both campsites.

 

Those behind the action say they will remain until the RCMP is off of Wet’suwet’en land.

 

Carrie Ann Rogers, 46, a social services worker in the Quinte region, said the reason she participated in the march was to support Indigenous People.

 

“I’m a Metis woman and for years our ancestors have been fighting for our rights and fighting for our land,” she said.

 

“We’ve been barricaded from our languages, our cultures, our schools, and our families; we’ve been made to live on white people land and now we barricade a railroad and the whole world goes berserk,” she said.

 

She said the hateful comments online are horrific and that in this day and age she hoped people would be more understanding and less oppressive of her people.

 

After three days of negotiations, the Hereditary Chiefs have reached a tentative agreement with the federal and provincial governments on land rights.

 

Various blockades across the country, including one in Kahnawake, south of Montreal, say that they will not remove the barricades until the communities learn more about the agreement.

 

So far no details of the agreement have been released.

 

The federal and B.C. government along with the Hereditary Chiefs released a joint statement acknowledging that they have not come to an agreement on the construction of the pipeline.

 

Despite this negotiation phase, work is expected to resume on the Coastal Gaslink pipeline this week.