RCMP arrest 14, clear main road in operation against Wet'suwet'en pipeline resistance

The RCMP says it arrested 14 people and cleared a forest service road in northern British Columbia that was barricaded by a crushed van and another vehicle that was set on fire by Wet'suwet'en and Haudenosaunee members opposing construction of a multi-billion dollar natural gas pipeline.

The remote logging road begins just west of Houston, 1,000 kilometres northwest of Vancouver, and is an old battleground.

Thursday's move by the RCMP mark the third time it has launched operations on this road against barricades erected by supporters of Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs. They say the Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline does not have consent to cross Wet'suwet'en territory. The RCMP raided here in 2019 and 2020.

One resistance camp — dubbed Coyote camp — still remains, occupying a site slated to be used by CGL crews to drill the pipeline beneath the Wedzin Kaw river.  

The RCMP said in a statement the 14 individuals were arrested for breaching an injunction in place since 2019 preventing any obstruction on the road. They are being held overnight and are scheduled to appear in court Friday morning, the statement said.

No names were released.

The RCMP statement characterizes the operation as a rescue effort for 500 workers in two CGL camps.

CGL and the RCMP said the barricades severed the only ground supply route for the work camps who were forced to ration water. 

"It was no longer possible to delay our efforts to rescue the workers," Assistant Commissioner Eric Stubbs said in the statement.

"As such, our enforcement operation had to proceed immediately."

The pipeline resistance made its move to block the road this past weekend, demanding CGL leave the territory and dropping a crushed van across the entrance to a key bridge. 

The RCMP statement said a bulldozer was buried in a trench on the other side of the bridge. Two disabled escavators and a flaming vehicle were also cleared off the road, the statement said.

Molly Wickham, also known as Sleydo', a Gidmet'en Clan member, told CBC News in a phone interview that police arrested 15 people, including two Wet'suwet'en elders, three legal observers and a journalist.

Wickham also said the RCMP brought a canine team to the raid.