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Solidarity demonstration shuts down Highway 6 bypass in Caledonia

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A blockade has been set up in Caledonia by Indigenous demonstrators in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs who are against a pipeline through their territory in northern British Columbia.

According to the 1492 Land Back Lane Twitter account, the blockade on the Highway 6 bypass was erected Thursday evening after more than a dozen people, including Elders, leaders and media, were arrested by RCMP at the site of a blockade in B.C.

Among those arrested was 1492 Land Back Lane’s spokesperson Skylar Williams who had travelled to B.C from Six Nations in Ontario.

The B.C. blockade was set up by members of the Gidimt’en clan and cuts off access for more than 500 Coastal GasLink pipeline workers.

In a statement published on Coastal GasLink’s website on Thursday, the company said hundreds of workers were stranded for days and the access road that was blockaded by First Nations protesters since Sunday had now been cleared by the RCMP.

“Coastal GasLink has been advised that the Morice Forest Service Road has been cleared by the RCMP and can now be safely utilized to bring water, food and other critical supplies to over 500 workers who have been stranded for almost four days,” said the company. “We are further advised that the road is not yet secured for public travel but we will continue to provide further updates as the situation develops.”

However, a post on the Gidimt’en Checkpoint Facebook page said the company did not inform employees of the eight-hour evacuation window ordered by the Wet’suwet’en earlier in the week.

“Coastal GasLink did NOT inform their workers of the 8-hour peaceful evacuation window, ordered by the Wet’suwet’en November 14, 2021, instead electing to use and endanger their own workers as pawns for the sake of corporate profits,” reads the post. “A worker trapped for days by blockades on the route to a Coastal GasLink work camp says he and others would have left the area if they had been warned that Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs planned to barricade the access road.”

Back in Caledonia, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says drivers should expect significant delays due to the closure of the Highway 6 bypass between Argyle St. South and Greens Rd.

“The OPP will continue to follow its Framework for Police Preparedness For Indigenous Critical Incidents which provides guidance for a measured and sensitive response to these events. Our primary goal is to preserve the peace and maintain a safe environment for everyone involved,” said OPP in a news release.

Police say several members of the OPP Provincial Liaison Team are engaged in ongoing conversations with demonstrators.

“The OPP is also working with those who may organize protest events to provide a safe and peaceful opportunity to exercise their lawful rights while minimizing the impact on the traveling public, where possible,” said police.

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