Comments Off on Seeds of Resistance: A New Resource for Land Defense
Oct262020
Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info
As the world falls apart around us we turn to the land more than ever.
This site is meant as a resource for resisting pipelines and other exploitative industrial projects. It is full of information for ideas and action when the process has failed, when permits have been granted, and there is nothing left but our own selves to protect the land.
Visit https://seedsofresistance.noblogs.org/ (with TOR or a safe VPN/browser combo!) and find all the things you’ve been looking for to ignite ideas and action.
Pipeline companies threaten violence to communities, salmon and wildlife with drilling under sacred headwaters.
(Unceded Yintah / Secwepemcúĺecw Territories): Coastal Gaslink pipeline in Wet’suwet’en territory and Trans Mountain Pipeline in Secwepemc territory are both currently preparing to drill under our clear rivers, from which we have drawn sustenance since time immemorial.
In the past few days we have seen Indigenous women interrupted during ceremonies in both territories, and arrests and incarcerations in Secwepemc territories, for enacting their sacred responsibilities. The Trans Mountain Pipeline weaves through over 900 rivers and creeks, threatening both Secwepemcetkwe (Thompson) and Fraser River systems. The North Thompson is connected to the Adams River, a vital spawning habitat for chinook, coho, and pink salmon, and home to one of the most important sockeye runs in the world. Any leakage would immediately threaten the pacific salmon who spawn in the Secwepemcetkwe (Thompson) and Fraser River basins.
In an open letter to the Prime Minister dated November 26, 2016, our late Secwepemc leader Arthur Manuel wrote to Trudeau:
“The salmon and the rivers they inhabit have taken care of our people for centuries and we are obligated as Secwepemc people to protect the Thompson River system for future generations.”
In this the Secwepemc stand in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en people, who have been fighting to protect Wedzin Kwa (Morice River) from pipeline incursions for over a decade. Wetʼsuwetʼen means “People of the lower drainage” and Wet’suwet’en people’s lives are inseparable from the life of the Wedzin Kwa river, which we have protected for thousands of years, and which has in turn fed us and governed us through our hereditary leaders and knowledge-keepers.
Sleydo’ Molly Wickham, spokesperson of the Gidimt’en Checkpoint, states:
At this time our rivers, the lifeblood of our nations, are facing drills, toxins and invaders. Indigenous people are standing up to state violence, big industry and corporate greed for the future of all of humanity–of all life on our yintah. We stand with our Secwepemc relatives in their struggle and ask all Indigenous peoples and our allies to stand up for the salmon, the clean drinking water, the animals and our future generations. We will not let them kill us. We will always be here.
Over the last two decades we have witnessed the dramatic decline of our salmon as a result of toxic extractive and urban development on our territory, as well as fish farms, invasive species, and climate change. These pipeline expansions pose the most direct risk yet.
The drilling alone threatens not only salmon spawning habitat but the balance of the entire ecosystem and food chain they rely upon. The sockeye are tenacious, fighting their way thousands of kilometres upstream from the Pacific Ocean to reach their spawning beds in Secwepemc territory. Wedzin Kwa joins the Skeena and runs through the canyons out to the Pacific Ocean. We cannot risk putting any more obstacles in the salmons’ way.
Our traditional land users and stewards—those who exercise our right to hunt, fish, gather, and practice our culture—are the ones who truly understand the potential impacts of the pipeline. It is these members of our nations who will feel the effects of the pipeline on our rights and our food sovereignty most acutely. It is these members who have authority over our lands the government of Canada has failed most.
When we protect our rivers from invading industries, and insist on our rights to fish and hunt on our territories, we are criminalized, harassed and jailed. In Secwepemc territory, there were 5 arrests yesterday and 3 indigenous land defenders were sentenced to 28 days in Canadian jail.
By refusing to seek the free prior and informed consent of our people, and instead opting to sign deals and agreements with a few of our federal Indian bands, the government of Canada has undermined the authority of the proper rights and title holders of Secwepemcúl’ecw and the Wet’suwet’en yintah.
Right now in Mi’kma’ki, commercial fishermen are physically threatening, intimidating and harassing Indigenous people over their livelihood catch of lobster. The violence has escalated in the past few days, and seems likely to continue to escalate. The RCMP have been filmed allowing commercial fishermen to steal and poison lobster, burn vehicles, smash windows, throw rocks at Mi’kmaq people and attack chiefs and women.
What’s happening in Mi’kma’ki is a prime example of how race operates in so-called Canada, with the state protecting the side of big business and using white working-class people to project their force onto the non-white population. Examples of this can be found all over the country.
In August, 27km camp on Wet’suwet’en yintah was burned to the ground by arsonists, and somehow the state has no leads or interest in pursuing the case, even though there were public facebook posts calling for that specific action to be carried out.
In Secwepmeculecw the Tiny House Warriors have faced near constant harrassment from white supremacists who even set up a camp and barbeque within a stone’s throw from Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit folks in order to harass and intimidate them.
In Algonquin territory non-Indigenous hunters continue to disrespect and threaten Indigenous people on their own territory, who are protecting the moose population from being over-hunted.
In Six Nations territory the police continue to harass and arrest Indigenous people, unchecked by us the greater community at large.
When is enough enough? Why aren’t we shutting the country down? The white supremacist settler state cannot continue unchecked. There must be action. This is a callout to all settlers and supporters to take actions where you stand, how you see fit. Transportation routes are vulnerable, we proved this in the spring. It doesn’t take many people carrying out subversive actions to cause the state immense damage.
Update on continued struggle to resist the Coastal GasLink pipeline threatening the Wedzin Kwa headwaters on Wet’suwet’en territory. For more info, follow Gidimt’en Checkpoint.
Our headwaters are under attack. Our way of life is at risk. Coastal Gaslink is weeks away from test drilling beneath Wedzin Kwa – the river that feeds all of Wet’suwet’en territory and gives life to our nation.
We continue to reoccupy our territories – to prepare our foods, to hold our ceremonies, to teach our children what it means to be Wet’suwet’en.
We have to protect ourselves. We have to protect what we have at all costs. We need your support now more than ever.
A message from Sleydo, Molly Wickham, spokesperson for the Gidimt’en Checkpoint.
Visit www.yintahaccess.com to come stand with us, to donate, or to find out ways you can help.
Editorial Note: MTL Counter-info typically publishes content from or directly related to so-called Quebec. This submission contains information that can be difficult to publish, so we are making an exception.
On August 3, in so called Smithers BC, we attacked Val’s Drilling rig #004, using the accelerant in plastic bottles and firestarter cube method. After receiving word that the drill had arrived in Smithers, we departed from Prince George immediately. After arriving in Smithers and getting our bearings, we posted up at the park across the street from the hotel that the drill was parked at. After gathering sufficient Intel, a plan was developed, and the decision to act in the early morning was agreed upon. After the device was planted and ignited, we immediately left back to prince George via highway 16. We believe that firm action is required to ensure that CGL does not drill underneath the Wedzin Kwah, by whatever means necessary. Solidarity with our Haudenoshaunee brothers and sisters facing off with the OPP pigs. No state militia sponsored industry on the stolen land that is Turtle Island.
Using the jumper-cable and wires method described elsewhere the track signalling system on a CN mainline in Hamilton was sabotaged last week. This was done in continuing solidarity with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and land protectors. Work on TC Energy’s Coastal GasLink pipeline continues without the consent of the chiefs and despite the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the chiefs with BC and Kanada. the colonial governments and capitalist industry do not indicate that they will respect the sovereignty of the Wet’suwet’en.
This action was done to support and amplify this struggle and to encourage others to expand solidarity actions beyond letter writing and phone ins. Especially with KKR investment firm’s final investment decision in CGL later this month it is important to continue pressure. The RCMP and CGL mancamps aren’t respecting social distancing but we can still social distance and shut shit down!
It seems worth sharing that we have managed to shut down, (if only for a few to several hours), different rail lines in Southern Ontario using the ol’ copper wire technique. We did this three separate times targeting a junction in Milton, on lines that connect Kitchener-Waterloo to Toronto and Burlington. Using paper maps to follow where lines go, we had fun finding places to act with most impact. We learned more about how this was done following some of the other informative and inspiring posts here on North Shore.
These have been quick, successful, and gleeful ways to contribute to the efforts behind Shut Down Canada. Clandestine sabotages are meaningful tactics to popularize and normalize for many reasons:
-repression easily takes an upper hand in public protest
-it takes very little time out of one’s life to sabotage a line with copper wire, (once at a site, maybe 15 minutes or a bit more if the connection is not ideal at first)
-you can do this alone or with just one trusted person. This fact alone makes risk really very low
-social media posts and populating a google map of actions are not the end goal of settler solidarity The goal is to align with land defenders in actions that are strategic and that send fear into the hearts of the immensely powerful industries they are up against
-it is good for our hearts to strike back in these ways
Comments Off on Solidarity Action with Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders Blocked Access to Port of Montreal
Mar082020
Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info
A group of around 100 protesters blocked the Viau entrance of the Port of Montreal Saturday afternoon for about 30 minutes. The group arrived at the port at around 2:15pm today and erected a barricade and several banners in front of the port entrance, blocking incoming and outgoing traffic. The group then held a demo through the streets of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.
This action took place in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en who are fighting against the continued occupation of their unceded territories by Coastal GasLink (“CGL”) and the RCMP. This action comes on the heels of multiple rail blockades which have taken place in so-called Montreal in recent weeks.
We are here to show our solidarity with Indigenous people all over “Canada” who have been blocking ports, government offices, roads, and railways to create economic disruption and force an end to the occupation of Wet’suwet’en land.
On March 2nd, the Gidimt’en checkpoint published a video calling for continued solidarity actions, asking allies everywhere to keep the pressure on and clarifying that no agreement had been reached regarding the CGL pipeline.
We are here in support of the Wet’suwet’en and inspired by the firekeepers who kept a rail blockade going for more than three weeks in Kahnawake. While this blockade was dismantled voluntarily on March 5th, the firekeepers have moved their fire and acknowledged that they are ready to take more action as is necessary, given that CGL and the RCMP are still in the territory.
This is a crucial time for all of us to act. We are here to send a clear message out west that people all over Canada have their eyes on Wet’suwet’en, and that we know that the tentative agreement reached between the government and the hereditary chiefs last week doesn’t include the removal of CGL from their territory, which is a principle demand of theirs. Places like Tyendinaga, Kahnawake, and Listuguj have been holding it down for so long. We understand this is also a time to gather energies and prepare for the struggles to come. To settlers living in Tiotià:ke and elsewhere, this is a moment where our solidarity is needed more than ever.
Sometime on Friday March 6th, 2020 in a secret courtroom on University Ave in Toronto, CP Rail will make a motion to have their interim injunction be extended to an interlocutory one. Didn’t know CP had an injunction just like CN Rail’s? Neither did anyone but CP Rail & Justice Myers – until they decided to serve recent Hamilton arrestees at their homes after 9pm last night.
We spent too much time thumbing through several hundred pages of documents today, and grace you with the highlights here.
The Superior Court of Justice (Ontario) heard the motion for an interim injunction on February 25th before Justice Myers. It was granted, and then varied on the 26th. There’s a hearing on March 6th to extend the injunction. That said, evidence sheets were captures and printed in early February, so they’ve been preparing for awhile.
The injunction itself has an enforcement order, directing police to enforce it immediately. Upon arrest, one would sign a condition stating they’ll abide by the injunction and released, or be brought before the court to be proceeded against for contempt of court.
The injunction not only includes an order to stay 50 feet away from the outside rails of the tracks, and to not trespass, obstruct or block, but also “directly or indirectly intimidating any of CPR’s employees, contractors, agents…”. It also includes interfering with deliveries and contractors to a site, as well as “aiding, abetting, counseling, procuring or encouraging in any fashion any person or entity to commit or attempt to commit the actions mentioned”.
Very thought-crime esque.
But also nearly an exact replica of the CN injunction overall.
Things get slightly more interesting when it comes to the section that includes the evidence needed to file for the injunction – namely to prove or affirm that blockades will irreparably harm their business.
Most of it is still boring, but here are the clif notes:
William Law, who is the district inspector in charge of Ontario and Quebec within the CP Rail police confirmed that red flags and flares on tracks indicate operators must stop immediately. Crews observing them are not permitted to pass beyond them.
General Impacts of Blockades
Rails lines run high value, time sensitive shipments
CPR operates a schedule based railway. Ever wake up a few minutes late and it ruins the flow to your entire day? That’s what blockades do to rail lines.
There is “often no way around a blockade on the main line”
Train delays will cause backlog on tracks and in some yards, while causing car shortages in other years which compounds disruption.
Additionally, once the blockade lets up train crews can’t just continue on – the trains must be re-crewed because of service hour limits
In their words, blockades cause “significant economic damage”
24 trains pass on the CP mainliner per day in the Toronto area. Half of them are intermodal (long distance consumer products) and half are mixed manifest.
“The Hamilton Blockade” (their words, not ours)
The Hamilton blockade, while only lasting two days, interrupted rail traffic between Buffalo-Toronto, Chicago-Buffalo-Montreal, Montreal-Chicago, and London-Buffalo.
Tarps strung across the rails successfully blocked the view of officers and photographers from afar
Hamilton Police had a meeting on February 25th at 9am with the Public Order Unit to discuss and decide a course of action to end the protest. The POU takes approximately 3 hours to convene.
Based on the heavy and increasing police presence, leaving at 5pm on the second day of the blockade saved a lot of people from arrest.
That’s it. We did say only slightly more interesting.
