Guest essay by Eric Worrall
h/t Breitbart, Fox News; An intense situation in Canada as climate activists, environmentalists and other groups including Antifa appear to be edging towards committing acts of terrorism.
But the conflict has deeper roots, an apparent power struggle between hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en Nation who oppose the pipeline, and the elected Wet’suwet’en Nation council, who support development and jobs.
Statement by Minister of Transport on unsafe behaviour around railways
From: Transport Canada
Statement
February 17, 2020 – Ottawa, Ontario – Transport Canada
The Minister of Transport, the Honourable Marc Garneau, issued the following statement today:
“As Minister of Transport, I have a duty to ensure that our rail system and its infrastructure are as safe as possible. I take this responsibility very seriously. Our railway companies are also working to make their operations as safe as possible. Consequently, I am very preoccupied by the recent activities in and around rail lines and rail yards across our country.
“Let me be clear: rail lines and rail yards are dangerous places for people without the proper training. Working in proximity to rail lines and rail cars requires a complete awareness of safety procedures.
“Furthermore, large moving trains confronted with unexpected obstacles on a rail line cannot stop instantly and this presents an extreme hazard to the life of those inside the train and those in front of a moving train.
“Finally, I also want to remind Canadians that tampering with rail lines, rail cars or signalling systems is illegal and extremely dangerous. In addition to putting yourself at risk, you are endangering railway workers and train passengers, as well as in the living communities around them.
“I am calling for all Canadians to respect the Railway Safety Act and be conscious of the danger associated with recent demonstrations.”
Contacts
Livia Belcea
Press SecretaryOffice of the Honourable Marc Garneau
Minister of Transport, Ottawa
613-991-0700
livia.belcea@tc.gc.caMedia Relations
Transport Canada, Ottawa
613-993-0055
media@tc.gc.caTransport Canada is online at www.tc.gc.ca. Subscribe to e-news or stay connected through RSS, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr to keep up to date on the latest from Transport Canada.
This statement may be made available in alternative formats for persons living with visual disabilities.
Source: Canadian Government
From Fox News;
Trudeau calls emergency meeting after Canada pipeline protest shuts down railway service for thousands
By Danielle Wallace | Fox News
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau canceled a scheduled trip to the Caribbean Sunday amid harsh backlash over his government’s handling of major blockades on railways across British Columbia and other parts of the country in response to a $5 billion pipeline project.
CORONAVIRUS PANIC LED TO HONG KONG TOILET PAPER THEFT AT KNIFEPOINT: POLICE
Tens of thousands of passengers were forced to cancel their trips on railways across Canada last week as indigenous groups and environmental activists blocked and put up barriers along major track lines across the country. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce called the situation an “emergency” for the country’s economy as blockades on railroad tracks prevent the transport of food, fuel and other consumer goods throughout the country and into the northern United States.
The organized blockades on strategic railway points began Feb. 6 in response to the government’s plan to build a $5 billion Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline that crosses the traditional territory of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation near Houston, British Columbia. The protests at railways came in response to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) raiding camps set up by the Wet’suwet’en Nation at the pipeline construction site. Dozens were arrested in that raid.
“We are here for as long as we can be disruptive,” indigenous land defender Vanessa Gray told CTV News. “We are here in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en land defenders, the hereditary chiefs that oppose the pipeline, with solidarity with everyone who has faced violence from the police arrests and people who are still faced with surveillance from the police. We are here also to shut down Canada.”
…
From Breitbart;
Canadian Minister Confirms Far-Left Extremists Sabotaging Railway Safety Equipment
CHRIS TOMLINSON 19 Feb 20202723:01
Canadian transport minister Marc Garneau, a member of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, has admitted far-left protesters aligned with a counter-pipeline group have been actively sabotaging railway infrastructure.
Minister Garneau appeared on public broadcaster CBC on Monday to discuss the ongoing crisis which has crippled the Canadian rail system in large parts of the country and confirmed that aspects of the rail system were being tampered with.
“There have also been instances of tampering on the railways… One that concerns me is disabling the signalling that occurs at a road crossing… We accept peaceful protests and demonstrations in this country that are peaceful and lawful, but it is concerning if people aren’t respecting the fact that they injure themselves and other people,” he said.
Garneau also put out a press release warning those who would look to sabotage the rail lines saying: “Finally, I also want to remind Canadians that tampering with rail lines, rail cars or signalling systems is illegal and extremely dangerous. In addition to putting yourself at risk, you are endangering railway workers and train passengers, as well [the] communities around them.”
The two statements largely confirm blog posts made by Antifa far-left extremists on the blog “Northshore Counter-Info” which have both called for and taken credit for several instances of railway sabotage in recent weeks, claiming to be in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en First Nation.
The North Shore blog makes no secret that part of their motivation is climate change.
…
There was a public call to prepare for a day-long “field trip” and gather at Skeleton Park in Kingston, where speakers connected the dots between indigenous sovereignty, climate change and state violence that have moved so many to action in this moment. The surprise destination was revealed in the park, and most of the crowd decided to board the school bus heading to the bridge. Those who felt uncomfortable or unprepared were treated with respect and encouraged to join a call-in campaign at another location downtown.
…
Read more: North Shore Protest Blog
OK we get why Antifa are there, but why would the Wet’suwet’en Nation oppose jobs and opportunities for their young people?
The answer is, the Wet’suwet’en Nation’s people actually support the pipeline. Their elected council agreed to support the pipeline, but their hereditary chiefs oppose the pipeline.
Torn loyalties over the future of Wet’suwet’en amid blockade against GasLink
BRENT JANG HOUSTON, B.C.PUBLISHED JANUARY 12, 2020 UPDATED JANUARY 12, 2020
Russell and Elsie Tiljoe have deep roots in the Wet’suwet’en Nation and worry about the growing divisions between hereditary chiefs who oppose Coastal GasLink’s $6.6-billion pipeline project and elected band councillors who support it.
Mr. Tiljoe, 83, and his 82-year-old wife, Elsie, say on-reserve residents stand to benefit from jobs created by construction of the natural-gas pipeline.
But the Indigenous elders also respect the Wet’suwet’en’s hereditary house groups, which claim authority in northern British Columbia over their traditional territory located outside federal reserves.
The couple, who have been married for 65 years and raised 10 children, feel torn between being loyal to hereditary leaders and backing elected councillors promoting economic development to raise the standard of living on reserves.
“I wish our hereditary house groups could work with the elected officials,” Mr. Tiljoe said during an interview on Saturday. “Some people think that anyone who isn’t 100 per cent behind them is against them.”
…
What a mess. Traditional tribal chiefs apparently unhappy at the decision of the democratically elected representatives of their people, having what amounts to a family argument. Antifa protestors and other violent far left, climate change and environmental extremists piling in, blocking railway lines, allegedly sabotaging trains, aggravating the situation by adding to the pain and potential carnage.
And presiding over this unstable situation, spineless Prime Minister Trudeau, who wants to embrace environmentalism AND raise revenue from developing Canada’s oil resources.
‘No country would find 173 billion barrels of oil in the ground and leave them there’ – Justin Trudeau
via Watts Up With That?
February 20, 2020 at 12:04AM
Iowa Climate Science Education 