In late December, Justice Church, of the British Columbia Supreme Court in Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. v. Huson 2019 BCSC 2264, granted an interlocutory injunction in favour of the plaintiffs, Coastal GasLink, against the defendants, members of the Dark House belonging to the Wet'suwe'ten Nation, restraining the defendants from blockading the Morice West Forest Service Road at the Morice River Bridge and preventing access to the area to the west of the Bridge Blockade, which is accessible by vehicle using the Morice West FSR.
In early January, APTN National news asked me to comment on the Indigenous law aspect of the decision, which the defendants had argued with respect to Wet’suwet’en law. For my APTN National interview with Jamie Pashagumskum: find it here.
The legal context regarding the Wet'suwe'ten Nation has changed a lot since January, as there were national and international protests as a result of this decision. In early March, the Minister of Aboriginal Relations and citizens of the Wet’suwet’ten Nation met and came to a tentative deal regarding this issue. The contents of the agreement are not known at this time.
This issue was widely covered by APTN and there is a lot of information available online: here.
