RCMP promises to leave Wet'suwet'en territory if road is kept clear

#B.C.; #RCMP; #CNRailBlockade; #CoastalGasLinkPipelineProject; #Injuction

British Columbia, Feb 20 (Canadian-Media): As Thursday morning cabinet meeting progressed with an aim to end the CN rail blockades by the Mohawks, tt was hoped by Public Safety Minister Bill Blair that RCMP's offer to leave their outpost on Wet'suwet'en territory in northern B.C. will lead to the barricades coming down, media reports said.

Bill Blair. Image credit: Facebook page

An injunction issued by he B.C. Supreme Court in December authorizing the police to clear away the protesters who had blocked access to the public road.

The Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs refused to comply with peaceful written requests of the RCMP Deputy Commissioner Jennifer Strachan telling them they would leave their territories if the construction of the $6-billion Coastal GasLink pipeline project is not blocked.

But when Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs and their supporters continued to block construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline project, RCMP representing the provincial police service in B.C., moved in to enforce this injunction earlier this month.

The arrests made were followed by the two-week national protests, the rail blockades and forced Via Rail to nearly 1,000 layoffs Wednesday.

CN Rail says it has obtained an injunction to dismantle a rail blockade on Montreal's South Shore.