Trans Mountain Expansion Continues in Wet’suwet’en Territory during COVID-19 Pandemic
Written by: Morgana Adby
If you are new to the story, you can find FAQ here, and the background analysis here.
Reports have come in, that even as Canadians are being told to isolate themselves, the pipeline construction continues in Wet’suwet’en territory. Provincial authorities have confirmed that the prohibition of gatherings greater than 50 people does not apply to job sites.
LNG Canada is currently being treated as an essential service, but is it? Although it is technically utility transportation, Canadians currently do not rely on the project to get the oil they consume. The project could be paused until it was safe to continue. Yet, this situation both puts workers and Indigenous people on the land at risk.
If the government had a long term plan to protect workers and their families from the economic hardships that Covid-19 is causing, workers may not have chosen to put themselves at risk by continuing construction. It is important to remember that the choice to work is largely coerced by the conditions around that worker’s individual situation; the risk to their well-being should not be written off just because they choose to work there.
Additionally, this puts the local land defenders in an awkward position. Do they give up on protecting their land and affirming the unresolved aboriginal title? Do they risk their health, and health or others by not socially isolating?
It is unclear to what extent this decision will put the Indigenous Nation’s health at risk. Certainly this increases the community exposure to workers that must regularly travel, in a time where multiple Indigenous Nations have been unobstructed in their decision to close off their land to outsiders.
The construction is continuing at Canada’s most divisive job site, at a time where it would be unsafe for land defenders to continue resisting. This is another situation where it is important to acknowledge the coercive nature of the context outside of state force- consent was not given before or during the pandemic, but the necessary cooling of resistance is being used to push through the project.
This week, expect an update quantifying the Wet’suwet’en public health risk as sources confirm the details.
Critics are saying that the government is using a public health emergency to cover up this disregard for territorial consent. Now, it is unsafe to gather at solidarity rallies, blockades and other resistances on Wet’suwet’en territory. Most people's minds are on the unifying challenge we face. So, concerns have been raised that government and business interests are using the situation to get the pipeline built quietly.
A strong contribution to that narrative is the reality that news coverage has been consumed by the current emergency. Certainly, the immediate threat is deserving of significant public attention, but unintentional erasure of a situation of such constitutional and material importance is far from ideal. Especially as we may be facing this global challenge for months, it would be irresponsible to forget about the ongoing issues on this land.
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