Tuesday: Wet’suwet’en

So today was interesting.........

I had a breakfast meeting following by a quick turnaround in the office and a seaplane flight over to Victoria.  Just as I was waiting for the flight I got a call to say that there was a problem with the event I was due to attend, the opening of the B.C. Legislature, as protesters who were against a gas pipeline up north, had surrounded the building and were preventing access to the building.

The viewing that I and several other colleagues were due to attend was hastily relocated to another building.   We then got word to say that the afternoon reception that was due to follow was cancelled, only for it to be reinstated a little bit later.  The evening reception that we were due to attend was scheduled to go ahead only for it to be cancelled later.  Confused?  So was I.

So after the viewing, a few of us did venture into the Legislature for the reinstated reception.  We endured quite a lot of abuse and calls of ‘Shame’ as we entered.  For Games of Thrones fans it was akin to Cersei’s walk of shame in King’s Landing, except with clothes.  And the same on the way out.

As a result of cancelled receptions my Irish colleague, Frank, and I were in town with no plans for this evening so off we went for dinner instead.

As for the issue behind the protest, I’ll try and tell you as factually as I can with no bias.  Coastal GasLink are building a pipeline in connection with a Liquid Natural Gas plant in northern B.C.  The project has been approved by First Nations along the route as it has met the environmental standards.  The Wet’suwet’en, across whose land the pipeline runs, has a complicated government structure, different to most First Nations.  The elected chiefs are authorized to speak for the people, and have approved the project.  The hereditary chiefs speak for the land and are vehemently opposed.  And that’s it in a nutshell. 

But, as a member of the Legislature said to me today, it’s for the Wet’suwet’en to decide who speaks for them.