Trudeau’s Demand: “The Barricades Must Come Down”

Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau has called the imbroglio between the Wet’suwet’en nation and Canada a matter to be decided by the rule of law. However, the Wet’suwet’en have refused to back down and have defied the British Columbia Supreme Court injunction allowing pipeline work to continue.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) were sent in to enforce the injunction. After that Trudeau seemed to have ducked the issue of the Wet’suwet’en’s opposition to pipelines through their territory until growing solidarity actions shut down ports, railways, bridges, and highways.

On 21 February, Trudeau appeared before the media and claimed,

We have gone through exhausting every possibility for dialogue, for engagement, for finding peaceful solutions to deescalate this every step of the way, and we remain open to that but we are waiting for Indigenous leadership to show that it also understands; the onus is on them. We will be there to discuss, but the barricades must come down.

Do Trudeau’s actions match his words? Does the presence of a heavily armed RCMP strike force on Wet’suwet’en territory speak to a peaceful solution every step of the way? Does the RCMP strategizing to shoot Indigenous activists speak to a peaceful solution every step of the way? Does the setting up of RCMP barricades to control road access in and out of Wet’suwet’en territory speak to a peaceful solution every step of the way? Do the arrests of Wet’suwet’en matriarchs speak to a peaceful solution every step of the way?

Trudeau’s questionable phraseology that “we are waiting for Indigenous leadership to show that it also understands” comes across as condescending. The Trudeau government’s waiting for a show of understanding, appears to call into question the intellectual capacity of the Indigenous leaders.

Trudeau has a demand: the Indigenous leadership must see to the removal of the barricades. Does such a demand show respect for a nation-to-nation dialogue? The Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs likewise have a demand: the RCMP must leave Wet’suwet’en territory before discussions will be entered into. The two sides are at loggerheads.

Ask yourself, who among us would willingly agree to meet a foe with a gun ready to shoot them? Why should the Wet’suwet’en accept meeting anyone while armed RCMP are on their territory?  (more...)

Trudeau’s Demand: “The Barricades Must Come Down”

Is that Justin's speechwriter at his armpit?