Solidarity with Wet’suwet’en – Stop Gas Development That Ignores Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Solidarity Statement from Friends of the Earth Japan

We stand in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en First Nation who are fighting to protect their land, culture, water and history. We also call on companies and private banks involved in the gas development projects that destroy and infringe on the rights of Indigenous Peoples to respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and to immediately stop their projects, and on the governments of Canada and Japan to immediately stop public support for these projects.

A series of gas development projects are currently underway in British Columbia, Canada. The LNG Canada project invested by companies like Mitsubishi Corporation and Royal Dutch Shell plans to construct liquefaction plants and an export terminal. Shale gas used for the project will be fracked in the Montney Formation in British Columbia (BC) and transported through a 670-kilometer Coastal GasLink pipeline to the terminal in Kitimat, where the gas will be liquefied and exported to Asian markets.

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), a Japanese public financial institution, is currently considering financing the LNG Canada project. Japanese private banks are also expected to provide co-financing, but it is not clear which bank will do so. However, considering that the three major Japanese banks have already been financing the Coastal Gaslink pipeline project, there is a possibility that they will provide financing for the LNG Canada project.

The Coastal GasLink pipeline company is pushing ahead with the pipeline, ignoring the rights of Wet’suwet’en. In August, they began construction on the site of Wet’suwet’en without their consent, and their archaeological inheritance was removed without their consent. Although Coastal GasLink claims to have obtained a Site Alteration Permit (SAP), Wet’suwet’en has not agreed to this land alteration, which is nothing less than significant destruction of their land, culture, and history. This is a clear violation of Article 11 (Right to Cultural Tradition and Custom) of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which the Canadian government has also adopted.

Coastal GasLink is currently preparing to drill under the Wedzin Kwa (Morice River). The Wedzin Kwa is an important source of water for Wet’suwet’en and all living creatures. To protect the earth, culture, water, and history, Wet’suwet’en, Indigenous Peoples who support the struggle, and supporters who have come from all over the country, continue to protest the development without violence. Solidarity actions have also taken place across Canada.

Meanwhile, a local police force (RCMP) dispatched to the site is trying to forcibly remove Indigenous Peoples and supporters from opposing activities. RCMP members have been harassing protesters by deliberately draining water from storage tanks in the Coyote Camp and threatening to arrest them. 

Wet’suwet’en, which is directly affected by the Coastal GasLink pipeline project, has never given up their land, and in 1997 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the ownership and use of land belong to Indigenous Peoples (Delgamuukw case).

On December 13, 2019, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination also adopted a resolution calling on the federal government to immediately halt the Coastal Gaslink pipeline project, the Trans-Mountain pipeline project and the construction of Site C Dam until a “Free prior, and informed consent (FPIC)” obtained. In other words, it has been pointed out internationally that FPIC has not been obtained for these projects.

We cannot overlook the fact that the rights of Indigenous Peoples have been violated and that protestors who claim their legitimate rights to protect their precious land, culture, water and history have been unfairly suppressed. Companies and banks involved in the business should respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and withdraw from the business in accordance with international standards and their respective human rights policies.

The situation on the ground is dire and Wet’suwet’en calls for solidarity action.