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| A small gathering attended the protest in Prince Rupert today with those in attendance expressing concerns over arrests made yesterday near Houston |
It's been a day of protest across Canada today, with crowds large and small holding marches or setting up an information line following the arrest of fourteen participants of a checkpoint on Monday at a bridge just south of Houston.
Yesterday, members of the RCMP moved in to enforce an injunction on the Gidimt'en checkpoint which had been set up to protest plans from Coastal GasLink to cross Wet'suwet'en territory, highlighting the continued chasm on LNG development that exists between elected an hereditary officials in that region.
Details of the police enforcement work were outlined in a Monday evening statement from the RCMP which you can review here.
With the fourteen that were arrested destined for Prince George to face charges, protest gatherings took place in a number of locations including Prince Rupert, which saw a small but dedicated group set up an information line along the sidewalk on McBride adjacent to the city's RCMP detachment.
Some of the social media streams that are popular in the area have featured a number of lengthy videos from the protests, including the one held in Prince Ruperts which provide a glimpse into the tone and nature of information that was being shared today.
The Prince Rupert gathering began shortly after 10 AM and was still going well into Tuesday afternoon, with some of those driving along the route offering their support by honking horns as they passed by.
Similar protests have taken place in Terrace, Smithers and other communities along the Highway 16 corridor, with the largest of the Northern gatherings taking place in Prince George.
Vancouver and Ottawa were also among locations across Canada where protesters took their message on the arrests of Monday, while some participants also use the protests as a way to continue their efforts to stop LNG development in this province.
As we noted yesterday, Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen had travelled to the checkpoint location on Monday, following his time there, he issued this statement.
Provincial government officials however seem to be keeping a fairly low profile as events have taken place in the Bulkley Valley, included on that list is North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice who has been quite vocal on issues related to LNG in the past, but in this case, has yet to weigh in on the latest developments through her social media streams of Facebook or twitter.
Forests Minister Doug Donaldson, who represents the neighbouring constituency of Stikine visited the checkpoint on Sunday, something which has the Opposition Liberals including Skeena MLA Ellis Ross asking questions and in some cases calling for the Minister's resignation.
In comments for the Smithers based Interior News, Donaldson outlined how he has approached the situation south of Houston, observing how he was at the checkpoint to hear of their concerns, while acknowledging that the laws of Canada must be upheld.
You can find some of the latest notes related to the Coastal GasLink project and this weeks developments from our archive page here.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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