The undersigned faculty, staff and students of the tri-campus Department of Geography & Planning at the University of Toronto stand in solidarity with members of the Wet’suwet’en Nation as they peacefully defend their unceded territories, in the face of militarized police action, raids and arrests by armed RCMP officers. We express our support as geographers and planners, who understand our roles as educators, researchers and organizers to have specific responsibilities to Indigenous peoples’ efforts to protect their lands, waters and peoples.
Under Wet’suwet’en law, authority over the nation’s 22,000 square kilometres of unceded territory lies with hereditary chiefs from five clans in a system of governance that long predates colonization. All five hereditary chiefs reject the construction of the pipeline on their territory. We stand in solidarity with the hereditary chiefs who are protecting their traditional territories from oil and gas development. In the words of Gidimt’en spokesperson Molly Wickham (Sleydo): “We have a right and a responsibility to be protecting our territory, to be protecting our water, to be protecting our future generations.”
The inherent legal right of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs has been affirmed in the Canadian courts. The Supreme Court of Canada ruling on the Delgamuukw case, in which the Hereditary Chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en were among the plaintiffs (along with the Gitxsan), defined the grounds for Aboriginal title in Canada. The ruling affirmed Wet’suwet’en land rights; recognized that Wet’suwet’en land is unceded and that the Hereditary Chiefs are the title holders to Wet’suwet’en traditional territories; and identified the need to reconcile colonial and Indigenous legal orders.
We are concerned with the use of militarized police force and the arrests of Wet’suwet’en land protectors, including the recent arrests of Unist’ot’en matriarchs as they held a ceremony honouring their missing and murdered Indigenous sisters.
We urge the Canadian and BC governments to uphold the United Nations’ Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which includes provisions recognizing the right to self-determination, the need to obtain the Free, Prior and Informed Consent of Indigenous nations when development is proposed in their territories, and expressly condemns the forced removal of peoples from their lands and territories. British Columbia has passed legislation bringing the UNDRIP into law. We assert the need for Canada to respect its international commitments to Indigenous rights as endorsed by federal and provincial governments.
We urge the federal and provincial governments to adhere to the demands of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs, as stated here: https://unistoten.camp/wetsuweten-hereditary-chiefs-no-access-without-consent/
- That the province cease construction of the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline project and suspend permits.
- That the UNDRIP and our right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) are respected by the state and RCMP.
- That the RCMP and associated security and policing services be withdrawn from Wet’suwet’en lands, in agreement with the most recent letter provided by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimiation’s (CERD) request.
- That the provincial and federal government, RCMP and private industry employed by CGL respect our laws and our governance system, and refrain from using any force to access our lands or remove our people.
Signed by:
Emily Gilbert, faculty member and Director of the Canadian Studies Program
Michelle Daigle, Mushkegowuk (Cree), faculty member
Deborah Cowen, faculty member
Scott Prudham, faculty member
Heather Dorries, faculty member
Nicole Latulippe, faculty member
Richard DiFrancesco, faculty member
Mariba Douglas, student
Danny Harvey, faculty member
Mike Ekers, faculty member
Sarah Robertshaw, student
Kanishka Goonewardena, faculty member
Keisha St. Louis-McBurnie, student
Shaheer Tarar, student
Valentina Castellini, student
Christopher Alton, student
Matthew Lie-Paehlke, student
Dena Coffman, student
Loren March, student
Ken MacDonald, faculty member
Rachel Goffe, faculty member
Laysa Abchiche Lima, student
Hassan Nima, Whitefish River First Nation (Ojibwe), student
Matthew Farish, faculty member
Catherine Jimenea, student
Mark Hunter, faculty member
Connie Yang, student
Lazar Konforti, student
Jae Page, student
Nickie Van Lier, student
Ron Buliung, Graduate Chair, Geography & Planning
Garrett Morgan, student
Bjarke Skærlund Risager, postdoctoral fellow
Monika Havelka, faculty member, Director, Programs in Environment (UTM)
Benjamin Patrick Butler, student
Natalie Oswin, faculty member
Elsie Lewison, postdoctoral fellow
Danielle Lemire, Student
Natalia Zdaniuk, staff
Sinead Petrasek, student
Jeff Allen, student
Neve Adams, student
Hülya Arik, faculty member
Liam Fox, student
Kim Slater, student
Andrew Dick, student
Robert Kopack, student
Chiyi Tam, student
Thomas Saleh, student
Paul Ceruti, staff
Olivia Bernard (student)
Anne James, student
Khalood Kibria, student
Emily Hawes, student
Jon Paul Mathias, student
Neil Nunn, student
Zachary Anderson, student
Jason Spicer, faculty member
Nathaniel Baker, student
Mary-Kay Bachour, student
Charlie Caldwell, student
Minha Lee, student
Leah Ritcey-Thorpe, student
Emily Leung, student
Nushrat Jahan, student
Gabrielle Doiron, student
Natasha Goel, student
Melanie Sommerville, Post-Doctoral Fellow
Nemoy Lewis, Post-Doctoral Fellow
Ahmed Allahwala, faculty member
Mischa Young, student
Hannah dos Santos, student
Neera Singh, faculty member
David Roberts, faculty member
Yvonne Kenny, staff
Janina Kowalski, student
Hazelmae Valenzuela, student
Sarah Wakefield, faculty member
Hernan L. Bianchi Benguria, student
Alex Walton, student
Nikki Mary Pagaling, student
Isabel Napier, student
Erica Liu, student
Melinda Yogendran, student
Aisha Assan-Lebbe, student
Zahra Mohamed, student
Ajeev Bhatia, student
Nathan Wener, student
Kristen Regier, student
Steve Pomedli, student
Lindsay Stephens, faculty member
Sharlene Mollett, faculty
Amanda Loder, student
Marney Isaac, faculty member
Sue Ruddick, faculty member
Maria Roxana Escobar, student
Katharine Rankin, faculty
Kuni Kamizaki, student
Noa Bonen, student
Jacqueline Dumornay, student
Rachel Silvey, faculty
Travis Van Wyck, student
Halena Panico, student
Gregoire Benzakin, student
Michelle Buckley, faculty
Laura Vaz-Jones, student
Octavia Andrade-Dixon, student
Ryan Isakson, faculty member
Darian Razdar, student
Anna Ek, student
Aqsa Kousar, Student
Killian McCormack, student
Ruth Belay, student
Cynthia Morinville, student
Sean Grisdale, student
Jeremy Withers, student
Sue Bunce, faculty
Jessica Finlayson, staff
Naomi Adiv, faculty
Christine Gibb, post-doctoral fellow
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We acknowledge that there are different views that exist amongst Wet’suwet’en peoples and that some First Nation governments support the Coastal Gaslink project. As any other nation, community, or group of people, there are differences in how people envision how to actualize self-determination. We strive to understand these complexities while upholding Indigenous law and the Wet’suwet’en peoples inherent right to govern themselves without the interference from the Canadian government and corporations. Our Statement of Solidarity is not a position against Wet’suwet’en peoples who are activating their law and sovereignty through various pathways, and who continue to struggle against the impositions of settler colonialism and neoliberal capitalism.