Journalists freed after arrest in dispute over Wet’suwet’en pipeline

A photojournalist and documentary filmmaker were released by a British Columbia Supreme Court judge three days after being arrested while covering the execution of a warrant by the RCMP against the pipeline protests in northern Columbia. British.

Amber Bracken, who was assigned to BC-based outlet The Narwhal, and documentary maker Michael Toledano were released on the condition that they appear in court in February. They must also abide by the terms of the court order first granted to Coastal GasLink by the same judge in December 2019.

The arrests came after members of the Gidimt’en clan, one of five in the Wet’suwet’en nation, set up blockades along a forest service road on November 14. The road was cleared last Thursday, the RCMP said.

In a statement released Monday, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Eric Stubbs said the Mounties understand the important role of the media and that no one was arrested for being a journalist or doing their job.

He said that two people who later identified themselves as journalists were “inside barricaded structures with other people who were the focus of enforcement efforts.” The couple were part of a group of 11 people who were given the opportunity to leave the structures before police forced open the door, it said in the statement.

They did not identify themselves during discussions with the police beforehand, but indicated that they were journalists once the police began making arrests, he said.

Bracken’s attorney, David Sutherland, said in an interview that his client wore a tag on his clothing showing that he was a member of the press and was carrying an assignment letter from The Narwhal’s editor-in-chief.

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Opposition among Wet’suwet’en’s hereditary chiefs to the 670-kilometer pipeline sparked rallies and rail blockades in Canada early last year, while the Wet’suwet’en First Nation’s elected council and others close by have agreed. the project.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between the hereditary chiefs and the federal and provincial governments, which has eased tensions so far.

The pipeline would transport natural gas from Dawson Creek in northeastern British Columbia to a processing facility in Kitimat. It’s more than halfway done with nearly the entire route cleared and 200 kilometers of pipelines installed, Coastal GasLink said.

The Canadian Association of Journalists condemned the arrests of Bracken and Toledano. In an open letter signed by several dozen media and press freedom organizations, he called on the Minister of Public Security, Marco Mendicino, to “achieve a swift resolution that respects the fundamental rights of journalists.”

When asked about the arrests, Mendicino said that it is not up to him or the government to adjudicate the case or direct police operations on the ground, but it is important that journalists can do their jobs without interference.

Journalists should be able to “go to the sites, make observations, report on those events, and do so in a way that is consistent with the Constitution as the pillar of our democracy,” he said Monday in Ottawa. “At the same time, the government does not direct operations on the ground, we do not have control of the judicial processes.”

It is “very positive” that Bracken has been released, added Mendicino.

“My hope is that all reporters seeking to inform the public about very important and relevant events can exercise that right.”

British Columbia Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said a free press is essential to democracy and he hoped the situation would not get worse.

The province has been doing “a significant amount of work in recent months to try to reduce tensions in the area,” he told a news conference.

– By Brenna Owen in Vancouver

This Canadian Press report was first published on November 22, 2021.