An investigation into an RCMP raid on Wet’suwet’en territory

By now, you might be familiar with images of RCMP officers using an axe to break down the door of a tiny house built by Indigenous land defenders on Wet’suwet’en territory. The structure was part of a camp that was blocking access to a site run by Coastal GasLink, who is currently building a natural gas pipeline through the territory, without the blessing of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs.

The raid made headlines across the country, in part because two journalists ended up being detained by the RCMP along with protesters. One of them, Amber Bracken, had the presence of mind to turn on her phone recorder before the device was confiscated by authorities. The recordings include officers making derogatory, and sometimes racist comments about the people they’d just arrested.

Today we’re joined by Matt Simmons, the Northwest B.C. Reporter for The Narwhal. He talks to us about his investigation into the RCMP and B.C. government conduct surrounding the raid, and gives us an update on what’s currently happening at the site.

“There are people within the B.C. government who continue to speak with the hereditary chiefs, but my understanding is that the hereditary chiefs don’t really see it as a good faith process, without first removing the RCMP from the territory,” he said.

Guest: Matt Simmons, Northwest B.C. Reporter for The Narwhal

Read Matt’s coverage here

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