Open Statement of Solidarity and Support regarding Wet’suwet’en
The undersigned students, faculty, staff, and others associated with the University of British Columbia (UBC) School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP) issue the following statement to express our support for the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs as they assert Wet’suwet’en sovereignty in opposition to the construction of the Coastal GasLink (CGL) Pipeline project for which they have not issued Free, Prior and Informed Consent. We acknowledge the UBC Department of Geography in their call to members of the university community to issue public statements on this matter, and we echo their sentiment.
Please note: this is not an institutional response, but represents the views of the undersigned. UBC SCARP Students, Alumni, Faculty, and Staff are welcome to add their signatures to this letter using the button at the bottom of the page.
The Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs, who represent the five Clans and thirteen Houses of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, are responsible for decisions about the land, water, and resources in their House territories according to ‘Anuc niwh’it’en (Wet’suwet’en law). As determined through community decision-making in the Bahlat (Feast Hall), the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs representing all five clans have stated that they are opposed to the proposed CGL pipeline route through their territory 1. This governance system has been the heart of ‘Anuc niwh’it’en since time immemorial, and remains the active, binding law of unceded Wet’suwet’en territory.
Within the Canadian legal system, the unextinguished and inherent existence of Aboriginal Rights and Title to land has been recognized by the Supreme Court of Canada in the 1997 Delgamuukw decision. We urge the Governments of Canada and British Columbia to honour this legal precedent, as well as their commitments2 to implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action3, and their international obligation to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples4 (UNDRIP).
We believe that honouring these commitments requires the following actions by Canada and British Columbia, as outlined by the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs1:
• That the province cease construction of the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline project and suspend permits.
• That the UNDRIP and 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 Discrimination’s (CERD) request5.
• That the provincial and federal government, RCMP and private industry employed by CGL respect Wet’suwet’en laws and governance system, and refrain from using any force to access Wet’suwet’en lands or remove Wet’suwet’en people.
In accordance with UBC’s commitment to reconciliation, we as members of the university community are compelled to make this statement of support and solidarity. We are even further compelled by the School of Community and Regional Planning’s commitment to putting knowledge into action through partnership with community, for community. The profession of planning has been, and continues to be, complicit in the creation and maintenance of the settler-colonial project on Indigenous lands. We aim to break with this legacy through dedicated learning and unlearning towards solidarity, advocacy, and decolonization. Our work at UBC takes place on the unceded territories of the Musqueam Nation who model leadership in community partnerships and planning.
We respect and support the inherent rights of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs to exercise self-determination over their territories. We honour the work of Indigenous Land Defenders, in particular Indigenous youth, and allies conducting peaceful demonstrations across Canada as witnesses to this moment in history. We urge the Governments of Canada and British Columbia to abandon their continued use of settler-colonial force to push forward their interests and instead engage in a manner that upholds their stated commitments to relationship-building and respect for the rights and title of Indigenous peoples across Canada.
While we acknowledge the recent negotiation of a possible agreement between the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs and the Governments of Canada and British Columbia on the recognition of Wet’suwet’en rights and title6, the finalization of this agreement remains to be determined by the Wet’suwet’en Nation and does not address the outstanding lack of consent for the CGL project. The Hereditary Chiefs remain opposed to the pipeline, and as such we call on the Governments to respect Wet’suwet’en law and sovereignty by meeting the conditions of RCMP withdrawal and suspension of CGL construction activity at this time.
Tecla Van Bussel, Student
Pablo Akira Beimler, Student
Kate Davis, Student
Cameron Power, Student
Jenna Hildebrand, Student
Sarah Marshall, Student
Jonah Ruocco Erickson, Student
Ciara Farmer, Student
Melissa Stewart, Student
Devin O’Leary, Student
Sarah Glazier, Student
Anika Bursey, Student
Andrea Oakunsheyld, Student
Jenny Koss, Student
Dawn m smith, Student
Yette Gram, Student
Kacey Ng, Student
Alexa McPhee, Student
John Yiyang Zhao, Student
Brooklyn Rocco, Student
Lexi Maxwell, Student
Cleo Breton, Student
Ren Roberts, Student
Stephanie Tourand, Metis Nation of British Columbia, Student
Helen Garbiec, Student
Phil Climie, Student
Liana Glass, Student
Ruby Carrico, Student
Wonjun Cho, Student
Jonathan Kew, Student
Erin de Sousa, Student
Jessie Hemphill, Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw Nations, Faculty
Leonie Sandercock, Faculty
Maggie Low, Wikwemikoong Unceded Territory, Faculty
Jordi Honey-Rosés, Faculty
Alex Bigazzi, Faculty
Erick Villagomez, Faculty
Leonora C. Angeles, Faculty
Mark Stevens, Faculty
Martino Tran, Faculty
Iain Marjoribanks, Alumni
Stephen McGlenn, Alumni
Kelsey Taylor, Alumni
Mark McNaughton, Student
Foong Patrick CHAN, Spatialist
1Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs: No Access Without Consent. Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs Media Advisory. January 7, 2020. Retrieved from: https://unistoten.camp/wetsuweten-hereditary-chiefs-no-access-without-consent/
2Bill 41 – 2019: Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. 4th Session, 41st Parliament, British Columbia, 2019; Canada Becomes a Full Supporter of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Government of Canada. 2016. Retrieved from: https://www.canada.ca/en/indigenous-northern-affairs/news/2016/05/canada-becomes-a-full-supporter-of-the-united-nations-declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples.html
3Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. 2015. Retrieved from: http://trc.ca/assets/pdf/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf
4United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. United Nations. 2007. Retrieved from: https://undocs.org/A/RES/61/295
5Prevention of Racial Discrimination, Including Early Warning and Urgent Action Prodcedure: Decision 1(100). United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. December 13, 2019. Retrieved from: https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CERD/Shared%20Documents/CAN/INT_CERD_EWU_CAN_9026_E.pdf
6Wet’suwet’en chiefs, ministers reach tentative arrangement over land title but debate over pipeline continues. February 29, 2020. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/wetsuweten-agreement-reached-1.5481681
Students, Alumni, Faculty, and Staff of the UBC School of Community and Regional Planning are welcome to add their signatures to this letter using the button below.
UBC Planners in Solidarity 