Amid chants of protest outside the Smithers courthouse March 6, the sentencing of a Wet’suwet’en hereditary chief was postponed awaiting the completion of a Gladue report.
The Likhts’amisyu Clan’s Chief Dsta’hyl (Adam Gagnon) was found guilty of criminal contempt in a Smithers courtroom in February on charges stemming from the 2021 Coastal GasLink pipeline blockade.
He was arrested Oct. 27, 2021 in Houston and charged with theft over $5,000 for disabling Coastal GasLink equipment while serving an eviction notice to company employees. The legality of that eviction notice did not hold up in court.
The Coastal GasLink pipeline, stretching across northern B.C. was mechanically completed as of October last year at a cost of $14.5 billion.
The Crown is seeking a 60-90 day jail sentence for Dsta’hyl’s interference in the pipeline’s construction.
Dsta’hyl’s defence said they will ask for a non-custodial sentence, but will also be submitting a Gladue report.
These reports contain information on the unique circumstances of Indigenous people accused of offences under Canadian law. It requires a sentencing judge to consider systemic and background factors of the person and the types of sentencing procedures and sanctions that are appropriate in the circumstances.
It is unclear when the report will be ready for the court.
Outside the hearing, supporters of Dtsa’hyl, including members of the Gitxsan Huwilp Government, marched through downtown Smithers to the courthouse in protest of industry-led court injunctions such as the one which Dsta’hyl allegedly breached.
“The BC Supreme Court is making an example of this, sentencing a Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Wing Chief for criminal contempt for protecting his traditional territory against industry raiding,” read a statement by Gitxsan Hereditary Chief Negotiator Gwiiyeehl (Brian Williams).
“Hereditary Chiefs have a fiduciary responsibility to protect the lands for current and future generations.”
Williams challenged the province’s authority in the courts, citing the 1997 Delgamuukw Supreme Court of Canada ruling that orders land issues be addressed in negotiations rather than litigation.
The protesters also renewed calls for ending industry-led injunctions on Indigenous lands, and the dismantling of the RCMP’s Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG), a controversial, militarized unit formed in 2017 to intervene in protests of resource-based industrial projects in the province.
The unit is largely known for its tactical operations at the Coastal GasLink pipeline blockade, from which Dsta’hyl’s charges stemmed.
Their activities and operations are currently under a systemic investigation by the federal government’s Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC).
-with files from Thom Barker
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