The B.C. Supreme Court trial of three Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline opponents including prominent Witsuwit’en leader Sleydo’ (Molly Wickham) concluded in Smithers Jan. 12.
Sleydo’, Gitxsan ally Shaylynn Sampson and Corey Jocko, of Ontario’s Six Nations Haudenosaunee Confederacy were convicted of breaching a 2019 Supreme Court injunction by impeding the construction of Coastal GasLink’s pipeline near Houston, B.C. according to CBC News.
Black Press Media is in the process of obtaining details of the judge’s decision.
Last week, the Crown had its opportunity to make its case that the three defendants not only physically contravened the court’s injunction, but did so knowingly, both of which are required to prove criminal contempt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Prosecutors used testimony by witnesses from the RCMP, Forsythe Security (CGL’s security contractor), Coastal GasLink (CGL) and TC Energy (CGL’s parent company). They also presented video evidence taken by RCMP officers and curated from social media by private investigator Julie Jones who was contracted by RCMP.
On Jan. 10, the court saw video recorded by RCMP Corporal Kelly Grant in conjunction with testimony by Grant and RCMP Community Industry Response Group (C-IRG) commander Ken Floyd.
Grant had filmed a series of videos on and around Nov. 19, 2021, documenting a group of regular RCMP constables, as well as C-IRG officers in militarized gear, interacting with pipeline opponents around the site where CGL was preparing to drill under the Morice River (Wedzin Kwa to the Witsuwit’en).
The footage showed interactions that happened outside and around an encampment, which included two cabins, dubbed “Coyote Camp” located alongside Martin Service Rd.
Grant testified he received general instructions from his commander to record video footage at his own discretion.
“I turned the camera on, and turned the camera off on my own will,” he explained, informing Justice Michael Tammen that due to technological discrepancies, some of the timestamps on the videos were not entirely accurate.
One video showed RCMP officers approaching the first cabin while helicopters can be heard flying overhead. A woman’s voice is heard from inside the cabin shouting, “You are trespassing on Witsuwit’en territory, you are not welcome.”
She informed the police this was her private dwelling, and that the RCMP would need a warrant to enter.
Another clip showed RCMP officers informing the people inside they were under arrest for “civil contempt of court.” Police read a script, stating the occupants of the cabin were on a drill site and breaching an injunction that allows Coastal GasLink to construct a pipeline.
The police then entered the structure by way of a chainsaw, arresting multiple people as dogs barked in the background.
“You’re choking me, you’re damaging my regalia,” cried one individual, as people were being pulled out of the structure.
Two people arrested in the video footage were Amber Bracken and Michael Toledano, who identified themselves as members of the media.
While outside the scope of the current trial, this footage contradicts the RCMP’s contention at the time that the two did not identify themselves as journalists.
Bracken was under assignment with online news magazine The Narwhal when she was arrested. Charges were later dropped against both parties, but The Narwhal and Bracken later launched a lawsuit against the RCMP claiming a breach of press freedom. The suit is scheduled to be heard in the Supreme Court in October 2024.
Last year, the defendants filed applications for a stay of proceedings claiming their charter rights were violated because of police misconduct. As of Friday, the court was in the process of considering whether the applications.
In a December 2023 report by Amnesty International, the organization claimed the enforcement actions taken against Witsuwit’en during this standoff and others like it, were a violation of human rights based on gender and race.
Earlier in the week, the Crown put James Lank, a former RCMP officer and Forsythe security advisor on the stand. Under cross-examination by the defence, he was questioned about his prior knowledge of Sleydo’.
He said he knew who she was because Forsythe Security kept a Persons of Interest profile, naming anyone who might be a potential disruption to constructing the pipeline. Lank said within his notes, the only identifying information he documents is race, gender, and age.
The Crown rested on Thursday saying it had proved beyond a reasonable doubt the defendants had knowingly breached the court injunction.
READ MORE: Criminal contempt trial of pipeline opponents begins in Smithers
READ MORE: Gitxsan members march against RCMP Community-Industry Response Group
