My twin sister Mayuk Manuel arrested at #transmountain pipeline roundtable meeting in Kamloops bc … meeting was organized by feds to push through fraudulent “phase III” Indigenous consultation! They is NO SECWEPEMC CONSENT for this bitumen pipeline BLOCKADE TRANS MOUNTAIN pic.twitter.com/HZIR48UlXO
— Kanahus Manuel (@KanahusFreedom) December 10, 2018
Three people were arrested on Monday as First Nations members protested at Thompson Rivers University during a consultation meeting about the proposed Trans-Mountain Pipeline expansion.
Social media posts from Kanahus Manuel — a spokesperson for the activist group Tiny House Warriors, who oppose the pipeline expansion — identified the arrested protesters as her sisters, Mayuk and Snutetkwe Manuel, and her brother-in-law, Isha Jules.
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It is believed former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Frank Iacobucci and his team were meeting with local Indigenous groups in TRU’s Campus Activity Centre on Monday as part of a pre-consultation roundtable on the pipeline expansion when the protesters arrived.
The protest began before 10 a.m. in response to what Thompson Rivers University spokesperson Darshan Lindsey described as a third-party event. She said she could not comment on the nature of the meeting as it was not a TRU event.
“Police were called because the situation got to the point where it was felt police attendance was required,” Lindsey said, adding she did know who called police.
My mother Beverly Manuel demanding release of her daughters Snutetkwe and Mayuk Manuel and son in law Isha Jules arrested at Trans Mountain ROUNDTABLE meeting hosted by Justice Frank Iacobucci!!! This meeting faced major opposition by Secwepemc & Tiny House Warriors #stopTMX pic.twitter.com/QUroF8Wmr1
— Kanahus Manuel (@KanahusFreedom) December 10, 2018
“The RCMP fully support the right to peaceful and safe protest,” Shelkie said. “But businesses also have the right to conduct meetings. No one has the right to damage property or to put someone else at risk. As soon as we see a situation where property is getting damaged or the public is at risk, then we must step in.”
Kanahus Manuel was arrested by the RCMP in July during another pipeline protest in North Thompson River Provincial Park, during which she allegedly defied an eviction order from the BC Parks Service.
In that protest, passing vehicles on Highway 5 North were damaged by paint being thrown into their paths.
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After the Federal Court of Appeal ruled in August that consultations with Indigenous communities on the pipeline expansion route were inadequate, the federal government appointed Iacobucci to oversee new engagement.
The roundtable meetings are designed to determine how the consultation process will unfold.
