Straight Talk

Documentary filmmaker counters RCMP's attempt to discredit Guardian story about Gidimt'en raid

by Charlie Smith on December 28th, 2019 at 10:01 PM
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      The RCMP continues coming under criticism from people appalled by its decision to employ "lethal overwatch" on a raid on an Indigenous blockade on January 7.

      The Guardian reported on December 24 that "gold and silver commanders" from RCMP E division participated in a strategy session one day before heavily armed Mounties arrested 14 people on traditional, unceded Wet'suwet'en territory.

      The demonstrators were at the Gidimt'en Checkpoint in opposition to a 670-kilometre Coastal GasLink pipeline.

      It's being built to deliver fracked natural gas to the yet-to-be-constructed LNG Canada plant near Kitimat.

      "The meeting notes, stamped with the name of RCMP Bronze Commander Robert Pikola of the 'E' Division, include the reference to 'lethal overwatch'," the Guardian stated.

      In addition, the media outlet reported that the RCMP planned to operate a drone and that it was in "coordination" with Coastal GasLink in advance.

      That prompted the following Twitter thread by Michael Toledano, a filmmaker who took pictures of the raid in January.

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