Straight Talk

Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs' allies shut down Granville bridge after demonstration at Coastal GasLink head office

by Charlie Smith on February 12th, 2020 at 1:52 PM
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      Update: The bridge reopened to vehicles travelling in both directions just after 4 p.m.

      Original story

      It's another day of protest in British Columbia.

      Vancouver police say that demonstrators have shut down the Granville Street Bridge in both directions.

      This comes a day after activists blocked traffic at the intersection of West Broadway and Cambie Street in support of Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs.

      That's not the only action today.

      A huge crowd also gathered outside the Vancouver office of Coastal GasLink in downtown Vancouver.

      They were there shouting "shame" and chanting slogans of support for the hereditary chiefs, who oppose the company's $6.6-billion pipeline project across B.C.

      The pipeline is slated to cross unceded traditional territory of the Wet'suwet'en—and that has enraged many British Columbians who see this as yet another example of colonialism.

      The pipeline will deliver fracked natural gas to an LNG Canada plant being built in Kitimat.

      RCMP arrested Wet'suwet'en people over the past few days on their traditional territory as the Mounties enforced a B.C. Supreme Court injunction obtained by the company.

      Update

      At 3:45 p.m., a police officer at the north end of the bridge told the Straight that he expected it to reopen soon. By then, the demonstrators had left the area.

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