Protesters push to drop charges against Wet'suwet'en land defenders
Activists rallied outside David Eby's Vancouver office Tuesday, calling on the B.C. attorney general to drop criminal charges against Wet'suwet'en land defenders.
RCMP officers arrested dozens of protesters in the province's north last September to November while enforcing a Coastal GasLink injunction, and 15 have since been charged with criminal contempt of court.
The B.C. Prosecution Service has said charges are still being considered against an additional 10 people.
Participants in Tuesday's demonstration, who included a number of high school and university students, wrote "Defend land defenders" in chalk outside Eby's Broadway office.
"We hope to put pressure on David Eby, and the rest of the government of so-called Canada, to stop criminalizing the land defenders of this colonized land," said Zoha Faisal.
"We know that climate justice does not exist without Indigenous justice, and that’s why we're here to make sure that we fight for everyone."
The charged protesters are accused of having breached a B.C. Supreme Court injunction granted to Coastal GasLink in 2019, which prohibited blockades or interferences with the company's pipeline construction.
While the Wet'suwet'en First Nation's elected council has approved of the project, Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs say the 670-kilometre pipeline violates their traditional laws.
Whether charges will be approved against the 10 other protesters hinges on whether they were aware of the terms of the injunctions, according to prosecutors.
With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.