Community-Industry Response Group not welcome on Gitxsan lands, say chiefs
Gitxsan hereditary chiefs issued a notice this week prohibiting the RCMP’s ‘militarized squadron’ called the Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG) from Gitxsan lands centred in the Hazelton area, effective immediately.
“While we embrace safety measures for our community, the militarized squadron of the RCMP [the C-IRG] funded to the tune of $50M, have been sent to terrorize our people at the barrel of a gun during peaceful protests and blockades,” the notice reads.
Now that the Blueberry River First Nations have won a historic agreement, they face thousands of wells greenlit by the regulator.
When the Blueberry River First Nations took the provincial government to court in March 2015, arguing that cumulative industrial developments had robbed them of their ability to hunt and fish, oil and gas companies could see trouble lay ahead.
"While material gains are crucial, they are far from the only way that movements build towards a better world. Also important are the increased confidence and capacity that can result even from collective struggles that have not yet won definitive victories. "