Youth protesters are leaving the office of Winnipeg MP Dan Vandal after occupying a room there for 11 days in an effort to block a pipeline project in northern British Columbia.
Protester Carter Graveline said they have done everything they can and decided to pack up Saturday morning.
“We really do feel that Dan Vandal has failed us, either by taking way too long with commitments or just not really giving commitments at all,” Graveline said on Saturday.
The group was trying to get the minister of northern affairs to commit to their demands, which include condemning the actions of the B.C. RCMP removing Indigenous people from Wet’suwet’en territory.
Graveline said Vandal met with them three times since they began their demonstration on Feb. 4.
“We did not feel very respected when he did come to us,” Graveline said. “We do appreciate that he did take time to try.”
The protesters at Vandal’s office were part of a demonstration Monday evening that shut down Portage and Main and two other intersections during rush hour.
A separate group had also temporarily blocked a rail line west of Winnipeg on Wednesday.
Graveline said more action will be coming, but couldn’t say what that might be.
“This fight is not over,” Graveline said.
The Canada-wide movement is aiming to shut down the country’s economy in the wake of RCMP enforcement of a court injunction against the Wet’suwet’en members blocking construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline near Houston, B.C.
RCMP moved into the traditional, unceded Wet’suwet’en territory on Feb. 6.
The $6.6-billion Coastal GasLink project is meant to carry natural gas from northeastern B.C. to Kitimat.
Source: Read Full Article