Wet’suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs to Meet Federal and BC Governments

CN Railway workers check the railroad crossing gate as they prepare to resume service after Ontario Provincial Police made arrests at a rail blockade in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, near Belleville, Ont., on Feb. 24, 2020, during a protest in solidarity with Wet'suwet'en Nation hereditary chiefs attempting to halt construction of a natural gas pipeline on their traditional territories. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

OTTAWA—As tensions at rail blockades in Quebec and Ontario escalated on Feb. 26, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair appeared to dismiss the notion that police will move completely out of the vast Wet’suwet'en territory in British Columbia.

The hereditary chiefs of the First Nation at the heart of countrywide rail and road disruptions have said they will not meet with federal and provincial officials to discuss their opposition to the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline until the RCMP leave their traditional territory entirely and the company ceases work in the area.