British Columbia

Trial begins for Wet'suwet'en hereditary chief accused of blocking Coastal GasLink pipeline

The trial of a Wet'suwet'en hereditary chief charged with criminal contempt for allegedly blocking construction on the Coastal GasLink pipeline opened Monday in B.C. Supreme Court in Smithers in northern B.C.

Crown alleges Chief Dtsa'hyl removed batteries from heavy equipment on pipeline route

A man with grey hair, a beard and a parka looks at the camera with an intense gaze.
Wet'suwet'en Chief Dtsa'hyl is on trial in Smithers, B.C. (Gidimt'en Checkpoint/Facebook )

The trial of a Wet'suwet'en hereditary chief charged with criminal contempt for allegedly blocking construction on the Coastal GasLink pipeline opened Monday in B.C. Supreme Court in Smithers in northern B.C.

The Crown alleges Chief Dtsa'hyl (Adam Gagnon), who is being tried by judge alone, seized and decommissioned pieces of Coastal GasLink's heavy equipment, publicly defying a court injunction to stay away from pipeline construction. 

His lawyer told the court that Wet'suwet'en matriarchs were present in the courtroom and that several Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs would be called later as witnesses for the defence. 

In an agreed statement of fact, the court heard Dtsa'hyl was arrested in October 2021 while driving a red truck on a remote road near an area of pipeline construction and that four heavy-duty equipment batteries were visible in the truck.

A yellow piece of heavy equipment moves along a road through forest and snow towards work trucks in the distance in this file photo from 2020.
Construction work on the Coastal GasLink pipeline along the Morice Forest Service Road is shown in this photo from 2020. (Chantelle Bellrichard/CBC)

The prosecution says it will call witnesses, including an RCMP officer, Coastal GasLink security guards, as well as company officials, who will testify about the work interruptions and financial impact caused by Dtsa'hyl's alleged actions.

RCMP hired cyber expert to download social media videos 

The first Crown witness, Julia Jones, told the court she was hired by the RCMP to collect social media evidence.

A former British police detective and undercover operator, Jones owns the company Human-i Intelligence Services.

Human-i's website says the company offers "exclusive cyber security, investigations, and threat management."

The court heard that the RCMP hired Jones to download about a dozen web pages and video from public Facebook and Instagram accounts operated by opponents of Coastal GasLink's pipeline.

A group of people, some in First Nation's regalia and carrying drums, march beneath a sign saying 'We Stand with Wet'suwet'en.'
A show of support for the Wet'suwet'en Nation in Smithers, B.C., in 2020. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)

Jones described her use of secure computer programs to mask her identity and download the items for RCMP.

All the material she downloaded was publicly available and is still posted online.

The defence is not contesting the veracity of the videos and acknowledges that the "person with grey hair and a beard in the video recordings" was Dtsa'hyl.

In video recordings played for the court, Dtsa'hyl tells Coastal GasLink employees that they are trespassing on Wet'suwet'en territory and that pipeline construction is degrading the water and the land.

"We want everything off our territory. We want Coastal GasLink removed ... [or] we are going to seize equipment from you guys," Dtsa'hyl said in one of the videos. "This was fair warning."

In another video, he refers to a piece of CGL's equipment as worth about $750,000.

A large sign showing the RCMP name and symbols in front of a brown building that houses the RCMP detachment in Houston.
The Houston RCMP detachment, where Chief Dtsa'hyl was taken after his arrest in 2021. (Kate Partridge/CBC News )

Videos also recorded him saying, "Wet'suwet'en are looking after their own territory. We're not recognizing that injunction. We're not part of B.C. We're not part of Canada. "

As the defence questioned Jones about Facebook screenshots she took,  Justice Michael Tammen asked for clarification, telling the court he had never been on Facebook.

"I really do know nothing about it."

Wet'suwet'en opposition to the Coastal GasLink project has garnered international attention and drawn protesters from across Canada to a remote section of the pipeline on Wet'suwet'en territory in northern B.C.

Pipeline opponents, who call themselves land defenders and water protectors, have blockaded construction several times in recent years. 

In response, a 2019 court injunction barred protesters from preventing, impeding or restricting Coastal GasLink's pipeline construction. 

A dozen protesters have also been charged with criminal contempt for publicly defying the court order by blockading CGL. They are scheduled to go on trial later this year, but their lawyer has filed a charter challenge, alleging "systemic disregard for Indigenous rights and sovereignty."

Coastal GasLink has signed benefit agreements with 20 band councils along the project's 670-kilometre route.

But Wet'suwet'en hereditary leadership who oppose the project say band councils do not have authority over land beyond reserve boundaries.

The pipeline is scheduled to carry natural gas fracked in northeastern B.C. to an LNG export facility in Kitimat, on B.C.'s North Coast.

It's currently 87 per cent complete, according to the company.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Betsy Trumpener

Reporter-Editor, CBC News

Betsy Trumpener has won numerous journalism awards, including a national network award for radio documentary and the Adrienne Clarkson Diversity Award. Based in Prince George, B.C., Betsy has reported on everything from hip hop in Tanzania to B.C.'s energy industry and the Paralympics.