Gabby Brown, gabby.brown@sierraclub.org
This week, Canadian law enforcement has been raiding protest camps and arresting Indigenous land protectors blocking construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline. TC Energy -- the same company behind the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline -- plans to build the fracked gas pipeline through Wet’suwet’en territory despite a lack of consent from tribal leaders.
Peaceful blockades, rallies and marches are also taking place across Canada in solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en.
In response, Sierra Club Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign Director Kelly Martin released the following statement:
“The Sierra Club is in solidarity with these brave protectors fighting to protect their land, water, and way of life. Continued extraction, transport, and burning of fossil fuels threatens our communities’ health, our clean air and water, and our climate, and it is unacceptable for fossil fuel industry profit to take precedence over Indigenous rights. We support the Wet'suwet'en people in their demands for sovereignty over their territories.”
Additional context and a statement from Sierra Club BC is available here.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.