Two arrested as academics share concerns over Indigenous artifacts at B.C. site

RCMP are negotiating with demonstrators who have taken control of a Coastal GasLink construction site as tensions surrounding the natural gas project rise again.

RCMP say they are negotiating with demonstrators who have taken control of a Coastal GasLink construction site in northern B.C. as tensions surrounding the natural gas project rise again.

Protests last year against the pipeline on Wet’suwet’en First Nation territory set off rail blockades across the country and protesters in the latest dispute issued a news release accusing police of using excessive force during arrests.

Dawn Roberts, an RCMP spokeswoman, says two people have been arrested in the past week at the site near Houston, B.C., and Coastal GasLink staff have been unable to work there since Sept. 20.

READ MORE: Canada needs to ‘lean in’: Message on truth and reconciliation from Kamloops, B.C.

An open letter from B.C. academics addressed to the B.C. Archeology Branch criticized the Coastal GasLink work, saying the company and the B.C. government failed to properly consult the Wet’suwet’en and could lead to the destruction of Indigenous artifacts.

TC Energy, which owns the project, disputed the accusations in a statement, saying it had engaged with the Office of the Wet’suwet’en and had unearthed and saved artifacts under the supervision of a trained archeologist.

Indigenous Relations Minister Murray Rankin said the pipeline project has been approved by elected Indigenous leaders and the provincial government is working with hereditary chiefs to come to an agreement about rights and titles.

The 670-kilometre Coastal GasLink pipeline was approved by both the province and all 20 elected First Nations councils along its path to transport natural gas from northeastern B.C. to a processing and export facility on the coast in Kitimat.