Calling Yourself "Liberal" Doesn't Make You a Liberal

The federal government needs to get their attack dogs under control. The RCMP now resemble East Germany's Stasi. The latest outrage from these thugs is the threat to arrest and prosecute journalists who photograph officers in combat gear at the site of Wet'suwet'en protests in northern BC.

“Reporters need to be there to witness police actions, especially against Indigenous people,” Karyn Pugliese said.

The Wet’suwet’en’s hereditary leaders are opposed to the $6.6 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline, which is under construction to move fracked gas from B.C.’s northeast to LNG Canada’s export facility in Kitimat, B.C. 

“The RCMP need to realize we are not a police state. They don’t get to control editorial,” Pugliese said. 

“The public has a right to know what’s going on so they can make good democratic choices. There’s no role for police to decide they’re going to step in between journalists and the public’s right to know.” 

Pugliese said she confirmed reports that journalists were told by the RCMP not to photograph or film officers in tactical gear carrying assault rifles or arrests — or they’d be at risk of arrest themselves. Police also detained journalists in a van and removed them from the site.

In January the UN called on Justin to call off his dogs. He ignored them.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has issued a triple-barrelled decision calling on Canada to immediately suspend work on the Coastal GasLink pipeline, the Trans Mountain pipeline and the Site C dam until “free, prior and informed consent” is obtained from Indigenous peoples. 

The committee urged Canada to immediately cease the forced eviction of Wet’suwet’en peoples who oppose the Coastal GasLink pipeline and Secwepemc peoples opposed to the Trans Mountain pipeline, to prohibit the use of lethal weapons — notably by the RCMP — against Indigenous peoples and to guarantee no force will be used against them. It also urged the federal government to withdraw the RCMP, along with associated security and policing services, from traditional lands. 

In a two-page decision statement, the committee said it is alarmed by the escalating threat of violence against Indigenous peoples in B.C. and disturbed by the “forced removal, disproportionate use of force, harassment and intimidation by law enforcement officials against Indigenous peoples who peacefully oppose large-scale development projects” on their traditional territories.

It's pretty disgraceful when the UN has to tell your government to withdraw their thugs. It's also a clear indication that the label "Liberal" no longer stands for very much at all.