BC Appeal Court Upholds Wet'suwet'en Chief's Contempt Conviction

VANCOUVER — The British Columbia Court of Appeal has upheld the criminal contempt conviction of Wet'suwet'en hereditary chief Dstahyl, also known as Adam Bernard Gagnon, who violated a court injunction by impeding construction on the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline in 2021.

Gagnon was found guilty after he and other hereditary chiefs served an eviction notice to Coastal GasLink workers on Wet'suwet'en territory, breaching an injunction that prohibited protesters from blocking pipeline activity. The three-judge appellate panel, in a ruling released this week, rejected his defense that Wet'suwet'en trespass law compelled him to act, describing it as a collateral attack on the validity of the injunction itself.

The court noted that Gagnon did not seek to challenge or set aside the injunction through proper legal channels but instead argued for an exemption based on Indigenous legal traditions. "Disobeying the injunction was not a last resort, because there were other lawful and peaceful means available to him to challenge the injunction," the panel wrote.

The decision acknowledges Canada's historical suppression of Indigenous laws, which have been "denied, suppressed, and at...