Tuesday, April 16, 2019 | Your community newspaper since 1916
CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
Hitting the road A group of supporters were on hand as Spruce King players boarded the bus Monday over the noon hour for the trip to Vernon for the third and fourth games in the BCHL finals. The Spruce Kings are heading to Vernon with a 2-0 lead in the series. See page 9 for full coverage.
Month added to caribou consultations Dawson Creek Mirror
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This map shows the proposed route of the Coastal GasLink pipeline.
Pipeline blockaders no longer face contempt proceedings Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca The B.C. Prosecution Service has decided against pursuing criminal contempt charges against the 14 people arrested in January at a blockade against the Coastal GasLink pipeline project. In a statement read out Monday during a hearing before B.C. Supreme Court Justice Marguerite Church, BCPS Crown counsel Trevor Shaw said that after a review of the evidence, the BCPS is “not satisfied that there is the necessary evidentiary basis for a substantial likelihood of conviction.” At issue was whether those who occupied the blockade, located near the Morice River Bridge south
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of Houston, had knowledge of an injunction against their action when RCMP made the arrests. A requirement that a notice of the injunction be posted at the Morice River Bridge was waived on Jan. 4 and three days later, RCMP moved in to break up a blockade at a spot further north on the Morice River Forest Service Road. “The events on Jan. 7, 2019, were dynamic and did not include various steps or actions related to notice that might have arisen in a different context,” Shaw said. “This is simply the nature of what happened that day.” Following Shaw’s statement, CGL lawyer Kerry Kaukinen said the company will not pursue civil contempt proceedings against the
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14, noting the standard of proof is the same as in a criminal proceeding. In accepting the submissions, Church said that all those arrested are now aware of the injunction and should they breach the order in the future, “the position of this court might be quite different.” About 25 people attended the hearing, many wearing T-shirts and hoodies with “Wet’suwet’en Strong,” #notrespass” and a picture of a grizzly in native motif, representing one of the houses within the First Nation’s traditional governance structure, emblazoned on the front. Celebratory drumming was performed outside the courthouse following the outcome. — see ‘I FELT, page 3
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were sending public officials who were in some instances not able to answer the questions that the public were bringing up, because they weren’t connected to this specific issue at play.” Lekstrom reports directly to the premier. “We’re all in this together, we all want to ensure we try and look after the caribou, and at the same time maintaining the quality of life we have here for the people looking after their families, their jobs. I’m confident that we can do that together,” he said. Lekstrom noted the premier had reached out to him to discuss the topic. “This is what our region asked for, they asked to be engaged, to have the opportunity to put our input to how we think we can do this together with our First Nations neighbours,” Lekstrom explained. — see ‘THIS IS, page 3
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This is clearly an issue that has enraged some people and has inflamed passions...
Premier John Horgan was in Dawson Creek Monday to announce that the province is extending the public engagement process to May 31, and that he is appointing Dawson Creek city councillor and former MLA Blair Lekstrom as a community liaison. “He will give us an opportunity in Victoria to look at the feedback from the community in a more focused manner,” Horgan said of Lekstrom’s appointment. “This is clearly an issue that has enraged some people and has inflamed passions, and I can’t feel that in real time on the ground because of my responsibilities in Victoria. Blair can do that.” He noted the petition presented in Victoria by MLA Mike Bernier and the Concerned Citizens for Caribou Recovery drew his attention. “I regret that we didn’t start that consultation earlier, I regret that we didn’t put more information out to the public, but we are where we are,” he said. “We decided to add additional time to the consultation, because it was clear to the public that the public wasn’t satisfied with the information they were getting,” Horgan explained. “At these public meetings where often you’d like to have an elected representative, we
— Premier John Horgan
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