On Day 67, WE WIN! In an absolutely historic turn of events, Imperial Metals high powered legal team fails in court. Imperial Metals, on short leave, applied for an interlocutory injunction and enforcement order against the Klabona Keepers Red Chris mine blockade and sacred fire lit on September 29th 2014. Justice Grauer did not grant the interlocutory injunction or the enforcement order. The injunction application was heard today in the Supreme Court of British Columbia in so called Vancouver at 10am in the high security court room, the same one where Air Indias trial was heard. Imperial Metals’ Steve Robertson was in attendance. The corporation was represented by three lawyers from Fasken Martineau. Three women from the Tahltan and Secwepemc Nations, three women who lit sacred fires in response to Imperial Metals Mount Polley disaster and out of concern and love for land and life represented themselves and were successful. First in petitioning the court to hear and approve a change of venue application to Terrace so that the Elders and youth can attend, witness and speak to the application. Second in blocking the interlocutory injunction and immediate enforcement order from being approved. The Judge instead issued a non-permanent injunction without an enforcement order to be immediately applied. The enforcement order is instead held off until October 14, 2014 to allow time for the rightful titleholders of the land to respond and gather in traditional governance structures to reach consensus on how to respond to the temporary injunction. It was a good day for us. For all of us. The court room was packed. Everyone wore red. Those of us in the gallery cheered, whistled, clapped as we spoke and as the judge issued orders and statements in our favour and scoffed and laughed as the lawyers for Imperial Metals became more flustered, more frustrated and ultimately, less effective. As the court adjourned for the day, those of us in the gallery chanted Clean up your mess! Clean up your mess! Clean up your mess! as Imperial Metals executives and lawyers did the walk of shame out of the court room through our 60 person strong crowd. In attendance were members of the Tahltan, Secwepemc, Gixtsan, Cree, Tsilhqotin, Nuu Chah Nulth, Statimc Nations, all of us inside and outside the court room in unity and in red. The streets of so-called Vancouver echoed today with the sound of our war cries, our hand drummers, our singers, our dancers, our warriors, our victors. “Ultimately, this is an incredible victory – not only for the Klabona Keepers, but for all Indigenous Nations connected by the water and the salmon. Our incredible allies from Secwepemc territory, Kanahus and Anushka, and Klabona Keeper, Loretta, overcame all odds in the colonial court today to seek justice.” –Klabona Keepers statement. “Injunctions are one of Canada’s last colonial instruments used to dispossess Indigenous Peoples of their land but pressure from the grassroots community is causing the colonial government to retreat. Today’s decision puts the injunction in question as being a sure form of remedy for corporations like Imperial Metals acting with impunity and without consent.” -Arthur Manuel, Indigenous Network on Economies and Trade #imperialnomore #blockadeseverywhere
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 01:45:19 +0000
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