Friday, March 29, 2024
ADVT 
National

Crown Won'T Pursue Charges Against 14 Pipeline Opponents In Northern B.C.

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 16 Apr, 2019 06:17 PM

    PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. — The B.C. prosecution service says it does not have enough evidence to pursue charges of criminal contempt against 14 people who were arrested in January when RCMP enforced an interim court injunction at a pipeline blockade on the Wet'suwet'en First Nation's traditional territory.


    The prosecution service says in a statement submitted to the B.C. Supreme Court in Prince George that the cases were referred to it for potential prosecution of criminal contempt on Feb. 4.


    After a review, it says it is not satisfied there is enough evidence for a substantial likelihood of conviction.


    It says those charges are separate from Criminal Code charges arising from the same events and it has approved a charge of assaulting a police officer with a weapon against one of the 14 individuals arrested.


    Police made the arrests on Jan. 7 as they enforced an injunction obtained by Coastal GasLink, which is building a natural gas pipeline from northeastern B.C. to Kitimat.


    The company says it has signed agreements with all 20 elected First Nation governments along the pipeline path, but some members of the Wet'suwet'en have said it has no jurisdiction without the consent of its hereditary chiefs.


    In the statement, Crown counsel Trevor Shaw says the decision not to pursue the charges relates to whether information was available on the injunction.


    "One element of criminal contempt relates to knowledge (whether direct, inferred or otherwise) of the terms of the injunction," he said.


    "After a review of the evidence at this point, the BCPS is not satisfied that there is the necessary evidentiary basis for a substantial likelihood of conviction."


    The injunction originally included a term requiring that a copy of the order be posted on the company's website, as well as near a bridge where the pipeline opponents and members of the First Nation had established a gate on the logging road that Coastal GasLink needs to access for its project.


    But the prosecution service says the required posting at the bridge was deleted by order of the court on Jan. 4.


    The events on Jan. 7 were also dynamic and did not include various steps or actions relating to notice that might have arisen in a different context, the statement said.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Toronto archbishop laments fire ravaging Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

    TORONTO — The Archbishop of Toronto said Monday the fire that heavily damaged Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is a tragic event that has touched people everywhere.

    Toronto archbishop laments fire ravaging Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

    Notre Dame Fire Highlights Importance Of Detailed Documentation For Rebuilding

    The fire that swept through Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Monday is a reminder that having proper plans and documentation of valued Canadian heritage buildings is crucial.    

    Notre Dame Fire Highlights Importance Of Detailed Documentation For Rebuilding

    Court Orders Lobbying Czar To Take New Look At Aga Khan'S Vacation Gift To PM

    Court Orders Lobbying Czar To Take New Look At Aga Khan'S Vacation Gift To PM
    OTTAWA — The Federal Court has ordered the lobbying commissioner to take another look at whether the Aga Khan broke the rules by giving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a vacation in the Bahamas.

    Court Orders Lobbying Czar To Take New Look At Aga Khan'S Vacation Gift To PM

    Community Concerns Prompt B.C. Government To Add Month To Caribou Consultations

    "This is clearly an issue that has enraged some people and has inflamed passions," said Premier John Horgan in Dawson Creek, a small city in northeastern B.C. that is in the heart of caribou country.

    Community Concerns Prompt B.C. Government To Add Month To Caribou Consultations

    Use Of Roadside Saliva Tests For Cannabis Impairment Remain In Question

    Use Of Roadside Saliva Tests For Cannabis Impairment Remain In Question
    Michelle Gray says she's afraid to get behind the wheel again after having her licence suspended for failing a cannabis saliva test in Nova Scotia, even though she passed a police administered sobriety test the same night.

    Use Of Roadside Saliva Tests For Cannabis Impairment Remain In Question

    Four Dead After Shooting In Penticton, B.C.; One Male Suspect In Custody

    PENTICTON, B.C. — The RCMP say a 60-year-old man is in custody after four targeted shootings in Penticton, B.C., on Monday left two men and two women dead in what a senior police officer described as a "very dark day" for the city.

    Four Dead After Shooting In Penticton, B.C.; One Male Suspect In Custody