A Coastal GasLink work camp near Houston, B.C. is now a crime scene, following an early morning attack on workers yesterday involving an estimated 20 masked, axe-wielding assailants, who threatened workers, hacked up vehicles and caused millions of dollars in damage vehicles, equipment and camp trailers.
Houston RCMP say no arrests have been made yet, and that the camp is now a crime scene, as investigators comb through the wreckage looking for evidence that may lead to arrests.
According to Coastal GasLink and Houston RCMP, workers at a Morice River drill pad site off the Marten Forest Service Road were attacked early this morning in "a highly planned and dangerous unprovoked assault."
RCMP say an officer responding to the attack was injured when smokes bombs and burning torches were tossed at RCMP by the assailants. This occurred at portion of road that had been blockaded with a bonfire.
The attack occurred in the same area where opponents of the natural gas pipeline had set up an occupation camp and blockade for 59 days, before RCMP enforced an injunction and cleared the protesters out in November.
"This coordinated and criminal attack from multiple directions threatened the lives of several workers," Coastal GasLink said in a news release.
"In one of the most concerning acts, an attempt was made to set a vehicle on fire while workers were inside. The attackers also wielded axes, swinging them at vehicles and through a truck's window.
"Flare guns were also fired at workers. Workers fled the site for their own safety and remain shaken by this violent incident. Fortunately, there were no physical injuries to Coastal GasLink workers."
In update Thursday afternoon, Coastal GasLink confirmed nine employees were victims of the attack, which has been widely condemned by politicians and unions.
“We are calling for Government to instruct the RCMP to increase security measures to ensure the safety of our members and all workers involved in the construction of the Coastal GasLink Project," said Kevin Kohut, provincial firector for the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC).
CGL says attackers used a grinder to cut locks on a permitted gate to the pipeline construction site and vandalized heavy equipment and construction trailers on-site, causing millions of dollars worth of damage.
CGL also says the site did have video surveillance cameras, but that the attackers disabled lights and video cameras. However, some video footage was captured before the cameras were cut has been turned over to RCMP.
Houston RCMP say they responded to a call shortly after midnight.Thursday morning that the CGL work camp was under attack.
"Upon police attendance at the 41 km mark, the roadway had been blocked with downed trees, tar covered stumps, wire, boards with spikes in them, and fires had been lit throughout the debris," an RCMP news release states.
"As police worked their way through the debris and traps, several people threw smoke bombs and fire lit sticks at the police, injuring one officer."
"This was a calculated and organized violent attack that left its victims shaken and a multimillion dollar path of destruction," Warren Brown, RCMP Chief Superintendent, North District Command, said in a news release.
"While we respect everyone’s right to peacefully protest in Canada, we cannot tolerate this type of extreme violence and intimidation. Our investigators will work tirelessly to identify the culprits and hold them accountable for their actions."
It's not clear at this point what kind of security, if any, was in place for the work camp, or whether any video surveillance footage was captured.
Thursday's attack appears to be an escalation in a series of confrontations and vandalism. Earlier this month, Burns Lake RCMP called for witnesses to vandalism on February 7, in which about $100,000 in damage was done to heavy equipment at 700 Forest Service Road (FSR) between February 5 and February 6.
Three excavators were heavily damaged. It's not clear whether the two incidents are related, as the RCMP did not say who the equipment belonged to.
In November, 2021, members of the Gidimt’en clan, along with other First Nation supporters, including a number of Haudenosaunee from Eastern Canada, set up three blockades along the Morice West Forest Service Road. This was after a previous blockade was set up in October, 2021, which resulted in arrests. RCMP reported 14 people were arrested in November when a court injunction was enforced on the most recent occupation camp.
On December 19, 2021, Coastal GasLink reported a group of roughly a dozen "camouflaged and masked opponents" took over the Marten Forest Service Road and Morice River drill site. CGL alleges they "threatened Coastal GasLink security officials with violence, damaged trucks with clubs and fired flares and bear bangers."
All five elected band councils within Wet'suwet'en territory have supported the construction of the $6.6 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline. However, a number of Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs have opposed the project, which would feed natural gas to the LNG Canada plant in Kitimat.
Members of the Unist'ot'en and Gidimt'en clans within the Wet'suwet'en have vigorously opposed the project with a number of road bloackades and encampments.
Police are asking anyone with information about the Thursday's attack to call Houston RCMP at 250-845-2204.
(This story has been updated since its original posting with additional information.)
