As UBC students and faculty have issued statements and joined demonstrations in support of Wet’suwet’en land defenders, the AMS has also issued its own statement.
In late January, the AMS released a statement of solidarity with members of the Wet’suwet’en Nation who oppose the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline.
Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs have opposed the construction of the $6.6 billion project on their traditional territory. Since the hereditary chiefs initial rejection, protests across Canada have acquired increasing support over the last few months.
Most recently, government ministers and hereditary chiefs reached a tentative agreement recognizing the hereditary governance system, but a resolution to the pipeline dispute is still up in the air.
The AMS statement articulates that the society respects “Wet’suwe’ten jurisdiction, governance, and law,” while acknowledging that UBC campus is located on traditional, ancestral and unceded Musqueam territory.
“As many Indigenous land defenders have done, we call upon the BC Provincial Government to uphold their commitments to UNDRIP, remove all RCMP presence from Wet’suwet’en lands, and respect the traditional laws and governance of the Wet’suwet’en Nation,” reads the statement.
“We call upon other student communities and organizations to also stand with the Wet’suwet’en in their call for solidarity.”
But some student groups — namely UBCC350, the UBC Women’s Centre and the Social Justice Centre — said that the AMS’s statement is lacking.
According to the groups’ joint statement, the AMS allegedly omitted key demands from previous drafts of the statement, such as an explicit call for the provincial government to cease construction of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline.
“In their final statement, the AMS removed the very first demand listed, which calls on the provincial government cease the production of the CGL pipeline,” reads the statement.
“Removing this demand is at odds with the AMS’s mandate under Policy E2: AMS Environment and Climate Policy which asserts that the AMS will advocate for leaving fossil fuels in the ground and oppose fossil fuel extraction projects that have not secured “free, prior, and informed consent of the Indigenous peoples whose lands would be affected.”
Other criticisms included the lack of recognition of the work of students who organized and attended actions in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en. The statement also called on the AMS to use its connections with the provincial and federal governments to advocate for Wet’suwet’en.
“We hope that the AMS will take leadership from the Wet’suwet’en Nation and from its students to go beyond this inadequate statement and leverage their power as a student union to demand respect for Wet’suwet’en jurisdiction and sovereignty,” reads the statement.
AMS President Chris Hakim wrote in an emailed statement that respect for the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) was key in the solidarity statement. He also added that the AMS “will be urging the provincial and federal governments that these actions are not acceptable.”
“[T]he AMS firmly stands in solidarity with the people of Wet’suwet’en Nation and the Unist’ot’en and Gidimt’en camps in their struggle against the building of the Pipline. This forceful removal of Indigenous peoples from their lands and territories are in conflict with the commitments and and recognition of rights in the UNDRIP,” said Hakim in an emailed statement.
This comment is in reference to article 10 of UNDRIP, which states that “Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories. No relocation shall take place without free, prior and informed consent.”
UBCC350 has also issued its own open letter in solidarity with Wet'suwet'en land defenders, which has been signed by the Women’s Centre and the Social Justice Centre, alongside other student groups.