Water Protectors Appeal Trans Mountain Pipeline Convictions

Water Protectors Appeal Trans Mountain Pipeline Convictions

Secwepemc Matriarch April Thomas, Nlaka'pamux Land Defender Billie Pierre, along with ally and environmental engineer Romilly Cavanaugh are appealing their criminal contempt convictions with sentences ranging from 28 days to 32 days. The appeal date is March 3, 2025, at 10 AM at the BC Supreme Court, 800 Hornby St, Vancouver, BC.

The appeal will seek to challenge the unfair and unjust trial process and, ultimately, the various government agencies that work together to illegally trample Indigenous Laws, as well as Section 35 of Canada's constitution regarding Aboriginal Rights & Title in favour of corporate interests.

Throughout the trial, the accused were denied the right to represent their case in a fair and equal manner, and experienced callousness and blatant racism from the judge.

While outrageous incidents were common during the trial, one of the most shocking was the closed-door hearing between the judge and lawyers representing several elected Secwepemc Chiefs. Without the defendants present, the judge decided to quash subpoenas from the accused to call the Chiefs as witnesses, which impeded our ability to prove they unlawfully signed Trans Mountain Pipeline mutual benefits agreements giving TMX illegitimate consent to expand the pipeline on Secwepemc territory. The Chiefs signed on behalf of all Secwepemc people without properly informing, consulting and more importantly obtaining collective consent from the entire Nation. The Chiefs also refuse to disclose information about the financial payouts each band received from the pipeline deal. In addition, the judge even went so far as to coach the Chiefs' lawyers about what to put in their court filings to make this biased process appear "proper", ultimately allowing the Chiefs to avoid testifying. The defendants were informed of this meeting after the fact.

A painful reminder of Canada's genocide against Indigenous people and the role the residential school system played was brought to light in 2021 when 215+ unmarked graves of Indigenous children were located at the Kamloops Indian Residential School (KIRS). While trial evidence was being presented with regards to the 215+ graves, the judge made disturbing remarks in front of residential school survivors and the Secwepemc people, who still suffer the effects of intergenerational trauma. When this issue came up, she rudely stated that “there are no bodies that have been unearthed,” and when corrected by our lawyer, Ben Isitt, who said that the “remains had been identified through ground penetrating radar” she barked back “potentially’” as though the children were not buried there! She showed no respect to Indigenous people, and went on to sentence a KIRS survivor and Secwepemc Hereditary Chief Saw-Sês, as well as the other land defenders to jail time. Not one land acknowledgement or mention of Secwepemculecw was made by the judge throughout the entire court process!

The judge's actions, comments and decisions during the proceedings further disregarded Secwepemc Nation members’ historical existence to Secwepemc’ulecw, their own territory where they have existed since time immemorial. The judge kept repeatedly referring to the Secwepemc sacred ceremonial sites we were trying to protect as "Trans Mountain pipeline sites," and referring to the intentions of the Indigenous Matriarchs as "taking the law into their own hands and asserting their will by force!” It is clear that these words described the actions taken by the RCMP and the colonial courts since their arrival in Secwepemc Territory. The judge has presided over TMX pipeline cases since 2019, and has incarcerated a long list of Indigenous title holders and supporters on unceded territories!

This case is a prime example of the total disregard by the colonial courts of Indigenous Law on unceded territories. Our ceremonies and cultural ways continue today as they did at the height of residential schools, and during the trial of the 1995 Gustafsen Lake Standoff. Our resistance and fight for justice and our Ancestral territories is as strong now as it was for our fearless Ancestors.

During the 1995 Gustafsen Lake Standoff on Secwepemc territory, RCMP conducted a months long shoot-to kill mission at Ts'peten against Secwepemc people who were conducting sacred ceremonies on their territory and ignoring a trespass notice. Judge Antonio Lamer who tried the Ts'peten Defenders, refused to acknowledge Indigenous title on unceded Secwepemc territory, where there are no treaties, just as the judge did in our case.

“Secwepemc’ulecw is home of our many sacred ancestral sites to which Secwepemc laws and ceremonies pre-exist, exist and will continue to exist for our next 7 generations to come! We stand on the Shuswap-Okanagan confederacy, which states that we cannot sign, sell, cede or surrender our territory. We plan to continue fighting for Secwepemc land and title rights by upholding Secwepemc'ulecw law and take this case to the United Nations.” April Thomas, Secwpemc Matriarch

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Fundraising

We are fundraising for legal fees for the appeal and to cover modest travel expenses for the defendants and members of the Indigenous communities who would like to show support in court.

Budget:

Legal Fees $30,000

Travel Expenses (gas and hotels) $ 3,500

TOTAL $33,500

If, by chance, there are any funds remaining after the BC Court of Appeals hearing, they will be used for initiatives to raise awareness and educate land protectors based on our own experiences.

Kukstsemc to those in advance for your support. Your witness, prayers, art, and time are seen and appreciated and have kept us strong. We have defeated projects like these before! Together, we can do it again!

SUMMARY OF ARRESTS AND TRIAL

The original arrests took place in October 2020, and we have had over ten court appearances since that time. Managing and working through the colonial court system during a long and protracted trial and appeals process has meant that we have incurred more costs than we had expected in our original GoFundMe.

Timeline:

Oct 15 and 17, 2020: Four water defenders arrested on October 15 at Sqeq'petsin (beside the Thompson River), where a TMX drill site was located, including Secwepemc Hereditary Chief, Saw-Sês, Secwepemc Matriarch April Thomas, Billie Pierre of the Nlaka'pamux nation, and settler ally Romilly Cavanaugh.

October 17: Four more water protectors were arrested including Secwepemc Matriarch Miranda Dick, who was conducting a sacred hair-cutting ceremony in the protection of women, water and future generations, acting on her territory and in accordance with Secwepemc law.

All eight were charged with breaching a colonial injunction with no jurisdiction over unceded Indigenous lands.

January 20, 2021: First in-person Court Appearance - Vancouver

March 1, 2021: Second Court Appearance - Vancouver

April Thomas and Miranda Dick demanded a third-party adjudication to ensure that the rights of the land defenders were not being infringed upon by the colonial government. This demand was made on the grounds of the colonial government's purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline, which put it in a conflict of interest as the crown also acts as judge and prosecution. The crown decides at this time that the charges are criminal contempt of court.

March 15, 2021: Third Court Appearance - Kamloops. Trial Dates were set for a trial in Kamloops.

July 30, 2021: Call-in hearing with judge and prosecution for an adjournment of trial dates set for August 3-13th, due to forest fire evacuations in Kamloops and lack of disclosure by the prosecutor (Neil Wiberg).

December 9, 2021: Prosecutor requests adjournment of trial dates set for Dec 13-17, 2021, because his friend died. Also, floods had washed out highways to Kamloops, making it impossible for defendants from Vancouver to drive to the trial.

January 13, 2022: Call-in request for an adjournment due to lack of disclosure and COVID restrictions - no adjournment granted.

Jan 17 - 21, 2022: The trial in Kamloops adjourned on the first day due to April being sick and unable to attend as an agent for several of the co-accused. Also, Romilly's mother had suffered a major heart attack, and she needed to be with her in the hospital before her passing.

March 18, 2022: Crown calls for an adjournment due to new disclosure (body cam footage from the RCMP) related to the October 15 arrestees, which must be shared with defendants.

April 1, 2022: Pre-trial conference

April 25 - 29, 2022: The trial is adjourned, and instead the accused pleaded their case for a Stay of Charges, which the judge denied

Oct 3 - 7th, 2022: The October 15 arrestees' trial was adjourned in the middle due to a medical emergency of one of the accused

November 30, 2022: Judge rubber stamps the application by the elected band council Chiefs to quash the subpoenas from the accused and allow the Chiefs to not testify about essential information related to the approvals for pipeline construction.

Dec 5 - 9th, 2022: October 15 arrestees' trial is completed. All four are found guilty of criminal contempt of court.

Dec 12-16th, 2022: October 17, arrestees' trial. All four are found guilty of criminal contempt of court.

February 22, 2023: Four women, the October 17 arrestees, are sentenced to 28 days in jail including Secwepemc Matriarch Miranda Dick.

February 24, 2023: The judge sentences Secwepemc Hereditary Chief and Elder Saw-Sês to 28 days in prison. Almost three years after he was at Sqeq'petsin to stand in support of Secwepemc Matriarchs who were conducting sacred ceremonies. Chief Saw-Sês was forced to appear in front of the openly racist judge in a courtroom with a heavy police presence the day after the judge ordered the incarceration of his daughter Miranda Dick. In both cases, she refused to apply any Gladue principles in contravention of the colonial court's own requirements.

Feb. 2023: Saw-Sês, Miranda and Romilly all appeal their convictions

May 1 - 3, 2023: Billie and April present their Gladue reports and are sentenced to house arrest and jail time, respectively.

May 2023: Billie and April appeal their convictions.