The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
December 24, 2019

Report: Canadian Police Were Prepared to Use Lethal Force Against Indigenous Land Defenders
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In Canada, indigenous communities are condemning the Canadian government
after it was revealed that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police prepared
for the potential use of lethal force against indigenous land defenders
resisting the construction of a natural gas pipeline on the Wet'suwet'en
Nation's ancestral land in British Columbia. The Guardian first revealed
the documents in which commanders of Canada's national police force
argued "lethal overwatch is required" - a term for deploying snipers.
The preparations came ahead of a police raid last January against a
protest encampment where indigenous groups have been fighting the
Coastal Gas Link pipeline. In response to the revelations, the grand
chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs in Canada said, "This form of
state violence is happening to indigenous peoples around the world. It
is disheartening to know that, even in Canada, this same type of planned
violence is still being considered against First Nations."


.