When I first saw the RCMP taking action against the Wet’suwet’en people, I assumed someone was funding it locally. I started making calls—my first call was to RCMP Division E headquarters. They intentionally sent me on a wild goose chase, directing me to Houston detachment. Houston officers were defensive and deflected me to Smithers, who said they had no involvement and that officers came from Surrey, B.C. That trail strongly suggests funding originated from the B.C. government.
From my time with the Alberta government, I know politicians can’t authorize large RCMP operations—they lack the budget and have no authority without sign-off from a deputy minister or equivalent bureaucrat. Bureaucrats, acting through a protective civil service structure, wield real power and shield ministers from accountability—even when politicians “go ballistic” they’re told by HR they can’t fire staff. The deployment against Indigenous communities, especially when it overrides court injunctions, shows bureaucrats are comfortable violating orders and silencing scrutiny—they’re sworn to secrecy, not public service.
My central question: which bureaucrat signed off on the RCMP operation? Administrative law clearly places accountability with senior civil servants, not elected officials. Uncovering whose signature appears on funding documents is key to disrupting the system.
An example of media failure is evident in a deleted tweet from the now-discredited CBC story. It quoted only official lines and omitted any statement from Hereditary Chiefs. The RCMP’s narrative went unchallenged.
Recent Context and Coverage:
- Recent FOI documents revealed RCMP Assistant Commissioner Eric Stubbs was authorizing raids while claiming to pursue dialogue with the hereditary chiefs—a move interpreted by some as “a form of blackmail” .
- Reports show the RCMP spent upward of $37 million policing Wet’suwet’en territory from 2019 to 2023 .
- In Dec 2024, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Marguerite Church granted Coastal GasLink’s injunction, ruling provincial authority supersedes Wet’suwet’en law—rejecting Indigenous legal traditions, despite Supreme Court directives like Delgamuukw v. B.C. .
- Church’s decision explicitly dismissed Indigenous law as irrelevant to interlocutory injunctions—a controversial stance criticized for ignoring Wet’suwet’en governance structures .
Next steps and following developments:
- I’m pursuing legal clarity on who approved the RCMP deployment in the B.C. public accounts and identify the civil servant responsible.
- I’m investigating whether Provincial Justice Marguerite Church had the legal authority to override Supreme Court precedent on Indigenous rights—provincial courts cannot override federal or Supreme Court jurisdiction without risking legal challenge.
- As a journalistic body, Wolves of the West Inc. meets the legal criteria for media, ensuring this research and documentation is publicly available, regardless of audience size.
- Early evidence suggests RCMP actions on Wet’suwet’en territory were excessive, costly, and overridden Indigenous legal authority.
Below is a video of the November 19, 2021 RCMP raid on Coyote Camp:
Tweet since deleted:
“#RCMP violently raided Coyote Camp on unceded Gidimt’ en territory, Nov 19, 2021, removing #Wetsuweten women from their land at gunpoint on behalf of TC Energy’s proposed Coastal GasLink pipeline. #ShutDownCanada #AllOutForWedzinKwa #WetsuwetenStrong
Gidimt’en Checkpoint (@Gidimten) November 24, 2021