VICTORIA – Premier John Horgan says anti-pipeline protests that saw hundreds of people block entrances to the B.C. legislature are unacceptable.
Horgan says he cancelled a scheduled Tuesday afternoon news conference because he needed 24 hours to consider his thoughts after witnessing hundreds of people hurling abuse and blocking entrances to the legislature.
The premier says after reflection he believes the government must continue to carry on with its agenda of reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, which includes supporting a natural gas pipeline project that is supported by many people in northern B.C.
Opposition to the Coastal GasLink pipeline by hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en Nation has led to protests across Canada including blockades at ports and on railway lines.
Horgan says he supports the right to protest, but not those who attempt to disrupt and drown out the views of others.
The RCMP arrested more than two dozen people last week while enforcing an injunction against people blocking access to the pipeline construction area near Houston.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 12, 2020.