Coastal GasLink protesters sentencing postponed awaiting Gladue reports

SMITHERS, B.C. — Three Indigenous protesters who blocked the construction of the Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline, which starts in Dawson Creek, may not be sentenced until November after being found guilty of contempt of court.

During a Thursday, April 3rd hearing at B.C. Supreme Court in Smithers, Justice Michael Tammen said his schedule and the time needed for pre-sentencing reports have delayed the three-day hearing until fall.

He adjourned the matter until April 25th for another scheduling hearing.

In January 2024, Justice Tammen found Wet’suwet’en First Nation’s Molly Wickham (aka Sleydo’), Gitxsan member Shaylynn Sampson and Corey Jocko, a Mohawk from Akwesasne guilty of contempt of court.

 On February 18th, Justice Tammen decided they will face reduced sentences for disobeying an injunction, but dismissed their application to stay the charges.

He told the lawyers it would be helpful to “get some blocks of time when they might be available in the months of September, October, possibly November, in to scheduling in Supreme Court, so at least they’ve got that when I’m able to give them my potential availability.”

Justice Tammen said sentencing after a criminal conviction “should always occur within at a maximum six months from the date of judgment.”

But this one cannot proceed prior to preparation of Gladue reports, which analyze the history of an Indigenous defendant and how family and personal suffering contributed to their offence. Those reports may not be done until July or August.

Lawyers for the trio argued RCMP officers violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and abused their power when they made the 2021 arrests for blocking CGL construction.

While Justice Tammen upheld their convictions in February, he agreed comments by police officers to the arrestees were “grossly offensive, racist and dehumanizing” and breached the Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ guarantee of life, liberty and security of person.

“In every respect, an unusual case, and in particular, given the findings I made and the comments I made in the abuse of process motion, there’s no question this is going to be a much more complex sentencing hearing than one normally sees at the conclusion of a criminal trial,” Justice Tammen said on April 3rd.

Protest blockades delayed, but did not stop, completion of the 670-kilometre pipeline from Dawson Creek to the LNG Canada plant in Kitimat.

CGL went into commercial service last fall. In November, CGL parent TC Energy estimated final project costs remain at $14.5 billion. TC Energy said it remains on track to deliver first cargoes by mid-2025.