Injunctions have been used to try and stifle vibrant, grassrootsmovements against the invasion of Wet’suwet’en territory, Northern Pulp’s plans to pipe effluent into the Northumberland Strait, and the back-to-work legislation used to break the PostalWorkers’ strike .
So, what is this legal tool which is so useful in suppressing
dissent? Injunctions are a legal oddity. Normally, someone must prove
that they have been harmed by an illegal act in order to get a
remedy from a court. Injunctions are an exception to this rule;
they can prevent someone from engaging in a particular action,
even if the person seeking the injunction cannot prove that they
have suffered any harm. Injunctions are most often awarded to
protect the interests of private property, and the profitability
of commercial enterprise. Injunctions can block someone from
doing something that would otherwise be perfectly legal, like
engaging in a peaceful protest outside of a workplace.
Threestories of Wet’suwet’en, Northern Pulp, and the Postal Workers show how our legal system prioritizes private property interests. They also demonstrate how injunctions are used by corporations and governments to shut down peaceful and effective protests. From Unist’ot’en land defenders, to Canada Post protestors, to fishers in the Northumberland Strait,- one thing is clear, when we stand up for our rights, companies seek injunctions, the courts oblige, and we are criminalised. Meanwhile, corporations and government break the law and violate Charterrights with impunity.
On Wet’suwet’en territory, Indigenous Peoples exercising their
inherent rights, as are guaranteed and affirmed by the Canadian
Charter, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) have been brutalized by the Canadian
state and the corporate interests it protects. They and their
allies are defending the Wet’suwet’en land from the construction
of a pipeline which they’ve been successfully delaying for five
years. Canada has committed to meaningfully implement UNDRIP,
which guarantees that Indigenous Peoples must give their free,
prior, and informed consent to any project affecting their
territories. Even though no such consent has been granted,
CoastalLink has moved forward with the pipeline. The company
obtained an interim injunction. Militarised police invaded the
Unist’ot’en encampment, healing centre and blockade. Fourteen
people were arrested. . Canada is clearly willing to drop the
pretence that it intends to honour its treaty, Charter, and
international legal obligations, to serve the interests of the
Calgarian oil and gas corporation.
Injunctions have also been used to supress a strong grassroots
movement in Pictou Landing, Nova Scotia. Northern Pulp (owned by
Paper Excellence) operates a mill in Abercrombie Nova Scotia
where it has been producing northern bleached softwood kraft
pulp since 1967. This process produces an effluent that contains
a combination of toxic compounds that bioaccumulate in
ecosystems. Starting in the 1970s, the mill began piping
effluent under the East River to treatment ponds at the Boat
Harbour wastewater plant (just east of Pictou Landing First
Nation), then into Boat Harbour to settle before it was finally
emptied into the Northumberland Strait. The site became
notorious for its smell and negative health effects attributed
to it by many locals. After a effluent pipe leak in 2014, the
Liberal Government (under McNeil) passed the
Boat Harbour Act in 2015 which requires that Northern
Pulp to cease using Boat Harbour as a container for effluent by
January 30, 2020. To meet this deadline, Northern Pulp proposed
the construction of a new treatment facility where effluent will
be treated before being piped directly into the
Northumberland Strait, with no time spent in a stabilisation or
aeration pond. Both Indigenous Peoples and settler peoples from
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and PEI voiced objection to this
plan, citing fears that dumping treated effluent directly into
the ocean will have detrimental effects on species crucial to
local fisheries.
Because of the deadline imposed by the McNeil government (and the heel dragging of Northern Pulp), the company decided to go ahead with the pipe proposal despite the overwhelming public disapproval. Before it can construct the pipe, Northern Pulp needs to survey the floor of the Strait. Because their voices were not heard by the company, local fishers have been using their boats to blockade survey crews from completing their work. Northern Pulp sought injunctions against several fishers that were identified taking part in the blockade. A Nova Scotia Supreme Court Judge granted Northern Pulp these injunctions against several fishers on December 15, 2018. The Judge also included the names Jane/John Doe to the injunction to discourage anyone from the public from assisting with the blockade.
This example would be comical if the potential environmental effects were not so dire. Let’s reiterate: Northern Pulp (a privately-owned company) has appealed to the state to enforce laws that prevent those people most affected by their pollution (and any Jane/John Doe) from participating in an effective form of direct action. The judge states that they fully support the right of people to protest legally. In July 2018 a legalprotest containing upwards of 1000 people gathered in Pictou to send a message to both Northern Pulp and the provincial government that they were against the proposed effluent pipe. This legalprotest (not to mention one of the largest in Nova Scotian history) was apparently not enough for northern Pulp to consider changing its plan. It is because of the lack of recognition of the legal protest that these fishers are directly acting by using their boats to physically stop work on the proposed effluent pipe. Northern Pulp is portraying some concerned local fishers out to be a threat to public safety while they plan to install an effluent pipe that will be a legitimate threat to public safety.
Our legal system’s prioritization of the interests of the
wealthy over the many is also demonstrated through the reaction
to the recent strike of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers
(CUPW). Postal Workers waged a strike for gender pay equity,
safe working conditions, an end to unpaid work, and an
environmentally-sustainable Canada Post. The strike was on a
rotating basis, which allowed CUPW to pressure Canada Post to
bargain in good faith while maintaining the support of the
public. Canada Post was never forced to engage in meaningful
collective bargaining, because the federal government legislated
CUPW members back to work. Similar legislation which forced
Postal Workers back-to-work in 2011 was declared
unconstitutional by the Ontario Supreme Court in 2016. CUPW has
already launched a legal challenge to the Government’s recent
legislation. When allies of the Postal Workers demonstrated
against the forced return-to-work, police and the courts
protected Canada Post’s profits by arresting and issuing
injunctions against activists. The strike and its aftermath
demonstrate that workers will be punished and constrained by the
legal system for exercising power, while bosses and the
government can act as if they’re above the law.
A legal system which serves the interests of the wealthy can’t
protect the planet and the majority of people who call it home.
A just legal system written by and for the people would protect
our environmental wellbeing and human rights above all else.
Join us in creating the justice we need for ourselves and our
communities.