MPP Sol Mamakwa, the Official Opposition critic for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, released the following statement in support of the Wet\u2019suwet\u2019en Nation, and supporting actions throughout the nation:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe recent arrests by the RCMP in Wet\u2019suwet\u2019en Nation signal yet another failure on Canada\u2019s part to recognize and respect the laws and rights of Indigenous Peoples. The criminalization of First Nations people who are attempting to protect their lands and water is unacceptable. As the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls states, \u2018[b]oth physical violence and legal prosecution are used against Indigenous people to criminalize them, particularly in reference to those defending land and water rights, but also as related to the protection of families and communities.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n The Ontario NDP advocates for a Nation-to-Nation dialogue between all parties, one that recognizes Wet\u2019suwet\u2019en Nation governance and authority. We believe the RCMP should stand down, and should call off any further police action in unceded Wet\u2019suwet\u2019en territory. Work on the construction of the Coastal Gaslink pipeline should cease unless all parties agree it can continue. The federal Minister and his provincial counterparts should meet immediately, without conditions, with Wet\u2019suwet\u2019en Hereditary Chiefs. Similar Nation-to-Nation meetings must happen between the governments of Ontario and Canada, and with Tyendinaga, as well as between other First Nations and other provincial governments. We don\u2019t condone arrests by the OPP, or CN Rail police, of peaceful protestors and hope that restraint and respectful dialogue continue to be exercised in Ontario. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Ontario\u2019s New Democrats believe that our province, as well as all provinces and territories, must move forward on partnerships with Indigenous peoples. We feel strongly that solutions to the current situation in unceded Wet\u2019suwet\u2019en territory must be Indigenous-led, as should discussions regarding supportive actions in Mohawk territory, and all other First Nations territories. In the upcoming session of the Ontario Legislative Assembly, the NDP will continue to hold the Ontario government accountable for its actions\u2014or lack thereof–towards meaningful reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" MPP Sol Mamakwa, the Official Opposition critic for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, released the following statement in support of the Wet\u2019suwet\u2019en Nation, and supporting actions throughout the nation: \u201cThe recent arrests by the RCMP in Wet\u2019suwet\u2019en Nation signal yet another failure on Canada\u2019s part to recognize and respect the laws and rights of Indigenous …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[2312],"class_list":["post-28678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-federal","tag-wetsuweten-nation"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-20 10:00:51","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28678"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28739,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28678\/revisions\/28739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}