Canada: CFWIJ condemns RCMP’s arrest of Amber Bracken as situation at Gidimt’en camp heightens

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Additional reporting by Tim Smith.

November 20, 2021, Canada – The Coalition for Women in Journalism condemns the arrest of photojournalist Amber Bracken, who was reporting on the escalating situation at Gidimt’en camp in Wet’suwet’en territory. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s (RCMP) transgressions at the protesters’ campsite reached a crescendo on Friday night with the arrest of journalist Amber along with several others. In arresting a journalist who is reporting on the issue, RCMP stand in blatant violation of the freedom of the press and the right to information. The measures taken by the Canadian authorities to obstruct reportage of the happenings at Gidimt’en camp are appalling. We are deeply concerned at the manner in which the RCMP has proceeded against journalists on the ground. 

At the center of the conflict is a multi-billion dollar natural gas project — touted as the largest private sector investment in Canadian history — and an assertion by Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs that no pipelines can be built through their traditional territory without their consent. On Thursday, the CFWIJ reported at least one media arrest from the protest site and we remain vigilant as tensions heighten. The CFWIJ calls on the Canadian authorities to reach a solution that is respectful of the rights of the indigenous people instead of flagrantly violating journalists’ right to report and citizens’ right to protest. 

Late on Friday, November 19, the RCMP arrested award-winning journalist Amber Bracken, who was diligently reporting on RCMP transgressions at Gidimt’en camp. Speaking to CFWIJ, her lawyer confirmed that 14 people, including Amber and fellow journalist Michael Toledano, were arrested from the site. Both Amber and Toledano were charged with breaching the Coastal Gaslink injunction. 

Meanwhile, updating on Amber’s arrest, journalist Matt Simmons wrote on Twitter that the photojournalist is being held at the Houston RCMP detachment. “They are refusing to release her and said she’ll be moved to Smithers tonight and to Prince George tomorrow, and held until Monday.”

As the situation heightens at the camp, the Canadian authorities appear relentless in their attempts to obstruct media coverage of the conflict.

“RCMP crackdown on journalists has reached a crescendo. In the last year, journalists have been impeded, targeted and arrested by the authorities while covering some of the most critical stories in Canada,” said CFWIJ founder Kiran Nazish. “We are surprised that these violations continue. We highly condemn the arrest and charges against a respectable journalist like Amber Bracken, who has been diligently reporting on a story that affects the Canadian public. We see this arrest as a violation of freedom of press. We also see these violations against journalists as a breach of police responsibilities and demand the RCMP put a stop to this trend.”

Amber’s lawyer confirmed to the CFWIJ that she will be held over the weekend and will have a bail hearing Monday morning in Prince George. 

Amber was in Wet’suwet’en territory on an assignment to document the injunction and arrests for The Narwhal and had a formal letter from the news organization as well as a press pass identifying her affiliation. Her live-tweets from the scene up until her arrest complimented her visual documentation and detailed the increased militarized RCMP presence leading up to the arrests.

Amber’s work has received some of the industry’s highest awards including a World Press Photo award in 2017 for her coverage of Standing Rock, the 2018 ICP Infinity Award for Documentary and Photojournalism and the Canadian Association of Journalists Charles Bury Award for her outstanding coverage of the Wet’suwet’en crisis for The Narwhal in 2020.

As news of Amber’s arrest broke, support poured in for the esteemed photojournalist on social media and elsewhere. 

“British Columbia is under a province-wide state of emergency right now yet the RCMP’s priority is arresting journalists like Amber Bracken for reporting on the Wet'suwet'en protests,” wrote fellow award-winning photojournalist Tim Smith on Twitter, condemning the arrest. 

Similarly, New York Times staffer James Estrin, journalists Carol Linnet and Emma Gilchrist testified to Amber’s credentials and voiced their dismay at her arrest. 

“It is beyond acceptable that a journalist is being detained for doing her job,” wrote Linnet on Twitter.

Brent Jolly, the National President of The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), also came out in support of the photojournalist. “Criminalizing acts of journalism is something we cannot accept in a free country,” he wrote on Twitter, sharing an open letter by the CAJ published earlier on Friday. 

The CFWIJ also stands in support of CAJ’s statement. Similar concerns have been echoed by Canadian courts and civil society as well in the past year. In August, British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Douglas Thompson chastised the RCMP for impairing freedom of the press and ruled that police must “take account of the media’s special role in a free and democratic society and the necessity of avoiding undue and unnecessary interference with the journalistic function.” And yet, the crackdown by the RCMP continues. 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism stands in solidarity with Amber Bracken and Michael Toledano. We vehemently denounce these arrests and call for their immediate release. Flagrant violations of the freedom of the press and the public’s right to information stand in stark contrast to the democratic values the country boasts of. The RCMP and the Canadian authorities would do well to remember that journalism is not a crime. This blatant obstruction of journalists, let alone their arrests, cannot be tolerated. No country can hope to thrive without a robust and independent press. The RCMP must immediately release Amber, Toledano and other journalists arrested for simply doing their jobs.