Canada: CFWIJ condemns the police attempt to intimidate Brandi Morin.

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February 11, 2021, British Columbia: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) harassed and attempted to intimidate journalist Brandi Morin when she visited the Unist’ot’en Healing Camp, according to her tweet on Tuesday. Brandi was visiting the area alongside Amber Bracken to shoot a “series”.

The Unist’ot’en Healing Camp became the focus of the news last year because of a conflict between the Canadian government and the First Nation People of the Wet'suwet'en. The conflict emerged as a result of an oil pipeline that was to go through the region. Such plans tend to have disastrous consequences for the environment and as one of the most vulnerable communities in Canada, the Wet'suwet'en rejected the idea. They claimed that the plan was in dispute with the United Nations' Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). The Wet'suwet'en wrote and spoke in protest of the pipeline plan. In response, the RCMP arrested several members of the Wet'suwet'en community, including some of their matriarchs.

On February 7, 2021, when Brandi and Amber visited the location, the RCMP unnecessarily questioned them in an effort to intimidate them. The Coalition For Women In Journalism reached out to Brandi to find out the reasons behind this. “They [the RCMP] pulled us over to harass us to get information about what we were doing there,” according to Brandi. “They weren’t trying to stop us, but definitely intimidating and making sure their presence was known there,” she added.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the actions of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The right to mobility and the right to free press is guaranteed to the citizens of Canada, and employing such intimidation tactics to discourage journalists is shameful behaviour.

Disclaimer: The statement earlier claimed that Brandi and Amber were denied access to the location. However, that was not the case and has been corrected.