A Wet’suwet’en leader and two other pipeline opponents have received suspended jail terms and community service for violating an injunction against impeding work on the Coastal GasLink pipeline.
On Friday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Michael Tammen stated, “Historically, this kind of suspended sentence was similar to a form of judicial mercy.” He continued, “In this instance, it is fitting to provide such judicial mercy, partly to promote reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.”
Known as Sleydo’, Molly Wickham, a wing chief of Cas Yikh, a house group of the Gidimt’en Clan of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, Shaylynn Sampson, a Gitxsan woman with Wet’suwet’en family connections, and Corey Jocko, who is Kanien’kehá:ka from Akwesasne, were convicted of criminal contempt in January 2024.
They were taken into custody in November 2021 at a blockade on Wet’suwet’en traditional land for defying a 2019 injunction against individuals obstructing work on the Coastal GasLink pipeline.
Tammen imposed a net sentence of 17 days for Sleydo’, 12 days for Jocko, and 9 days for Sampson. However, their sentences are suspended, and jail time will only be served if there are further violations of the injunction or conditions of recognizance within the next year. Each person must complete 150 hours of community service.
Crown Pushed for Imprisonment; Defense Sought Time Served
The Crown requested jail time for the defendants, arguing it was necessary to uphold the rule of law and discourage both the convicted individuals and the general public “from engaging in similar actions.”
Crown lawyer Paul Battin contended that custodial sentences were warranted due to social media posts urging others to join the blockade after the injunction was issued, the threat to CGL workers who were stranded at the blockade site for four days, and the risk posed to RCMP officers enforcing the injunction.
Battin emphasized that the sentencing was not about the trio’s opinion of the injunction or the court. He stated, “It’s about the actions fueled by those opinions and how those actions undermine the court’s credibility and the rule of law.”
However, defense attorney Frances Mahon argued that imprisonment would further erode the court’s integrity following a ruling of an abuse of process. Mahon suggested that time served would be a more suitable penalty.
In February, Sleydo’, Jocko, and Sampson filed an abuse of process application alleging that the RCMP used excessive force during their arrests.
Justice Tammen determined that some of their Charter rights, such as the right to life, liberty, and security of the person, were violated during the arrest. He also mentioned recordings where multiple police officers on separate occasions likened Sleydo’ and Sampson, who had a red handprint painted on their faces, to orcs in the movie The Lord of the Rings.
Tammen described these comments as “highly offensive, racist, and dehumanizing” during his ruling on Friday.
Tammen also took into consideration the extensive time the three spent in RCMP transport vehicles, labeling Sleydo’, Jocko, and Sampson’s ordeal as “severe” and “challenging.”
The court heard that the three were without restroom breaks on various occasions from November 19 to November 22 and, at times, went up to 11 hours without a meal.