The Braided Warriors, “Indigenous youth in səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ, sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm territories defending the land and the people from capitalist colonial violence,” picked a good target in AIG Canada, “a transnational finance and insurance company that is insuring the Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline in violation of Indigenous rights.” Make a credible threat to the profits, even for a short time, of a social, economic, and environmental parasite like AIG, and you have acquired power in the political situation. Or even make AIG’s Vancouver landlord spend even a moment of their day with the discomfort of knowing that an Indigenous group is in their space; that’s real influence!
We know that the Braided Warriors picked a good target because of the settler-colonial state’s bloody reaction to the Warriors’ action. They peacefully occupied space, drummed, hung red dresses to remembering missing and murder Indigenous women and girls.
First the Fire Department were called because of a “small smudge burning in a shell.” Then the VPD showed up. A lot of them. Many of them not wearing masks. In a video posted on their Instagram, a visibly shaken young Braided Warrior describes heads slammed against concrete and kicked, youth being thrown on broken glass, one youth bleeding from her head. Further videos evidence many of these ghastly deeds. The police officers acted as state terrorists, with clear malice and apparently expected impunity from any repercussions. Four of the protestors were held in police custody for six hours, while the police continued to threaten them with legal repercussions and more.
Dogwood reported that, “One UBC student had to go to hospital to get her bleeding forehead glued shut, after Vancouver police dragged Indigenous youth out of the AIG lobby where they had staged a peaceful sit-in. She was diagnosed with a concussion. Four others had to visit urgent care clinics with a range of injuries.” (emphasis Dogwood’s)
The Braided Warriors showed courage in the face of such inhumanity.
Braided Warriors Add to Trans Mountains Headaches
We also know the Braided Warriors picked a good target because Trans Mountain is now begging the Government to allow them to make their financial accomplices anonymous. Their submission states that:
“If the name of Trans Mountain’s insurers is disclosed publicly, ongoing targeting and pressure on those insurers to stop insuring the Pipeline are likely to result in material loss to Trans Mountain and its shippers in the form of (i) higher insurance premiums (due to a smaller pool of insurers available to Trans Mountain); and (ii) challenges in maintaining adequate insurance coverage to fulfil its significant financial resource obligations under section 138 of the CER Act.” Right on! The whole filing is worth a read, since it reveals a project in turmoil. Already three insurance companies, Zurich, Munich Re and Talanx, have stopped insuring the pipeline.
The cost of the pipeline keeps going up. In 2013, it was estimated construction would cost $7.4 billion. Now it is up to at least $12.6 billion. The main strategies to stop the pipeline, including the Braided Warriors, is to add delays and add costs. This approach pushed the previous owner, Kinder Morgan, to threaten to give up, which resulted in Trudeau buying the pipeline with taxpayers’ money. Trudeau has invested not only our money but his political authority. It will take a huge battle to get him to stop.
Hold Police Accountable
While being attacked, the Braided Warriors collected the following VPD badge numbers: 3314, 3241, 2993, 3330, and 3221. The conduct of one VPD officer is now under review. What does this mean? Well, according to the CBC, “All police incidents are subject to multiple layers of oversight including civilian police oversight from the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner.” What does that mean? A look at the website indicates that it means nothing at all. Very few of the many complaints are ever acted on.
But public pressure can make an impact. Vancouver Police need to have their feet held to the fire! To register your disgust at the police’s action:
- To lodge a complaint with the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner, leave a voice message at 250-356-7458
- The Police Board is chaired by Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart (who was himself arrested protesting TMX). You can reach his office at 604-873-7621
- The phone number for AIG Canada’s Vancouver office is 604-684-1514
- Chubb Insurance is at 604-685-2113
- Liberty Mutual is 604-648-1500
Jobs not Pipelines
The pipeline will damage the environment and makes no financial sense. It could devastate Vancouver, destroying the ecology and tens of thousands of jobs. Redirecting these billions of dollars would create many good union jobs in renewable energy.
