PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. - A photojournalist was released by a B.C. Supreme Court judge on Monday, three days after she was arrested while covering the RCMP's enforcement of an injunction against pipeline protesters in northern British Columbia.
Amber Bracken was released on the condition that she appear in court in February and that she comply with the terms of the injunction order first granted to Coastal GasLink by the same judge in December 2019.
An RCMP statement issued Friday said two people who "later identified themselves as independent journalists" were arrested after refusing to leave "building-like structures" near a drilling site for the natural gas pipeline, which is under construction.
The arrests came after members of the Gidimt'en clan, one of five in the Wet'suwet'en Nation, set up blockades along the forest service road on Nov. 14.
The road was cleared on Thursday, the RCMP said.
Opposition among Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs to the 670-kilometre pipeline route sparked rallies and rail blockades across Canada early last year, while the elected council of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation and others in the area have agreed to the project.
A memorandum of understanding had been signed between the hereditary chiefs and the federal and provincial governments, easing tensions up until now.
The pipeline would transport natural gas from Dawson Creek in northeastern B.C. to Kitimat. It is more than halfway finished with almost all of the route cleared and 200 kilometres of pipeline installed, Coastal GasLink has said.
The Canadian Association of Journalists issued statements over the weekend condemning the arrests of Bracken and documentary filmmaker Michael Toledano, who was expected to appear in court later on Monday.
In an open letter to Canada's public safety minister posted Monday and signed by several dozen news outlets and press freedom organizations, the association called for a "swift resolution respecting journalists' fundamental rights."
On Sunday, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said on Twitter that journalists play a role that is fundamental for democracy and they "must be able to work free from threats, intimidation or arbitrary state action."
"As the courts have held, it would be wrong for any journalist to be arrested and detained simply for doing their vital work on our behalf," he wrote.
B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said Monday that a free press is critical to democracy and it was his hope that the situation would not escalate.
The province has been doing "a significant amount of work over the last number of months to try and de-escalate tensions in the area," he told a news conference.
