Amidst the ongoing chaos of COVID-19, Manitoba’s Progressive Conservatives are attempting to ram through a bill that will criminalize protests at so-called “critical infrastructure” sites such as roads and railways.
This proposed legislation is in clear response to direct actions conducted in early 2020 in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en struggle. In mid-February, a protest camp was established at a CN Rail line near Winnipeg that Manitoba Justice sought an injunction to dissolve. Soon after, Highway 75 near Morris, Manitoba, was also blockaded and resulted in a truck driver attempting to hit one of the demonstrators.
