The Association Council of Vanier College Teachers’ Association, along with the intra-union organization of the Vanier College Sustainability Action Group, stands in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en nation.
We recognize that Vanier College exists on the area known as Tio’ta:ke, which is unceded Indigenous territory of the Kanien’kehá:ka and Anishinaabe peoples.
As teachers in a signatory institution of the Colleges and Institutes of Canada’s Indigenous Education Protocol, we condemn the invasion of Wet’suwet’en land. We call upon Justin Trudeau to respect Canada’s promises of reconciliation to Indigenous peoples, namely by making good on Canada’s obligation to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP), which expressly condemns forced removal of Indigenous peoples from their land.
In line with many other labour unions, we consider the respect of Indigenous sovereignty and the quest for environmental justice as fundamental to all Canadians. We stand unequivocally with the Wet’suwet’en nation, whose hereditary chiefs are enacting their laws and jurisdiction on their territories against the violent resource extraction and environmental destruction authorized by the federal and provincial governments. Across the country and internationally, we stand with the Wet’suwet’en who are protecting their lands.
Association Council of Vanier College Teachers’ Association
Vanier College Sustainability Action Group