Both major bridges in Victoria shut down by supporters of Wet’suwet’en anti-pipeline movement

UPDATE: Bay Street bridge has been cleared for traffic as of 6:37 p.m. Protestors started to move off of Johnson Street bridge and head back towards the legislature at around 7:05 p.m.

Earlier: Both of Victoria’s main bridges, the Johnson Street bridge and the Point Ellice or Bay Street bridge have been closed since approximately 5:30 p.m. by demonstrators who had previously been gathered at the BC Legislature building.

They plan to continue their shutdown of the two bridges in and out of the city until around 7 or 8 p.m.

See also: Multiple rallies planned in Victoria to protest arrests at Wet’suwet’en anti-pipeline camp

Johnson Street bridge was the first to be occupied at around 5 p.m. on Monday, followed by the Bay Street bridge just half an hour later.

BC Transit has also issued an advisory warning transit users of potential delays “due to the civil protests taking place on February, 7th 2020 and over the coming days.”

As always with protests on the bridges, demonstrators are allowing pedestrians, cyclists, fire, and ambulance vehicles to pass through.

Demonstrators in Victoria have now entered their second week of expressing solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en anti-pipeline movement by taking over public spaces.

Indigenous youth and allies across Canada are joining the growing movement using the hashtag #shutdowncanada after RCMP arrested six people who were blocking the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline on Wet’suwet’en territory in northern BC, in compliance with an injunction order issued by the BC Supreme Court.

On Monday morning, police arrested around 50 people who were blocking access to the Port of Vancouver for the same cause, after they refused to comply with requests to leave the intersection.

More to come.