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For weeks, the government has been paralyzed by the fear that any attempt to dismantle the barricades would result in violence. It has appealed for dialogue, but the hereditary chiefs refuse to meet. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that “every attempt at dialogue has been made, but discussions have not been productive,” and called for the barricades to “come down now.” Whether his actions match his words in the coming days remains to be seen.

For weeks, the police have been reluctant to act. Yet citizens who peacefully and politely intervened to dismantle a blockade were immediately labelled as vigilantes who were endangering the safety of the community.

Two weeks into this crisis, the prime minister can’t show any sign or progress.

No one has a clue how to solve this conflict. You can’t hold a dialogue with people who refuse to meet. You can’t reconcile with strangers in balaclavas who are putting up barricades thousands of kilometres from the project in question and show little interest in any resolution other than having their demands unconditionally met. The RCMP has offered to withdraw from Wet’suwet’en territory in British Columbia and the minister of public safety says he hopes “that will satisfy the concerns that were raised.” But who knows — it’s up to a few unelected chiefs, right?

Two weeks into this crisis, the prime minister can’t show any sign of progress, or offer details of a coherent plan. Those of us in the media have no better ideas about how to resolve the situation, but reserve the right to criticize those whose job it is to try. A single “critic” is enough to justify another rebuke, and thanks to social media and the hothouse of acrimony that is Twitter, there is an endless supply of critics to tap. Many websites claiming journalistic credentials no longer feel the need even to identify complainers; it’s enough to say that an act, comment or interview “sparked online debates,” as if any twig falling from a tree doesn’t spark online debate these days.