Skip to content

Protesters block gates at Westridge Marine Terminal

'Ad hoc' group plans to continue with early morning demonstrations
kinder morgan
A small group of protesters block access gates at the Westridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby.

For the third time in as many weeks, anti-pipeline protesters have blocked two access gates at the Westridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby.

The group, which calls itself the Justin Trudeau Brigade, staged demonstrations on Nov. 30, Dec. 7 and Dec. 14 during the early morning hours.

“We are inspired by our prime minister who famously spoke the truth that governments grant permits but only communities give permission,” said David Mivasair, a Vancouver resident and retired rabbi. “So we felt we’d name ourselves after him and honour him by fulfilling his word. He’s our teacher. He’s like our guru.”

The goal is to cause as many delays as possible, noted Mivasair, including blocking workers from coming in and out of the facility.

“Our goal is informed by Kinder Morgan Canada CEO Ian Anderson, who in November, when he was commenting about the permitting process in the City of Burnaby, he said publicly that delays are costing his investors $90 million a month. And then when he was here last week with Rachel Notley, again trying to pressure us to sacrifice ourselves for his profits, he said delays might make this project unviable. He’s instructing us in what needs to be done,” he explained.

Protesters won’t go as far as being arrested, said Mivasair, as it would “interfere” with the demonstration’s effectiveness. The activists disperse as soon as the cops show up.

“You can get in the newspaper; oh, three arrests. That doesn’t stop the pipeline. It just clogs up the court system and takes our time and could impose restrictions on us. ... If we could just be there for a few hours and go home, then we accomplished a little piece.

“We’ll come back plenty of times. My intention is to keep doing what we’re doing. It would be amazing if 100 people did this. We made ourselves into 10 teams of 10 people and each team went once a week, different times,” he said.

According to Mivasair, the protesters are an “ad hoc” group, made up of Burnaby residents, a few from the Sunshine Coast and others who have shown up to support the cause.

“I called some people three weeks ago and said, ‘What do you think about doing this?’ It seemed to work, (so I said) ‘Let’s do it again next week,’” he told the NOW.

In a statement, Trans Mountain said: “We support the right to peacefully and lawfully express opinions and views about our project.”

Last week, the National Energy Board ruled Kinder Morgan did not have to abide by two of Burnaby’s bylaws and could continue with work on the $7.4-billion Trans Mountain expansion project. The reasons for the ruling have not been released.