Police arrested more protesters and apprehended two young girls on Burnaby Mountain Sunday, as hundreds gathered for yet another rally in opposition to Kinder Morgan’s plan to expand the Trans Mountain pipeline.
David Suzuki made a surprise appearance at the rally, following the arrest of his grandson, Tamo Campos, last Thursday. Campos was arrested for violating a court injunction prohibiting protesters from interfering with Kinder Morgan’s survey work for a new pipeline route through the conservation area.
Surrounded by protesters and media, Suzuki turned to face police behind the yellow tape on Sunday afternoon.
“I have nothing but great thoughts towards the RCMP, but now you are here to enforce the law. That does not mean that you are above the law or that you make your own law,” Suzuki said, as the crowd cheered. “My grandson was dragged across the line yesterday or the day before and arrested. You are breaking the law. I am disappointed. I am disappointed. It grieves me because of the respect we hold for you.”
Suzuki later told reporters he didn’t want to risk his job as host of CBC’s The Nature of Things by getting arrested. Suzuki opposes Kinder Morgan’s pipeline expansion because he’s concerned about climate change and the extraction and consumption of fossil fuels. According to Suzuki, 80 per cent of fossil fuels need to be left in the ground if Canada wants to meet its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to help prevent the global temperature from rising by 2 degrees Celsius.
“If that’s the case, why are we going to spend billions of dollars trying to transport what we ultimately have to stop using? It doesn’t make any sense to me,” he told the NOW.
This weekend’s arrests bring the total to at least 61. Most of the arrestees have been released with a promise to appear in courts and stay out of the pipeline injunction areas.
Eleven-year-old Naomi, daughter of longtime Burnaby residents Peter and Charlene Cech, was of the two young girls apprehended by police on Sunday. Naomi told the NOW she was happy to cross the injunction line.
“I’m really glad I did, because what else would I have done?” she said. “I’m worried they spill too much oil. I think they spill a little bit of oil every time they load.”
Staff Sgt. Major John Buis of the Burnaby RCMP said police are recommending charges of assault against one man who allegedly spit on an officer Friday. Another individual could be facing obstruction charges for trying to interfere with the arrest.
Roughly 150 to 200 people were on Burnaby Mountain today, including a busload from Vancouver Island.
The protesters have set up campsites with food and firewood stashed on site. Some are sleeping in the park, while Kinder Morgan continues work around the clock. RCMP are also on site 24 hours a day. The National Energy Board is still reviewing Kinder Morgan’s plan to increase capacity on the Trans Mountain pipeline from 300,000 barrels of oil a day to 890,000. Kinder Morgan is drilling two six-inch holes roughly 250 metres into the ground in two locations: alongside Centennial Way and in a clearing in the bush.
Kinder Morgan released a statement Saturday saying crews were starting to retrieve core samples, and that the company would restore the park once the work is completed.
“Trans Mountain supports the right of protesters to lawfully assemble and respectfully demonstrate their interests. Trans Mountain is committed to continuing the dialogue while our Application is before the National Energy Board. While we support lawful protest, we will continue to put the safety of our workers and everyone on Burnaby Mountain as our first priority,” the statement reads.
The Burnaby Mountain conservation area is city-owned land, and Burnaby is opposed to the pipeline expansion. The city is also in the midst of two legal cases against Kinder Morgan. The first is in the federal court of appeal challenging an NEB’s order prohibiting the city from stopping Kinder Morgan’s work. The second case is in the B.C. Supreme Court, where the city is seeking an injunction to stop the company’s work. Burnaby’s lawyer Greg McDade said the city is waiting for decisions on both, and it’s not clear when the courts will decide.
“The mayor and the city’s lawyers are doing everything we can, but if the court takes it times on these things, there’s nothing more we can do,” he said. “It may be too late for the mountain.”
