Green leader May could be tried criminally for contempt of court over pipeline protest
Posted April 9, 2018 2:19 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – We could see Green leader Elizabeth May, NDP MP Kennedy Stewart and other anti-pipeline activists arrested on Burnaby Mountain in March forced to defend themselves on criminal charges.
May has made her first court appearance for this case which is still technically a civil matter between Kinder Morgan and those activists arrested by Mounties last month.
The charge against May, Stewart and the others is contempt of court for violating a court injunction ordering activists to stay five metres clear of Trans Mountain’s two terminals on Burnaby Mountain.
And given that accusation, the judge in this case is outlining his interpretation that this should be a criminal trial, not a civil matter between Kinder Morgan and these activists.
Following her appearance, May would not comment on her case, but did address Kinder Morgan’s decision to stop non-essential work on the project, which the company announced this weekend.
“The Kinder Morgan announcement yesterday doesn’t change anything,” says May. “Everybody has to stay alert, and recognize that it’s primarily a political ploy to increase pressure on [B.C. Premier] John Horgan.”
May also revealed that at one point she spoke with Alberta Premier Rachel Notley about the possibility of partnering to promote the construction of new refining capacity, instead of building a pipeline — an idea May says Notley would not entertain.
A judge has adjourned this case until next Monday.
