Protesters to march on despite Trans Mountain’s injunction

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BURNABY (NEWS 1130) – Trans Mountain has won an injunction to keep protesters at least 50 metres away from the site, or face possible arrests.

This comes just 24 hours before a major rally against the company and the planned Trans Mountain pipeline expansion in Burnaby.

Karen Mahon with Stand Earth says this latest move is just an example of corporate bullying. “So this actually, if you map out 50 meters, that excludes people from using a soccer field, it takes out a dog-walking park, and it literally takes out public roads like the Gaglardi Highway.”

She says peaceful protest is a fundamental right, and believes this is a clear violation of that. “We’re were really disappointed because in specifically, today, they said they were getting this injunction to try and intimidate protesters from coming to the march tomorrow,” she tells NEWS 1130. “Tomorrow we have a beautiful, mass-demonstration. We expect 10,000 people, families, people from all over British Columbia are coming to stand up and protest Kinder Morgan.”

Despite the temporary injunction, Mahon says organizers have planned a route that works. “Our march is going on as planned. Nothing in the court order changes any of our plans, and the court order is just a ridiculous overreach. It literally stops people from coming within 50 meters of a Kinder Morgan facility, and we’ve just mapped it out.”

She says it was a mistake by the courts to grant the injunction. “I think that we will win when we appeal it on Wednesday.”

The interim injunction will prevent protests at two terminals in Burnaby, and will last until next week when a hearing on the matter will continue.

Calgary-based Trans Mountain said in the notice of claim that protesters have obstructed roads it requires to access the Westridge Marine Terminal in order to build a new dock complex with three berths.

It said activists have also obstructed workers at the Burnaby Terminal, where it plans to install 14 new storage tanks, an enhanced storm water treatment system as well as clear trees, for which it has received approvals as part of a $7.4-billion expansion of an existing pipeline that is operated by Kinder Morgan and runs between Edmonton and Metro Vancouver.

Saturday’s protests begins at 10 a.m. in front of the Lake City Way SkyTrain Station in Burnaby.

“We know that people in British Columbia feel very strongly about this pipeline and the damage that could happen from an oil spill along the route, or a tanker spill,” Mahon says.

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