2 women arrested at anti-pipeline protest camp in Burnaby
Burnaby RCMP say it was executing a warrant to remove an illegally parked trailer
Two women outside a Kinder Morgan facility in Burnaby were arrested by RCMP officers Wednesday evening and are facing charges of obstruction.
The small group who has been demonstrating against Kinder Morgan for almost two months posted a video of the incident on social media.
Anti-pipeline protestors said they have a camper van stationed across Kinder Morgan's entrance for surveillance.
Recently, the group said, authorities have been ticketing the trailer known as "Camp Cloud'."
On Tuesday, Burnaby RCMP said they attempted to remove the illegally parked trailer but were met with resistance from the occupants.
The next day, officers raided the trailer on Shellmount Street with a warrant to remove the occupants and said they had to force down the door.
"Despite repeated requests made by police to the trailer occupants to respect the warrant — as they'd agreed — our officers were required to take steps to ensure the safety of everyone involved in the protest," said Supt. Chuck McDonald of the Burnaby RCMP.
Protestor Uni Escueta said she saw police cars speed up to the site and counted 20 to 30 officers.
"Police just went in there with a big giant pipe and violently broke into the door and violently removed them," she said.
In a news release, Burnaby RCMP said it "respects the rights of individuals to demonstrate peacefully" and is "committed to facilitating a dialogue between all parties."
The oil and gas giant's $7.4-billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project — which would triple the capacity of crude oil from Alberta to B.C. — was approved by the federal government and the National Energy Board but has been the subject of sustained protest from environmentalists and Indigenous groups.