British Columbia

Kinder Morgan pipeline protesters on Burnaby Mountain now 'arrestable', say police

Police have told pipeline protesters camped out on Burnaby Mountain they are now "arrestable" for continuing to defy a court order to remove their camp.

Protesters have remained on the site despite a court injuction ordering them to move out

Confusion over injunction boundaries

10 years ago
Duration 2:31
Protesters on Burnaby Mountain tell RCMP they don't know which areas of the park are off-limits under the court order

Police have told pipeline protesters camped out on Burnaby Mountain they are now "arrestable" for continuing to defy a court order to remove their camp.

On Wednesday morning, two Burnaby RCMP officers arrived at the camp to speak to the protesters around 8 a.m. PT, but they did not arrest anyone or say when any arrests might take place.

On Wednesday morning, RCMP told some protesters on Burnaby Mountain that they are subject to arrest if they remain within boundaries described in a court order document. Some protesters told police they couldn't tell where the physical boundaries were. (Tim Weekes/CBC)

"After the injunction anyone that is in there is arrestable...right now," said Const. Mike Kalanj.

Last Friday, a B.C. judge gave the protesters until Monday afternoon to take down their camp and make way for Kinder Morgan crews to continue their survey work in the Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area.

Kinder Morgan is proposing to route its Trans Mountain pipeline under the mountain as part of its proposed expansion of the oil pipeline.

But as Monday's 4 p.m. deadline to leave arrived, the protesters defied the court order and staged a rally instead. Many vowed to stay and block the company's access to the work areas, despite the risk of arrest.

With files from the CBC's Farrah Merali and Tim Weekes