Montreal

Activists cut free from Enbridge fence after pipeline reversal protest

Three activists who chained themselves to a fence at Enbridge's Montreal headquarters had their locks and chains cut just after noon on Tuesday.

Enbridge's Line 9B pipeline to begin reverse flow by November

The third woman at the protest spent hours teetering on this makeshift construction before being removed by firefighters. (Kate McKenna/CBC)

Three activists who chained themselves to a fence at Enbridge's Montreal headquarters had their locks and chains cut just after noon on Tuesday.

Alyssa Symons-Bélanger is protesting the reversal of Enbridge's Line 9 pipeline. (Kate McKenna/CBC)

After spending hours in the cold rain, Alyssa Symons-Bélanger, Jessica Lambert and a third woman were removed from the fence they chained themselves to at Enbridge's headquarters on Henri-Bourassa East.

She attached herself to a chain-link fence with a heavy chain around her waist and a bicycle lock around her neck. 

“I know that today I stand with these people, and these people stand with me also in opposition of Enbridge’s Line 9," she said.

The group of protesters, who according to Symons-Bélanger are not part of a larger organization, issued a news release Tuesday morning saying they were looking to disrupt Suncor's refinery operations.

Enbridge plans to reverse the 9B section of its Line 9 pipeline. (Enbridge)

Enbridge transports the crude oil to Montreal via pipeline, where refineries like Suncor process it.

Symons-Bélanger said she is against Enbridge's Line 9 pipeline reversal for a variety of reasons, including safety concerns and improper compensation for people whose land is touched by the pipeline.

She was a member of the group of protesters who walked for 34 days from Cacouna, Que., to Kanesatake in the spring.