Protesters stage sit-in at Kinder Morgan
Separate protest in B.C. prompts arrest of Green leader and New Democrat MP
The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion triggered two protests in Calgary on Friday, with some demonstrators disrupting operations inside the offices of Kinder Morgan Canada.
Five members of the advocacy group Climate Justice Edmonton staged a sit-in protest outside the company’s office inside the Stock Exchange Tower.
Streaming live on social media, the group interrupted operations within the investor relations department by using zip-ties to attach themselves to the office doors. The group demanded the company cease all work regarding the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.
“This is a time when we need to see our government ... investing in renewables and not continuing fossil fuel expansion,” said Hannah Gelderman, a spokeswoman for the group.
Calgary police say the five were arrested, issued trespass notices and released.
About 150 demonstrators on both sides of the pipeline issue protested in front of Calgary Liberal MP Kent Hehr’s office.
And in Burnaby, B.C., Green party Leader Elizabeth May and New Democrat MP Kennedy Stewart were arrested Friday at a protest.
May and Stewart were processed by RCMP officers inside a tent at the Trans Mountain pipeline terminal.
The two MPs acknowledged they risked arrest after the B.C. Supreme Court placed limits on where demonstrators could protest in an injunction issued last week. As she was led away by police, May said the permits issued for the project to proceed did not respect the rights of Indigenous people on their territory.
“The commitment to build a pipeline in 2018, when we are in climate crisis, is a crime against future generations and I will not be part of it,” she said.
This is a time when we need to see our government ... investing in renewables and not continuing fossil fuel expansion.