Judge OKs Burnaby move to remove protesters’ camp

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has granted the City of Burnaby an injunction forcing pipeline protesters to leave their camp outside a Kinder Morgan terminal.

Justice Geoffrey Gomery says all structures, shelters and vehicles must be removed from the site known as Camp Cloud within 48 hours of an order being issued, which could occur as early as Saturday.

The judge also ordered that a sacred fire burning under very dry conditions and near several fuel tank farms must be extinguished.

However, the judge says peaceful protesting is still permitted, and individuals are allowed on the site as long as they do not build more structures.

Camp Cloud has grown since November from a single trailer to include a two-storey wooden structure, a cabin, an outdoor shower, more than a dozen tents and multiple vehicles and trailers. It is at the West Coast end of the Trans Mountain pipeline that begins at Edmonton.

Protesters are against the expansion of the pipeline that is being purchased by the federal government from the Texas-based company.

City of Burnaby lawyer Gregory McDade told the judge that, while the city supports peaceful protests, the camp violates several bylaws, trespasses on city property and constitutes a public nuisance.

No one appeared in court on behalf of the protesters, although a half-dozen supporters watched proceedings from the gallery.

Camp Cloud spokeswoman Kwitsel Tatel, who is named as a defendant, said in a statement that putting out the sacred fire or removing any of the camp’s buildings would be a violation of not only the right to free expression, but also deeply held religious beliefs.