Religious leaders jailed for protesting Kinder Morgan pipeline project

A local priest and a former pastor will each serve seven days in jail after being arrested during a Kinder Morgan protest.

Emilie Smith, the parish priest at New Westminster’s St. Barnabas Anglican Church, and a former Mennonite pastor, Steve Heinrichs, were led from B.C. Supreme Court in handcuffs on Wednesday morning after their sentences were handed down.

Both were arrested April 20 outside Kinder Morgan’s Westridge Marine Terminal during a multifaith blockade.

Smith will serve time at Alouette Women’s Correctional Centre in Maple Ridge, while Heinrichs will be held at North Fraser Pretrial Centre in Port Coquitlam.

So far, four people have been sentenced to jail time for their part in protesting the pipeline expansion project.

Another four people are expected back in court next week on Wednesday for their sentencings, including activist Jean Swanson and a former B.C. Teachers’ Federation president, Susan Lambert.

Earlier this week, Laurie Embree from 108 Mile Ranch was released from Alouette on good behaviour after serving four nights of her weeklong sentence.

Embree was arrested June 19 for violating an injunction blocking protesters from the pipeline facility.

To date, 214 people have been charged with contempt related to the protests and while Embree signed a statement swearing she wouldn’t violate the injunction again, she said her future actions will depend on how far other protesters are pushed.