Two people have locked themselves onto trees in Burnaby today (Thursday) to protest the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.
The protest is taking place at the Holmes Creek Protection Camp, which sits in the path of the TMX just west of North Road and south of Highway 1 in Burnaby.
Photos show two people with their arms around trees and their hands locked in a white tube.
The camp has been in place for several months with a treehouse set up high above and people rotating living in it. On Wednesday, police cleared out the camp and removed part of the protest structure in the trees, although the treehouse remains.
"I have decided to stand up to the TMX pipeline by willingly and peacefully breaking the injunction imposed on protesters,” said Yvon Raoul, a retired teacher who had locked himself on to a tree, in a statement emailed to the NOW. “For the past five years, I was hoping that our governments would come to some sense regarding the financial, human and environmental risks of pursuing such a project. My decision is motivated by despair and solidarity with all the people who have attempted to peacefully stop this project, settlers and First Nations, the latter, still struggling to have their land rights recognized. Ultimately, I am pursuing this action for my family, my children and seven grandchildren who will have to live with the consequences of our inaction.”
In an emailed statement to the NOW, Trans Mountain, a federal Crown corporation, said it “respects the right to peaceful, lawful expressions of opinions.”
“Construction of the Trans Mountain expansion project is underway across B.C. and Alberta including in the Lower Mainland. To ensure safe construction, Trans Mountain needed to move into the area to start site preparation,” reads the statement. “It is important to remember there is a BC Supreme Court injunction in place that prevents the blocking or obstructing of access to Trans Mountain’s work sites and work areas throughout British Columbia that would apply if Trans Mountain cannot access our work area.”
More to come…
