Skip to content

Protesters block rail line on Trans Mountain pipeline route in Metro Vancouver

Group says protest will be non-violent
23354548_web1_trans-mountain-protest
Protesters have set up on a rail line near the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion route in Burnaby on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020. (Extinction Rebellion)

Protesters have blocked a rail line along the Trans Mountain expansion pipeline route in Metro Vancouver Tuesday (Nov. 17).

According to organizers Extinction Rebellion, the protest is at near the intersection of North Road and the Trans-Canada Highway in Burnaby, where oil is shipped by rail. The group said the protest will be peaceful and non-violent and is being held in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en and Secwepemc First Nations.

“This is a reminder to the colonial state and the crown corporation that people won’t hesitate to resume the tactic of railway blockades if this pipeline isn’t cancelled immediately,” spokesperson Zain Haq stated in a news release. “The government isn’t doing what it takes to protect Canadians from the climate crisis, and it continues to take land away from Indigenous peoples for dangerous fossil fuel development without consent.”

The pipeline and expansion were bought by the federal government as part of the Trans Mountain Corporation in 2018. Trans Mountain has a B.C. Supreme Court injunction prohibiting the obstruction of access to the company’s worksites.

READ MORE: Permanent protest camp established near Trans Mountain work site in Kamloops


@katslepian

katya.slepian@bpdigital.ca

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Want to support local journalism during the pandemic? Make a donation here.