It was a tense Wednesday morning on Burnaby Mountain, as angry protesters faced off with Kinder Morgan work crews hoping to resume survey work for a new pipeline route through the conservation area.
A group of roughly 40 peaceful protesters stood waiting on Centennial Way, ready to block the company's work crews, while numerous media outlets and Burnaby RCMP stood by.
Kinder Morgan crews appeared at a clearing in the woods where the company wants to drill for soil samples. Protesters were already set up there, and more converged when word spread that Kinder Morgan was on the scene.
"I'm a little bit surprised they showed up. They knew there was a lot of people here," said Stephen Collis, an SFU professor and spokesperson for the protesters. "They are still forcing their way in. It's the ultimate act of arrogance."
The Kinder Morgan workers were accompanied by security, and it appeared some were either filming or taking photos. They parked on Pandora Street and approached from below, avoiding the group uphill on Centennial Way, and delivered a notice stating the company is authorized by the National Energy Board and the Federal Court of Canada to conduct work on the land. The protesters shouted - some using abusive language - before the workers left. Some protesters followed them out of the woods, and according to Kinder Morgan's Greg Toth, set up on Pandora Street.
"One of them climbed on our vehicle and blocked our vehicle," Toth said, apologizing to local residents for the disruption.
Toth said the company is going to reassess what the next steps are, but he was not surprised by today's events.
"The protesters have been fairly forthcoming with their plans that they are going to be obstructing us and taking steps to do that, so it isn't a surprise to us. It's unfortunate," he said.
Toth also pointed out that the reason Kinder Morgan is exploring the Burnaby Mountain route is to avoid the residential Westridge area, where the line would have to cross private property. Also, if Kinder Morgan can run the pipeline through the mountain route, the company will decommission the current Westridge pipeline and run that through the conservation area as well.
"We have a route option we are trying to pursue from the standpoint of minimizing disruption, and at the same time (the Burnaby Mountain route is) causing quite a large disruption," he said.
Toth said the crews were on Burnaby Mountain to set up safety zones at bore hole 1 and 2, as well as Barnet Marine Park.
"The number 1 priority is the safety of our crews," Toth said. "With all the protesters and that, we didn't feel it would be safe to be up on the mountain."
Kinder Morgan needs to complete multiple studies - environmental, archeological and geotechnical - to submit information to the National Energy Board, because the Burnaby Mountain routing option was not part of the original pipeline expansion application. In previous interviews with the NOW, the company has also indicated it may abandon the mountain route and go back to Westridge if work is significantly delayed.
As for the protesters, they are also planning their next moves. Collis said there is a large meeting scheduled for Wednesday night to talk with lawyers about legal strategies.
The protesters are a mix of SFU professors, random Vancouver and Burnaby residents, members of Burnaby Residents Opposing Kinder Morgan Expansion and an ad-hoc group called the Caretakers. They've been taking turns keeping an eye on the conservation area for weeks, but since Kinder Morgan issued the required 48-hour notice to the City of Burnaby, Collis said they've increased their numbers.
"We are on public land. There's no court order banning anyone from being on this land, so we just plan to be in the space they want to work in, to make that work unrealistic, so they can't do it," Collis said.
Police did not appear willing to arrest anyone Wednesday morning.
"We are impartial, and we are simply here to monitor the situation," said Staff Sgt. Andy LeClair. "We have three police officers here, and this is a public gathering. That's where we are at."
Kinder Morgan has an order from the National Energy Board that prevents the City of Burnaby from stopping the company's work crews, even though the land is a city-owned conservation area, and the City of Burnaby is dead set against the pipeline expansion. Burnaby plans to appeal the NEB order at the Federal Court of Appeal level.
Kinder Morgan sought the NEB order after city staff ticketed the company's work crews for cutting down trees in a public park.
NOTE: The video posted with the story was supplied by one of the protesters.
