Kinder Morgan is seeking an injunction in the B.C. Supreme Court, banning protesters from interfering with survey work. The company has a Dec. 1 deadline to complete the work for the National Energy Board.
The pipeline company wants to ban the protesters from several areas, not just the work sites on Burnaby Mountain:
- bore hole area 1, a clearing in the woods about a five-minute hike from Centennial Way, where Kinder Morgan wants to drill
- bore hole area 2, a parking space on the side of Centennial Way where Kinder Morgan wants to drill and where protesters have set up a makeshift camp
- Barnet Marine Park, the area parallel to Inlet Drive and Barnet Road, between the Westridge Marine Terminal and Kask Bros.
- Eastlake Drive south side right-of-way, between Underhill Avenue and Gaglardi Way
- Gaglardi Way west side right-of-way, between Underhill and Lougheed
- Last but not least, certain sections of Stoney Creek Park and North Road.
Kinder Morgan is also seeking an enforcement order that would allow RCMP to arrest and detain protesters if need be.
The order also has a clause that would allow Kinder Morgan to extend the geographical reach and time frame of the ban.
I was told you can't apply for an injunction without suing for something, which explains the civil suit on top of the injunction request. Kinder Morgan filed several claims against the protesters:
- trespassing
- assault
- intimidation
- nuisance
- inducing breach of contract
- conspiracy
Assault, in my mind, is the most serious, yet I have no reports of anyone actually hitting, punching, kicking or pushing Kinder Morgan workers or contractors. I did not see any details in the court papers that would constitute an assault.
Here's what the court papers said about the assault allegation:
"Assault: In order to establish the tort of assault, a plaintiff must prove that a defendant engaged in conduct intended to arouse apprehension in the plaintiff of imminent harmful contact, that the threat of such a contact was apparent to a reasonable complainant, and that the plaintiff apprehended imminent harm."
The next court hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, and the protesters are planning a big press conference for 8:30 a.m. at 800 Smithe St. in Vancouver.
The protesters have been receiving moral and financial support.
BROKE is fundraising for their legal costs on their website. BROKE's Alan Dutton was named in the suit, and the group has a lawyer.
There's also a second crowdfunding page for the other four protesters named. As I write, it's at $31,750, which may seem like a lot, but when you're looking at $20,000 in legal costs, per person, for just one week, that not enough.
A group of more than 40 organizations has also signed a letter supporting the protesters.
