WATCH: After days of protests, things are finally returning to normal on Burnaby Mountain. Kinder Morgan crews took their equipment and left, and protesters celebrated with a rally. Jeremy Hunka reports.
The police have left Burnaby Mountain after over a week of enforcing an injunction requested by Kinder Morgan. Now the only question is who will pay their bill.
Protesters held a celebration on Burnaby Mountain on Saturday, a day after Kinder Morgan began packing up after saying they wouldn’t finish testing on their second drilling site by the Dec. 1 injunction deadline. The company has proposed building through the mountain as part of an expansion of their Trans Mountain pipeline.
READ MORE: Kinder Morgan leaving Burnaby Mountain ahead of injunction deadline
Lawyers for the protesters, temporarily charged last week for breaking the injunction, said that policing costs were around $100,000 a day.
Burnaby RCMP wouldn’t confirm that number, but Corrigan, who has long opposed the pipeline, says total costs are around a million dollars.
“Kinder Morgan’s playing the poor me in regard to their activities. I find it quite surprising. I don’t know many people are going to feel sympathy for a multinational corporation that’s exerting its influence on a local government,” he said.
READ MORE: Burnaby Mayor says he’ll stand in front of a bulldozer to stop Kinder Morgan expansion
For their part, Kinder Morgan says they’ll cross that bridge if – or when – they come to it.
“We haven’t been formally asked to pay anything to date,” said Ali Hounsell, a spokesperson for the Trans Mountain project.
“We will wait to see and consider that when it comes up.”
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