TransLink wins injunction to block protesters from all SkyTrain platforms

Amid a surge of protests and blockades, some in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and others focused on climate change, TransLink has been granted an injunction to keep demonstrators off its property.

The transit agency says it filed legal paperwork Wednesday seeking to keep protesters from any of its facilities as a matter of safety.

On Wednesday afternoon, that injunction was granted, covering all Expo, Millennium and Canada Line platforms throughout Metro Vancouver.

“While TransLink supports the right to peaceful protest, the safety of our customers and our staff is our priority and we must protect the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on the Expo, Millennium, and Canada Lines,” said the agency in a media release.

1:27 Protests supporting Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs continue

TransLink noted that it was aware of a protest near the Commercial-Broadway station on Wednesday evening, a facility it says handles 25,000 passengers per day.

It added that the injunction would not prevent protests from blocking municipally- and provincially-owned roadways, and as such, bus customers should be prepared for delays and detours.

Last week, BC Ferries took similar action, winning a preemptive court injunction to keep protesters from blocking any of its terminals.