Anti-pipeline protesters blocked the rail line near the Burnaby-Coquitlam border Tuesday morning calling on Ottawa to cancel the Trans-Mountain expansion project.
Protesters gathered at the intersection of North Road and Trans-Canada Highway, a route that regularly ships oil by rail.
Extinction Rebellion Vancouver, the group behind the protest, said its members stood in solidarity with First Nations and land defenders who are calling for expansion plans to be scrapped.
The federal government bought the pipeline and expansion project in 2018.
“This is one of those pipelines that will contribute to a crisis that will lead to the death by starvation of millions of people in the next two or three generations,” Extinction Rebellion Vancouver coordinator Zain Haq said.
“Historically, when the government breaks the social contract, the people have the right to break the law… like we saw in the case of the civil rights movement, and we saw in the case of the women’s movement to get voting rights. We’ve reached the point where it’s the only option we have now.”
Back in September, Trans Mountain Corp. CEO Ian Anderson said the project was advancing as expected despite challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic, a global slump in demand for fuel, increasing costs, and ongoing protests by opponents.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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