Sentencing held for anti-pipeline activists over game of dinosaur badminton at TMX construction site
Two anti-pipeline activists have been sentenced to jail time over a disruptive game of badminton played last May.
Supporters gathered outside B.C. Supreme Court in downtown Vancouver on Friday morning in support of Emily Kelsall and May Laframboise ahead of their sentencing.
Kelsall led participants in a chant before entering the courthouse.
“When I saw stop, you say TMX," Kelsall told the crowd. “And when I say long live, you say T-Rex.”
The two women, both 24, were wearing Tyrannosaurus Rex costumes when they were arrested in Burnaby on May 11 for obstructing construction on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, violating a court-ordered injunction.
Shortly before 2 p.m., the group T. Rex against TMX posted a tweet reading: “This is T-Rex’s last tweet before going to prison #stoptmx.”
In a statement Friday afternoon, anti-pipeline activist group Protect the Planet said Kelsall and Laframboise had each been sentenced to 21 days in prison.
"Kelsall received an additional 7 days for donning a dinosaur head mask and defiantly roaring at the judge at the conclusion of her court appearance," the statement reads.
The pair was also ordered to pay a total of $1,240 in restitution to Trans Mountain, according to Protect the Planet.
Both women had been charged with criminal contempt, according to an online fundraiser titled “T.Rex against TMX legal defence fund.”
“These dinos are eco justice warriors with a deep understanding of the threat of extinction posed by climate change, dedicated to protecting the land and water for future generations by keeping our bones (bitumen) in the ground,” reads the campaign page, which suggests $6,447.00 has been raised to date.
Video of the pair’s prehistoric protest is still available online.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.