VANCOUVER -- One person was arrested at a pipeline blockade on Saturday as demonstrators attempted to stop construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.
The expansion project, which would triple the pipeline’s capacity, continues to face strong opposition from environmental advocates.
“It's not my first time,” said Maureen Curran, a demonstrator at the construction site in Burnaby, B.C., who was arrested.
“People have to stand up and say, ‘Hey, no!’ -- and that's what we're doing," she said.
The expanded pipeline will transport 890,000 barrels per day of diluted bitumen from Edmonton to a shipping terminal in Burnaby.
Demonstrators in Burnaby blocked access to the site along Government Street, preventing crews from working.
B.C. courts have upheld Trans Mountain’s rights to continue construction, giving police jurisdiction to remove protesters.
Burnaby RCMP officers arrested Curran, who told CTV News Vancouver that she’s a grandmother.
Once owned by Kinder Morgan, the Trans Mountain Pipeline was purchased by the federal government in 2018 for $4.5 billion. The highly contested pipeline faced strong opposition from some First Nations and environmental groups. Construction costs have since ballooned from about $7 billion to at least $12.6 billion.
