A day after the court-imposed deadline for anti-pipeline protesters to vacate an encampment on Burnaby Mountain, police still have not moved in to enforce the injunction.
Burnaby RCMP officers continue to patrol the area where protesters have been trying to stop U.S. oil giant Kinder Morgan from conducting survey work for its planned twinning of the Trans Mountain Pipeline.
Police have been monitoring the situation since the court imposed deadline for protesters to vacate the area came and went at 4 p.m. Monday.
“Everybody is planning on staying until they have to leave,” said protester Graham McKellar. “I think some people are probably going to get arrested. What happens with us is still up in the air. A lot of people haven’t made up their minds yet.”
If police do start making arrests, McKellar said there are hundreds of people in the encampment who have said they will stand their ground.
Kinder Morgan said it will not move in to do work Tuesday but could later in the week when the company feels its workers can do so safely.
Police have said they will use their discretion and it’s unclear when officers could start arresting people.
“This assessment will take time,” RCMP Staff Sgt. John Buis saidMonday. “I'm unable to give a specific time line where this could be completed.”
The injunction comes from Kinder Morgan’s civil suit against several of the. The judge in the case ordered protesters to clear their encampment and keep out of the way of the pipeline work.
On the day of the deadline, hundreds of people showed up on the mountain to show their support for the encampment on the exact spot where Kinder Morgan wants to drill a hole.
“We have a huge amount of community support. This is an issue that concerns everybody in Vancouver whether they’re in Burnaby or not,” McKellar said.
With files from CTVVancouver’s Nafeesa Karim and The Canadian Press.
