Kamloops RCMP arrest five demonstrators at Trans Mountain site

Police arrested five demonstrators at the Trans Mountain drill site in Kamloops yesterday.

Kamloops RCMP responded to a report of multiple demonstrators at the Trans Mountain drill site on Mission Flats Road, Oct. 15, around 12:40 p.m., according to an RCMP media release.

The demonstrators were blocking Trans Mountain trucks from driving through the facility gate, preventing them from carrying out their work. 

Three demonstrators refused to move away from the gate: a 69-year-old man, a 44-year-old woman and a 57-year-old woman who had tied her arm to the fence with a zap strap.

These individuals were arrested for for allegedly being in civil contempt of the Court Order issued on June 1, 2018, which prohibits protesters from preventing the company from completing their mandated work.

During this time, a second group of demonstrators were gathered and blocking an active work site on the south mountain slope, where a 43-year-old woman had attached herself to a bulldozer and refused to move. She was arrested for allegedly breaching the court-ordered injunction.

All four arrested were transported to Kamloops RCMP Detachment for processing and released on conditions. They are scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 20, 2021.

A fifth demonstrator, a 32-year-old woman, was seen destroying survey stakes across the road from the drill site. She was subsequently arrested by Kamloops RCMP for mischief and later released without charges.

The RCMP stated in a release that they are working to protect both the right of demonstrators to have a peaceful, lawful protest, and the right of companies to complete their work. 

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