Over the weekend, the number of arrests on Burnaby Mountain has increased to over 50, as residents, concerned citizens and First Nations groups continue to protest against the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.

Among those arrested and charged with civil contempt are J. B. MacKinnon, bestselling author of The 100-Mile Diet; Tamo Campos, grandson of David Suzuki; and Professor Lynne Quarmby, chair of the molecular biology and biochemistry department at Simon Fraser University.

"Anyone who is educated on environmental issues understands why we're out here," says Quarmby, one of several Canadians facing a $5.6 million dollar lawsuit filed by Texas-based energy corporation Kinder Morgan after she publicly spoke against their proposed pipeline.

Unfortunately, there are many who do not understand why some are engaging in civil disobedience on Burnaby Mountain, which is unceded Coast Salish Territory. Those in favour of the pipeline expansion are calling protestors hypocrites for using vehicles and materials made possible by fossil fuels.

"It's true that we live in a fossil fuel dependent society. We cannot function independent of fossil fuels because the options are not available to us but this doesn't mean we cannot criticize the current system, which is causing irreparable harm to the environment. Calling concerned citizens 'hypocrites' is a cowardly way of silencing those who care about the future and the kind of environment our children are going to inherit," said Quarmby.

"Everyone who is opposed to this pipeline believes there is a better way. We just landed a robot on a comet. We have incredible ingenuity, which tells me that we can come up with alternate ways of running our society," she added.

On November 14, the B.C. Supreme Court granted an injunction, giving way to Kinder Morgan's geotechnical survey work, which involves taking core samples by drilling two six-inch test holes, approximately 250 metres in depth at two locations (bore holes) on Burnaby Mountain.

Arrests began at around 1:00 p.m. on Thursday after concerned citizens continued to stay despite the court ruling.

"I say all this to set the action of Tamo and others in context. Tamo is fighting for the world that will be left to his generation in the future. I believe what Kinder Morgan and companies like it are doing is an intergenerational crime but there are no legal precedents to pursue criminal charges on that basis," wrote David Suzuki in a letter to Campos posted on Facebook.

"Before corporations had become so powerful, every generation aspired to leave a better future to their children. That is not on the corporate agenda. I beg you to consider the fact that there are few legal avenues to protest what I believe is criminal activity of corporations like Kinder Morgan so citizens are being forced to participate in civil disobedience. Are we so blinded by the power and influence of corporations that their short-sighted agendas are above consideration of their potential catastrophic ecological and social consequences?"

Suzuki was on Burnaby Mountain yesterday to show his support for protesters like his grandson, Campos, who was also present. In his brief but impassioned speech, he criticized the RCMP's heavy-handed intervention on Thursday afternoon.

"If we continue to look at the land and the world around us just in terms of dollars and cents, we are going to destroy the very things that make that land so precious to us, the very things that keep us alive and healthy… that's what this battle is about," said Suzuki.

Kinder Morgan illegally cut down 13 trees on the mountain prior to moving drilling equipment to the designated bore holes late Thursday night. Throughout the weekend, helicopters have been dropping supplies and more equipment onto the site, which has been cordoned off with yellow tape. Core samples from the drilling have now been shipped off, according to a Trans Mountain spokesperson.

Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan has publicly opposed the pipeline expansion. In a letter to residents this past October, Mayor Corrigan stated, "The damage done as a result of Kinder Morgan's initial survey work has had far-reaching damaging effects on the Mountain. Further drilling and tunneling work would cause much greater irreparable damage to the conservation area."

Over 70 per cent of Burnaby residents are opposed to the expansion project, which will transport more diluted bitumen between Strathcona County (near Edmonton) and Burnaby, subsequently bringing 34 additional tankers monthly through Vancouver's Burrard Inlet and increasing the risk of catastrophic oil spills.

Burnaby residents are no strangers to oil spills. In 2007, the city suffered when 1,572 barrels of crude oil spilled in the area.

"Emergency evacuation of 250 Burnaby residents was required and 50 residential properties were affected. The spill entered the Burrard Inlet through a storm sewer and affected 1,200 metres of shoreline, impacting ecosystems and wildlife. The Transportation Safety Board ruled that the spill was the fault of Kinder Morgan and two contracting companies," according to Mayor Corrigan.

Despite the grim health, ecological and financial impact of such an oil spill, Kinder Morgan continues to highlight the purported economic benefits of the pipeline. In their National Energy Board application last year, the company claimed that a positive effect of oil spills is job creation, stating "Spill response and cleanup creates business and employment opportunities for affected communities, regions, and cleanup service providers."

Kinder Morgan has yet to provide a comprehensive Emergency Response Plan that outlines protocols and responsibilities in the event of a spill, leak, fire or a natural disaster such as an earthquake wherein the pipeline ruptures.

According to a City of Burnaby fact sheet, the oil giant has not prepared a marine response plan that provides assistance, financial or otherwise, as "Kinder Morgan has no legal obligation to cleanup or pay for the cost of cleanup for spill incidents that occur within the Burrard Inlet once the oil tanker leaves the Westridge Marine Terminal."

In a statement released on Thursday following the first arrests, Mayor Corrigan writes, "We are currently involved in provincial and federal court proceedings and will continue to seize every legal opportunity available to us in order to ensure that Kinder Morgan's proposed pipeline, tank farm and loading docks are never built."

Kei Baritugo is an accomplished communications professional with over 10 years of local, national and international experience in the arts & entertainment, and non-profit sectors. She is the founder and principal of BoldLove Communications (www.boldlove.com) and is a regular contributor to the Vancouver Observer.

Photo: flickr/Mark Klotz