Metro Vancouver port blockade prompts injunction, 47 arrested on Monday morning
Credit to Author: Postmedia News| Date: Mon, 10 Feb 2020 17:40:57 +0000
A total of 47 people were arrested on Monday morning after an injunction was issued against anti-pipeline protesters blocking access to Metro Vancouver ports overnight.
The port blockades, located in Vancouver and Delta, are in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en land defenders and hereditary chiefs, who are fighting to stop construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline project in northwest B.C.
The injunction, issued Sunday afternoon, ordered the anti-pipeline protesters off Vancouver Fraser Port authority lands so operations can resume at ports in Vancouver and Delta.
As of 8 a.m., Vancouver Police said they had arrested 33 people who defied the injunction and police orders to clear the area at Hastings and Clark. An update later in the morning from Delta Police said another 14 people were arrested from the Deltaport Way causeway.
Attn: an injunction was served today to peaceful demonstrators standing in solidarity with #Wetsuweten land defenders & hereditary chiefs at the Vancouver and Delta ports.
All allies are asked to come down to the ports at 5 am. Plz share! #WetsuwetenStrong #AllEyesOnWetsuweten pic.twitter.com/cVYGZBNpiF
On Monday morning, a number of streets and intersections near Vancouver port gates remained closed to traffic, including Commissioner Street north of McGill, Hastings Street at Clark Drive, and Powell Street between Hawks and Jackson avenues.
While a group of vocal protesters remained on the sidewalks, a number of others occupied the Hastings and Clark intersection during the early morning hours.
After the injunction was issued, Vancouver police ordered the crowd over a loudspeaker to disperse or risk arrest. Videos and photos from the scene show officers calmly moving handcuffed protesters one-by-one into a police van.
“The injunction was granted to the Port on Sunday afternoon by a B.C. Supreme Court Justice and protestors were made aware of it by the Port on Sunday evening,” read a police statement issued by Sgt. Aaron Roed on Monday morning.
“A number of protestors refused to abide by the court order. So far, 33 arrests have been made. Protestors received several requests from police to clear the intersection and then warnings prior to being detained.”
Roed said traffic was still impacted around 8 a.m., as police worked to clear debris from the intersection.
A statement from Delta Police said they had been in communication with demonstrators since Saturday evening, when the blockade in Delta was first established.
“Police provided the protesters with a number of opportunities to leave without being arrested,” said Delta Police spokesperson Cris Leykauf. “Those who did not wish to be arrested were asked to stand to the side, where they could also witness the arrests if they chose to do so. Everyone involved was treated respectfully, and with dignity.”
Emergency services was called for one protester during an arrest “out of an abundance of caution.”
Monday marks the fifth day of port blockades in the Metro Vancouver area. Monday’s injunction and arrests also come a day after a massive rally at Vancouver City Hall that saw crowds marching in protest of the raids and police action happening at the Gidimt’en checkpoint and Unist’ot’en camp near the pipeline’s construction site.
A number of Indigenous youth and supporters also continue to camp out on the front steps of the B.C. legislature in Victoria, where a ceremonial flame has been lit.
More to come.
–with files from Canadian Press
VANCOUVER, B.C.; February 10, 2020 – A woman is arrested after police were compelled to act on a B.C. Supreme Court order, in response to a request from the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, to restore access to the Vancouver ports in Vancouver, BC. on February 10, 2020. A number of protestors refused to abide by the court order. So far, 33 arrests have been made. Protestors received several requests from police to clear the intersection and then warnings prior to being detained.
VANCOUVER, B.C., February 10, 2020 – Police clear the intersection at East Hastings Street and Clark Drive after they were compelled to act on a B.C. Supreme Court order, in response to a request from the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, to restore access to the Vancouver ports in Vancouver, B.C. on February 10, 2020.
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