Photo Duncan Cairns-Brenner
Two women climbed on top of Kinder Morgan’s tunnel boring machine just before dawn today and unfurled a banner that says 'Protect Water, Stop Pipelines.'
Mary Lovell and Laura Yates intend to stay atop the drill, currently stored in a lot just off of Webster Road in Delta, for as long as possible and are waving a flag reading 'Here's the Drill:Stop KM.'
"We're here today to shine a light on the fact that this drill has arrived and that they're planning on using to drill through the mountain. It's a really major piece of equipment that's critical to the project and it's really notable that it's arrived here," says Lovell. "It's quite large. I'm nearly two-storeys up right now."
Greenpeace Canada tracked the drill, which was shipped from Germany to a holding facility in Delta.
The activists are calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to abandon his consideration to offer Kinder Morgan financial aid to ensure the $7.4 billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project goes ahead.
Yates says strong leadership is needed to leave oil projects behind. "What we don’t need are leaders, like Justin Trudeau, who continue to be swayed by corporate interests rather than honouring Indigenous rights, protecting drinking water from oil spills and ensuring healthy ecosystems and a liveable climate for people all over the world.”
On April 8, Kinder Morgan announced that it was suspending activities and spending on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project. The company said it would consult with various stakeholders to try and reach an agreement that would allow the project to proceed by May 31.
Greenpeace Canada's Jesse Firempong says police are on site standing by and there has been no response from the company.
Audrey Siegl from the Musqueam Nation is supporting the action from the gate. “I don’t just say no to this pipeline. I say no to any more destruction. I say no to any more violations of the land, the water and the people."
