Burnaby orders eviction of Trans Mountain pipeline protest camp

The City of Burnaby has issued an immediate eviction notice to a pipeline protest camp outside a Kinder Morgan facility in the city.

Protesters claim they were woken up by a handful of RCMP officers and Burnabycity staff around 6 a.m. Wednesday morning when the notice was served.

The notice orders all structures, including tents, a shower, and a two-story wooden building to be dismantled within 72 hours. If the camp still stands in three days, the city will take action and have the camp removed, according to the notice.

"Public safety is the reason why we would be removed," saidKwitselTatel, a spokesperson for the camp. "There is no public or safety issue at Camp Cloud."

The camp, which sits across the street from theKinder Morgan tank farm onBurnabyMountain, started as a small trailer and has evolved over several monthsinto a small shanty town of semi-permanent structures.

The neighbouring facilityhas been the site of dozens of protests and hundreds of arrests.

Residents argue increased oil production and tanker traffic via the expansion project will threaten vulnerable ecosystems along B.C.'s coast.

"We will end up looking like a Fort McMurray in no time," added Tatel.

City responds

Burnabycity manager Lambert Chu confirmed the eviction was issuedWednesday morning at the Camp Cloud site.

"We certainly have no objection to people protesting. They have the right to do so," Chu said.

"What we have issues with are structures that are unsafe. And also facilities there that pose health and environmental concerns."

Among those structures include a two-story wooden building which violatesmultiple city bylaws in and of itself. Overall, Chu said the encampment has violated multitude of building, street, traffic and fire bylaws.

Dry weather

The city was especiallyconcerned about the camp's fires given the dry season, Chu said.

Itis also situated across the street from a quiet suburban neighbourhood. Chu said residents have complained about the unsightly facilities and unleashed dogs.

Campershave not complied with previous warnings, Chu said.

While the camphasbeen ordered to disband effectiveimmediately, the city is in talks with legal counsel around compliance.

An RCMP spokesperson said officers helped city staff deliver the notice Wednesday.

The spokesperson said it's too early to tellwhether officers will help enforce the eviction.

Right to protest

Protesters maintain they have a legal right to demonstrate at the site. In March, the B.C. Supreme Court of B.C. struck down a request from Trans Mountain's lawyers to have the camp removed.

At the time, the judge said "there has to be a means" of allowing the protesters to demonstrate reasonably close to the site.

On Wednesday, protesters said the City of Burnaby acted "outside of its jurisdiction" by issuing theeviction order.

According to protester Johnny Lee, the camp is "in the process of contacting lawyers to reverse the eviction notice."

Neighbouring campOK

The notice does not apply to the Watch House, a separate protest camp down the road that is organized by members of theTsleil-Waututh First Nation.

The camp is a single structure in the woodswith a few large tents and an RV nearby.

The city said theWatch Housecomplied with a request to extinguish its ceremonial fire.

With files from Maryse Zeidlerand Tanya Fletcher