Two arrested in separate incidents at Trans Mountain protest in Burnaby Friday

Two demonstrators were arrested in Burnaby on Friday during separate incidents at a Trans Mountain work site, one of which sent a Trans Mountain worker to hospital.

According to Burnaby RCMP, the first person was arrested at 9:30 a.m., after trespassing onto private property owned by BNSF Railway. This was in violation of a court-ordered injunction stating demonstrators could not obstruct or impede access to Trans Mountain work sites.

RCMP were called back to the area at noon, after receiving reports that a Trans Mountain worker had been struck on the head by a branch near an occupied tree-sit. The worker had been knocked unconscious and was taken to hospital to be treated for a possible concussion.

Police say the branch fell on the worker while a protester was rapelling between tree-sits.

Officers trained in high-angle rescue were called to the area, and the protester came down on his own at 3:20 p.m.

The protester was then arrested. Police are still investigating.

Protesters have been engaged in a tree-sit in a conservation area along the Brunette River since Aug. 3, 2020, with the goal of blocking construction on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. The blockade remains as of today, and several nearby tree-sits have been established.