By Emily Jackson, Metro Vancouver, March 23, 2015
The battle between protesters and Kinder Morgan flared up on Monday after masked men allegedly broke into a vehicle on Burnaby Mountain to steal surveying equipment.
“I understand that a window was smashed on one of the contractors vehicles and some surveying equipment was taken by a masked man who we believe has previously interfered with the survey work we’ve been undertaking,” Trans Mountain Pipeline spokeswoman Lizette Parsons Bell said.
Parsons Bell alleged the man has previously interfered with the company’s surveying work by showing up and looking around the work site. She said there were three masked men involved in the incident.
A Burnaby RCMP spokeswoman said police were called to the area and are conducting an investigation, but refused to confirm or deny any details while the investigation is ongoing.
Kinder Morgan is surveying the mountain to determine whether it’s a possible route for the Trans Mountain pipeline, which the company wants to twin. Protests against the expansion led to more than 100 arrests on Burnaby Mountain in November 2014.