Aamjiwnaang citizen released after arrest in Line 9 protest

By Colin Graf

SARNIA — An environmental activist from the Aamjiwnaang First Nation was released in court here Tuesday after being arrested Monday for trying to shut down Enbridge Inc.’s Line 9 carrying bitumen from Alberta’s oil sands. Vanessa Gray, 23, of Sarnia, was freed at a bail hearing amid cheers and whoops from around 50 supporters. Gray, a well-known activist involved in various protests and research projects dealing with pollution issues in the Aamjiwnaang and Sarnia area, including the annual “Toxic Tour”, was released along with two Guelph residents, Sarah Scanlon, 30, and Stone Stewart, 28.

Sarnia police allege they entered a small fenced compound belonging to Enbridge Monday and chained themselves to the fence with bicycle locks, according to a statement read by Crown attorney I. Maedel .   An “anonymous call” to Enbridge’s call centre in Alberta alerted the company to shut down the line, the Crown said. Supporters of the activists have claimed on social media they made the call themselves from the site in a rural area of Sarnia, before they turned the valve off. Photos of the trio at the Enbridge site have circulated widely on social media.

Shutting the valve “could have resulted in a leak or rupture anywhere along the line,” running from Sarnia to Montreal , Maedel told the court. Police called in a locksmith, and the three were removed. Charges include mischief over $5,000 and mischief endangering life. Stewart was also charged with resisting arrest.

After her release, Gray said she was happy the trio took the actions they did. She said Enbridge should be charged with endangering people’s lives, not the activists, due to the inadequate safeguards on the 40 year-old pipeline. Gray said she intends to continue her advocacy work on environmental causes at Aamjiwnaang.

Scanlon, who works for the Ontario Public Research Interest Group (OPIRG) in Guelph, said she and Stewart took their actions in solidarity with Aamjiwnaang, whose land is surrounded by the complex of chemical plants and oil refineries known locally as the “Chemical Valley.”

“We need to challenge these giant corporations that are polluting and causing such damage to the land, water, and air,” she said after her release.   The group also acted in support of a court case by the Chippewas of the Thames, near London, who are challenging the National Energy Board’s approval of the plan to change operation of Line 9 before the Supreme Court of Canada, said Stewart, who works in farming and gardening.

Line 9, which previously brought foreign oil from Montreal for processing in the Sarnia area, began shipping the Alberta crude earlier in Dec., after a lengthy approval process.

The protestors, led into court in handcuffs, were released on condition they stay away from Enbridge property and notify police of any change in address. The court was told none have prior criminal records. They are due back in Sarnia court Jan. 26.

Neither Enbridge nor the National Energy Board consulted Aamjiwnaang properly during the approval process, according to a presentation made by Chief Chris Plain to the Board in 2013.

Aamjiwnaang ancestors have lived in and harvested resources from traditional territory, including lands where Line 9 runs and Enbridge’s Sarnia terminal is located “since time immemorial, “ Plain told the Board.   He asserted the First Nation has aboriginal and treaty rights throughout the traditional territory which are recognized, affirmed, and protected by the Constitution Act.  Community members have aboriginal harvesting rights to hunt, fish, trap, gather plants, minerals and oil, for any purpose, including for food, social and ceremonial purposes, or sale, Plain claimed.

Plain also objects to the fact the federal Crown and/or Enbridge are not sharing the revenues that are being generated by shipping oil through traditional territory.

Operation of the pipeline will cause significant new socioeconomic, health, and environmental effects on reserve lands, Plain also told the Board in 2013. The proximity of the Terminal to the reserve and waterways running through Aamjiwnaang, toxic air emissions caused by storing crude oil at the Terminal, and the risk of spills, leaks, and discharges of crude oil at the Terminal itself have the potential to seriously impact residents’ health, he said.

There is already evidence that pollution may be causing serious effects on the reserve, Plain asserts, including a scientific study that identified a pronounced, statistically significant decrease in the number of males born there from 1994 – 2003, he said.