INNERKIP, Ont. – Ontario Provincial Police have charged a group of protesters after they interrupted work at an Enbridge pipeline site in Innerkip, Ont., last week.
Four women and one man, who range in age from 24 to 30, were charged with offences that include obstructing a peace officer, mischief and disobeying order of the court.
The demonstration on Aug. 5 was aimed at preventing the installation of a valve north of Woodstock.
The blockade called “Dam Line 9!” was one of a series of recent actions designed to protest Enbridge’s controversial Line 9 project.
On Monday, a group of protesters briefly interrupted work at an Enbridge pipeline site in north Toronto (at Dufferin Street and Finch Avenue West) before leaving.
A spokesman for the group, dubbed the Community Response Unit for Decontaminating our Environment, said the protesters want to stop the project and stand in solidarity with previous demonstrations.
Enbridge plans to reverse the flow and increase the capacity of Line 9, which shuttles oil between Sarnia, Ont., and Montreal.
Critics have argued the pipeline puts the environment at risk and that there has been little consultation with aboriginal communities.
Hamilton residents Rachel Avery and Patricia Mills along with Wolfgang Chrapko and Erica Rathie, both from Guelph, and David Vasey of undisclosed residence were all charged with obstructing a peace officer, mischief over $5,000 and disobeying order of the court.
Mills was also charged with two counts of failing to comply with a probation order.