Judge orders removal of blockade against northern Alberta pipeline construction

TransCanada’s headquarters in Calgary, Alberta.

‘Strict adherence to the construction schedule is essential,’ says TransCanada Corp.

By David Thurton, CBC News,  Jan 25, 2017

A Fort McMurray judge has issued an order that authorizes the RCMP to remove a blockade set up to protest construction of a natural-gas pipeline.

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Keith Yamauchi issued the order for demonstrators with the Chard Métis Society to dismantle their protest camp by 4 p.m. Wednesday.

For the past week, as many as 15 protesters have been gathering outside the pipeline’s construction site.

‘I’m standing my ground’: Métis president vows to continue pipeline protest in northern Alberta

By Juris Graney, Edmonton Journal, January 23, 2017

A handful of protestors have vowed to continue to block access roads to prevent crews from entering the construction site of a TransCanada natural gas pipeline near Chard in northern Alberta, a protest that has now stretched into its fifth day.

President of the Chard Métis Society, Raoul Montgrand, said despite undertaking consultations with First Nations in the region, the company had not allayed his fears of the pipeline’s route or its impact on his community’s “traditional way of life.”