Senior in wet suit and snorkel gear arrested at Trans Mountain site in Burnaby

A 71-year-old man was arrested early Wednesday morning, after he illegally entered the Westridge Marine Terminal property in Burnaby.

According to RCMP, the man allegedly entered the property from the surrounding water.

In doing so, he was in breach of a court-ordered injunction preventing demonstrators from coming within five metres of a Trans Mountain site, police said.

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He was arrested around 3:50 am, while still wearing a wet suit and snorkel gear, police said.

The man remains in custody and with a same-day court appearance now scheduled.

“The primary concerns of the police are public safety, police officer safety, and preservation of the rights of demonstrators to their freedoms of expression, association and mobility, as guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” said Burnaby RCMP in a statement.

Last month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau re-approved the controversial project, after the expansion was initially quashed, following a Federal Court of Appeal ruling that said the first approval did not include proper consultations with Indigenous groups.

The expansion – which twins an existing pipeline running from Edmonton to Burnaby – will increase shipping capacity from Alberta to BC by 590,000 barrels of crude oil a day.