#DamLine9: Arrests and Solidarity Blockades Aim to Halt Tar Sands Pipeline

[unhappycamper]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/08/11/damline9-arrests-and-solidarity-blockades-aim-halt-tar-sands-pipeline



Five protesters were arrested after halting construction since Tuesday at an Enbridge pipeline work site near the Thames River in Ontario

#DamLine9: Arrests and Solidarity Blockades Aim to Halt Tar Sands Pipeline
Lauren McCauley, staff writer
Monday, August 11, 2014
Common Dreams

One day after five activists were arrested for blocking construction on energy giant Enbridge's proposed tar sands pipeline in southwest Ontario, community members outside Toronto—taking up the mantle of resistance—faced down police Monday morning as they occupied another Enbridge work site.

Breaking up a blockade at the Line 9 pipeline that began early Tuesday, roughly 50 police stormed the Enbridge construction site near the Thames River on Sunday afternoon, organizers told Common Dreams, arresting two activists who had chained their arms to concrete barrels and three others who were there to support those on lock down.

The protest was organized to halt a valve installation on the pipeline, which protesters said would only serve as a"band-aid" on the aging infrastructure and would not protect vital water sources against a leak of toxic diluted bitumen. Line 9 is one of the many proposed pipeline projects slated to carry tar sands and fracked Bakken shale oil to the east coast for export. In March, the Canadian government approved Enbridge's plans to reverse the pipeline's flow and increase its capacity.

“This construction project is a band-aid attempt and Line 9 is too old and damaged to operate safely," says Sarah Scanlon, who was among the protesters. "The new valves aren’t designed to protect rivers, they’re designed to maximize the amount of bitumen that can flow through the line.” According to the group, Enbridge has identified more than 12,000 flaws in Line 9’s structure, and the line has already leaked at least 35 times in less than 40 years.