(Houston) A veteran photojournalist and documentary maker are among 15 people arrested Friday for violating an injunction prohibiting protesters from blocking access to a road used by workers at Coastal GasLink in B.C.
Although their identities have not been released by the RCMP, Frances Mahon, a lawyer, said photojournalist Amber Bracken and documentary filmmaker Michael Toledano were arrested near Houston in the north of the province. They were still detained on Saturday morning.
Police spokeswoman Sergeant Janelle Shoihet said by email that the identity of those arrested could not be revealed, merely saying that “individuals identifying themselves as independent journalists” are among them.
Tensions remain high around the 670 km oil pipeline.
The RCMP have decided to enforce British Columbia Supreme Court injunctions granted in December 2019 against protesters who erected barriers along logging roads leading to the pipeline site.
According to the RCMP, 11 people were arrested in a structure installed near a forest road leading to a drilling site. The other four arrests were made in another location. There, another individual who identified himself as a journalist was not arrested and was escorted out of the area after the end of operations.
Sergeant Shoihet said those arrested for violating an injunction were taken to Smithers, British Columbia, and are scheduled to appear in court Monday in Prince George.
The Narwhal, an independent news site, says it hired Mme Braken for reporting events taking place in northern British Columbia, where the RCMP has already arrested several Indigenous protesters who have blocked access to roads leading to the pipeline site.
Editor-in-chief Emma Gilchrist said the site was “extremely troubled” by the arrest, which she described as a violation of press freedom. The media said it had notified the RCMP of the photographer’s summons.
The Canadian Association of Journalists also condemned the arrests.