Climate activists found guilty of breaking into Montreal oil terminal

An activist is chained to a shipping container blocking the entrance to the Valero oil transfer terminal in the Port of Montreal in Montreal on Wednesday, October 19, 2022. Protestors demand the closure of the 9B oil pipeline, owned by Enbridge, which ends at this terminal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press)

A group of environmental activists is awaiting sentencing after being found guilty of occupying an oil terminal in Montreal’s east end.

Their defence relied on it being a necessary act, and now say the decision will undermine efforts to curb climate change.

The Antigone Collective staged the protest at the Valero Energy terminal in Montreal East in October 2022, with some reportedly chaining themselves to equipment.

Some of the over 20 protestors chained themselves to shipping containers while at least one was chained to a crane, according to Montreal police (SPVM).

Other demonstrators brandished signs and chanted slogans against fossil fuels.

In particular, they protested the 9B pipeline, which runs between Westover, Ont., and Montreal.

“This pipeline threatens the drinking water supply of millions of Quebecers since it crosses many waterways,” the collective said at the time. “The climate disasters at our door are an existential disaster for all life on Earth.”

It took police 24 hours to get them out.

Montreal police (SPVM) said at the time that the protest was peaceful.

The group pleaded not guilty in court on charges of mischief and obstruction, arguing they were forced to act out of necessity to save the planet.

The judge disagreed and found them guilty.

“He’s doing his job, and we were trying to test the limits of the of the law, definitely,” said activist Jesse Richman. “And hopefully create a precedent that would be that would be helpful for the environmental movement.”

The group’s lawyer used what is called a defense of necessity, where one does something illegal to prevent someone from dying, for example.

“The typical metaphor for the defense of necessity is the case of the alpinist, so somebody who happens to be on a mountain and there’s a storm and they need to break into a cabin in order to get shelter and save their life,” said lawyer Barbara Bedont. “In those circumstances, the law says, yes, breaking into a cabin is a violation of the law, but it was done out of necessity.”

The protestors argued that the aging Enbridge pipeline that ends at the oil terminal in Montreal was in danger of breaking and spilling oil.

The judge didn’t agree because the occupation was planned in advance and the pipeline did not break as predicted.

“I’d say that, what’s most unfortunate with this whole issue is that oil and gas companies and the fossil fuel industry is still kind of allowed to run free,” said Richman.

Bedont said she wished the courts could change their way of seeing the climate emergency.

“They were sounding the alarm,” she said. “They were trying to announce that there’s a crisis here, and if we don’t change our society now, if we don’t stop using fossil fuels now, people are going to die.”

The prosecution was not available for comment on Saturday.

The activists are expected back in court on Tuesday for sentencing.