Treetop camp protesting Trans Mountain pipeline dismantled

A treetop camp standing in the way of a multi-billion dollar pipeline expansion project has been dismantled following a court ordered injunction against demonstrators.

Protesters against the federally-owned Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project watched as contractors accompanied by police sawed away a treehouse camp in the Brunette River Conservation Area that had been occupied since December of last year.

"It's a terrible feeling, of course. It's a setback ... but we will just keep doing it," said Tim Takaro, an SFU health sciences professor and protest organizer.

"You can have an 1,100 kilometre pipeline but you have to complete all of it to make it work — and this one will never work" he added. "There's too much against it and it doesn't make economic sense."

Takaro wouldn't specify what area of the pipeline construction route protesters would target next.

The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion aims to substantially increase the amount of crude and refined oil flowing from Alberta to B.C.'s coast, from the current 300,000 barrels to 890,000 barrels per day.

It has faced numerous setbacks that have delayed construction and significant resistance from Indigenous groups and environmental activists. Construction had previously been shut down over concerns about negative impacts to hummingbird nesting sites in the Brunette River area.