A group of protesters opposed to the the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion gathered in front of the Kamloops courthouse today to support Secwépemc members as they made a court appearance today.

Miranda Dick, a spokesperson for the We, the Secwépemc Unity Camp to Stop the Trans Mountain Pipeline, was among the eight people arrested last Oct. while protesting the pipeline expansion in Kamloops. Four people were arrested on Oct. 15, while another four were arrested on Oct. 17.

“Thank you again for coming out and drumming for us, putting together the signs, and taking time out to help the Secwepemc people in our journey to protect clean water and what that looks like for us,” she said, in a facebook video.

This is the second court appearance for the eight after one back in January. Dick added the court has not made it clear if the charges will be civil or criminal in nature.

She also says the court has refused to accept documents from hereditary Secwépemc Chief Henry Sagwses – who was among those arrested on Oct. 15, 2020 – that indicate the courts have a lack of jurisdiction on Secwépemc territory.

“They’ve allotted one week per person of the accused to bring any affidavits, subpoenas, and evidence that they need to bring forward. So we haven’t actually gotten our disclosure,” Dick said. “The charges are still at criminal contempt, or contempt of court, and so we’ll be again here on March 15.”

Work on the Trans Mountain pipeline was halted in December when the company ordered a project-wide work stoppage to review its safety practices after a worker in Edmonton was killed while another was seriously injured in Burnaby.

Back on Feb. 8, the company said it would be resuming work soon, though some Kamloops work sites remain quiet.