The Thompson-Nicola Regional District board is once again asking the B.C. government to step in after a recent report of assault and vandalism at a Trans Mountain work camp in Blue River, causing one worker to be taken to hospital.

On Sept. 15, Clearwater RCMP were called to the camp on Murtle Lake Road where protestors were blocking access to a work site.

Mounties say while they were en route, protestors reportedly got past a fence onto the worksite and started throwing rocks at workers and equipment. RCMP also say a small tree was lit on fire and knocked down to block the roadway, with the road also being spray-painted.

Police say one worker at the site had to be taken to hospital after being assaulted with weapons. Several workers were reportedly assaulted and one worker had a radio and hard hat stolen.

Five people were arrested, while police say others at the scene evaded police and fled the scene. She says the suspects arrested have been released with a promise to appear in court, while police continue to try and identify others who were allegedly involved.

Blue River area director Stephen Quinn says the man who was taken to hospital is now recovering at home. He says more than $75,000 worth of damage was done to property at the Trans Mountain site.

Quinn said the protesters were part of the Tiny House Warriors – a group that local elected leaders have voiced concern with over the past three years.

“My biggest concern at that time is that it would escalate into violence, and that has now happened.”

Last year, Simpcw First Nation chief Shelly Loring and Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc chief Rosanne Casimir asked the group to stand down, saying the protesters are not from the area and aren’t welcome there, calling their protests disrespectful.

At yesterday’s Thompson-Nicola Regional District board meeting, Quinn asked that a letter be written to Premier John Horgan, Forests Minister Katrine Conroy and Transportation Minister Rob Fleming, “to ask them to immediately get personally involved and get this situation resolved. Before the violence escalates to any further than it has.” The vote was approved unanimously to write the letter – the same move also made by the TNRD in July of 2020.

In a statement to NL News, Trans Mountain says the actions on Sept. 15 in Blue River were “not activities of peaceful protestors, but were premeditated attempts to stop work and damage equipment.”

Trans Mountain says in the statement that it supports peaceful expression of opinions. It adds there is a BC Supreme Court injunction that prevents obstructions to Trans Mountain worksites in B.C.

Social media video from the Tiny House Warriors leader, Kanahus Manuel, shows conflict at the Trans Mountain work camp on Sept. 15. The group identifies as land defenders who say they speak for Indigenous communities in the area. That’s despite contrary statements from leaders of the Simpcw and Tk’emlúps, who say the protestors have refused to speak with them about the pipeline project.