Criminal charges brought against Federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May

Charges of criminal contempt have been approved against Federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and NDP MP Kennedy Stewart by BC Prosecution Service (BCPS).

The pair of politicians were arrested in March for defying a court injunction that states protesters cannot obstruct, impede, or otherwise prevent access to Trans Mountain Facilities in Burnaby.

Kinder Morgan has called the RCMP to arrest elected Members of Parliament,@kennedystewart & @MayElizabeth as they block the corporation's Burnaby Mountain front gate. #StopKM #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/NdLEWy4qur

— Greenpeace Canada (@GreenpeaceCA) March 23, 2018

Nearly a hundred people were arrested in March as protestors ramped up demonstrations against the federally approved pipeline expansion.

At the time of her arrest, May stated that she said she would “stand in solidarity with the First Nations opposing Kinder Morgan and I am keeping my word.”

Non-violent civil disobedience, she added, “is legitimate as a means of expression but it is a step I have not taken before.”

May 5 is the court date for Burnaby South MP Stewart, who has announced that he is stepping down as a member of parliament to run as a Vancouver mayoral candidate this fall.

The Federal Green Party's leader May is set to appear in court on May 28.