Greenpeace protesters were arrested after chaining themselves to a gate and scaled pipes at the Port of Montreal on Monday.
They unfurled banners that read "protect water and climate" and said they were demonstrating against pipelines and last week's decision by the federal government to approve requests to increase the capacity of pipelines on the West Coast.
Last week Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave the green light to Kinder Morgan's proposal to triple the capacity of the Trans Mountain pipeline from Alberta to suburban Vancouver.
The expansion of the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline from Alberta to Wisconsin was also approved, while the Northern Gateway pipeline across Northern British Columbia was denied approval.
That has protesters in Montreal upset that the federal government is breaking its promise to fight climate change.
"We're here to send a message to the prime minister and the premiers who are about to meet to talk about the national climate plan that you can't be a climate leader and build tar sands pipelines. It's going to be a disaster for our climate. It's also breaking our commitment to indigenous people," said Keith Stewart.
By noon police had arrested at least three protesters who had chained themselves to gates and fences, while those who had scaled pipes were taken into custody early in the afternoon. The protesters will likely face fines for their action.
By that point several more protesters had arrived by boat, and were kayaking in the St. Lawrence River.
While the protest was taking place, a tanker ship anticipating a load of bitumen had to wait.
“Here in the east, people are concerned about their drinking water supply in the St. Lawrence. They're concerned about the possible impact of a bitumen spill and also climate change,” said Stewart.
