Kinder Morgan says taking photos on Burnaby Mountain is suspicious

Kinder Morgan says its protocols dictate that it report "suspicious activities" like taking photos near its Burnaby Mountain facility, even though the surrounding area is Crown land on which they have no jurisdiction to prohibit photography.

SFU climate change scientist Tim Takaro says he felt "intimidated" when he got a call from Burnaby RCMP earlier this week asking him about photographs he took with Kinder Morgan infrastructure in the background. They also told him they knew he had been to protest rallies that had taken place there a few months earlier.

Stephen Hansen, Kinder Morgan's acting western region director, says the company has the protocol in place for a good reason.

"The reason we have it is to ensure the safety and security of our operations and staff, and certainly the community," said Hansen in an interview with On the Coast.

He added that the protocol for suspicious activities includes filing a report and notifying local authorities. And the RCMP says it will investigate any complaint, no matter how trivial it may appear.

"We may find out at the end of the day there is nothing to it," said Cpl. Sgt. John Buis. "We investigate all of them because something may slip through the cracks."