One of the central figures in the Burnaby Mountain protests has announced she's seeking the Green party nomination in the federal riding of Burnaby North-Seymour.
Lynne Quarmby, a molecular biology and biochemistry professor at Burnaby's SFU campus, was among the 126 arrested on Burnaby Mountain. Quarmby violated a court injunction prohibiting protesters from interfering with Kinder Morgan's survey work for a proposed pipeline.
"My experience in the protest against Kinder Morgan drove home the extent to which the Conservative Government of Canada under Stephen Harper has eroded our democracy," Quarmby said in a media statement. "The Harper Conservatives have eviscerated environmental science in Canada, and they are undermining basic research with increasing requirements for industry partnerships. My passion for science is needed in Ottawa."
The Greens will choose their candidate in late January. Federal Green party leader Elizabeth May is backing Quarmby's run, and no one else has come forward yet.
Quarmby lives in West Vancouver but is moving to the riding Jan. 1. Quarmby said she chose the Greens because they prioritize climate change and proportional representation.
The newly formed Burnaby North-Seymour riding includes a section of the North Shore and the upper half of Burnaby-Douglas. The Liberals will be running Terry Beech, the Tories are running Mike Little, while the NDP has yet to nominate their candidate.
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