MP Stewart pleads guilty to criminal contempt; MP May to appear in court on May 28 (update)

THE BC Prosecution Service (BCPS) announced on Monday that the special prosecutors appointed to handle the matters of MPs Kennedy Stewart and Elizabeth May arrested along with other protestors at the Trans Mountain Pipeline work site on March 23 had each, independently, concluded that criminal contempt proceedings for breaches of the injunction are warranted.

Stewart, NDP MP for Burnaby South, will be resigning his seat in Parliament to run for mayor of Vancouver as an independent. May is the Leader of the Green Party.

Stewart pleaded guilty to one count of criminal contempt in B.C. Supreme Court on Monday. The special prosecutor called for a $500 fine to be levied. Stewart is expected to pay the fine by Friday. Criminal contempt is not a criminal code offence.

May will appear in court on May 28.