...The approach echoes recently adopted laws in nine U.S. states, and under consideration in eight others, which make it a felony to block or be present near pipelines and other major infrastructure. In Louisiana, for instance, the maximum jail term for such an offence is five years. (About 16 people have been charged with felonies in that state for peaceful, non-violent presence near infrastructure that would previously been treated as a misdemeanor trespass, says Pam Spees, a senior staff lawyer with the U.S. Center for Constitutional Rights.) In Canada, however, only the federal government can make criminal law. ...

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