Oilsands pipeline protest on Parliament Hill: Canada

Hundreds of protesters flocked to Parliament Hill Monday to voice their displeasure with TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline project, a $7-billion plan to ship crude oil from Alberta to Texas.

Protest organizer and Greenpeace Canada spokesman Peter McHugh promoted the event as "a historic mass act of civil disobedience over the tarsands," which also included members from the Council of Canadians.

As of 10:10 a.m., there were approximately 300 people at the protest, according to the CBC's Kathleen Hunt.

The civil disobedience was inspired by action in Washington, D.C., in late August where Canadian actress Margot Kidder and dozens of others were arrested.

Protesters, who signed up at a website called Ottawa Action, arrived around 10 a.m. for a sit-in around the Centennial Flame.

Dozens of RCMP officers and security guards are also patrolling Parliament Hill to prevent protesters from entering the Centre Block. more