8 arrests, 1 for alleged assault on police officer at anti-logging blockades on Vancouver Island
Police say they arrested eight more people at anti-logging blockades on southern Vancouver Island Saturday, including one person they allege assaulted a police officer.
The arrests at an encampment in the Fairy Creek watershed near Port Renfrew follow two other arrests that happened on Friday.
In total, there have now been 254 arrests in the area since police began enforcing a court injunction prohibiting interference with logging operations in the old-growth forests near Fairy Creek.
At least 10 of those arrested in the area have been arrested more than once, according to a news release from RCMP. Of the 254 arrests, 206 have been for breaching the injunction, 42 for obstruction, four for mischief, one for counselling to resist arrest and one for assaulting a police officer.
Two of those arrested Saturday were under age 18, police said. They did not specify what charges they would be recommending against the minors.
In a post on their Facebook page, the demonstrators described the day's events from their perspective, accusing police of lies and abuse. The protesters say the two minors were released without any charges.
Protesters have been camped out in the Fairy Creek watershed since last summer in defense of what they describe as the last unprotected old-growth forest on southern Vancouver Island.
Demonstrations and blockades have continued in the region even after the provincial government granted a request from the Huu-ay-aht, Ditidaht, and Pacheedaht First Nations to postpone old-growth logging on more than 2,000 hectares of land in the Fairy Creek and central Walbran areas while the nations develop long-term resource stewardship plans.
The protesters are demanding an end to all logging in old-growth forests on southern Vancouver Island.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.