B.C. Appeal Court extends injunction against old-growth logging protests at Fairy Creek
British Columbia's Court of Appeal overturned a lower-court ruling Wednesday and extended an injunction against old-growth logging protests until September on Vancouver Island.
In a unanimous decision, a panel of three judges granted the appeal by forestry company Teal Cedar Products Ltd. of a B.C. Supreme Court decision that denied the company's application to extend the injunction by one year.
More than 1,100 people have been arrested while protesting old-growth logging in the Fairy Creek area near Port Renfrew.
“The public interest in upholding the rule of law continues to be the dominant public interest in cases involving civil disobedience against a private entity,” says the written decision from the panel.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Douglas Thompson refused to extend the injunction last September, saying police enforcement led to serious infringements of civil liberties including freedom of the press.
He also said the factors in favour of extending the injunction did not outweigh the public interest in protecting the court's reputation.
However, the Appeal Court's decision said the court's reputation isn't depreciated by granting an injunction to stop unlawful conduct.
“The conduct of police does not tarnish the reputation of the court; the court and police are constitutionally independent,” the decision says.
A lawyer for Teal Cedar argued during a two-day Appeal Court hearing in November that the company has the right to pursue its economic interests while facing an organized protest campaign that disrupts its legal right to harvest timber.
Company lawyer Dean Dalke told the court the rule of law must be upheld, and the lower-court judge erred in concluding the court's reputation would be diminished by continuing the injunction.
The panel agreed with the company.
“In conclusion, and with respect, we are of the view that the judge erred by giving weight to irrelevant considerations and by giving too little weight to the public interest in upholding the rule of law, which must be the dominant consideration in all cases involving significant and persistent acts of civil disobedience.”
Lawyer Malcom Funt, representing the protesters, known as the Rainforest Flying Squad, told the court in November the company has the right to defend its economic interests, but others also have rights to lawful protest and freedom of expression and movement.
Funt said there are limits to a company's economic and private-industry rights.
A temporary injunction preventing protests against logging activities in the area had been in place since September.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2022.
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.