B.C. extends old-growth logging deferral in Fairy Creek
The province is extending its deferral of old-growth logging in the Fairy Creek watershed area of Vancouver Island until 2025.
The deferrals first came into effect in June 2021, and were set to expire this year, following more than a year of heated protests and blockades in the region.
The province enacted the deferrals after a request came from the Huu-ay-aht, Ditidaht, and Pacheedaht First Nations, whose territory includes the Fairy Creek and Central Walbran areas.
The deferrals have now been extended until Feb. 1, 2025, the province announced Friday.
Over the next two years, the province says it will continue working on long-term forest management plans in the Fairy Creek watershed area.
The deferrals protect 1,183.8 hectares of old-growth trees located on Crown land in the Fairy Creek watershed.
"The entire watershed falls within the Pacheedaht territory," said the B.C. Ministry of Forests in a release Friday.
"The province continues to work with First Nations rights and title holders to take unprecedented action to protect old-growth forests," the ministry continued.
The province says more than two million hectares of old growth have been deferred across the province since November 2021.
Deferrals do not mean protection in perpetuity, but are a temporary protection against harvesting as long as they are active.
RCMP made more than 1,000 arrests during protests and blockades in the Fairy Creek watershed area in 2020 and 2021, marking one of the largest acts of civil disobedience in Canadian history.
RCMP officers, including two wearing the 'thin blue line' patch, arrest a man during an anti-logging protest in Caycuse, B.C. on Tuesday, May 18, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jen Osborne
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
What new auto insurance reforms will mean for Ontarians, if they get introduced
Ontario has among the highest rates for auto insurance premiums in Canada -- just below Alberta and Nova Scotia -- however, the introduction of an insurance reform in the provincial budget could soon lower prices.