B.C. judge denies extension of Fairy Creek injunction against old-growth logging protesters
A court injunction prohibiting old-growth logging protests on Vancouver Island will come to an end Tuesday, after a judge declined to extend the order.
British Columbia forestry company Teal Cedar Products Ltd. was seeking a one-year extension to its injunction preventing protesters from blockading forestry activities in the Fairy Creek area.
On Tuesday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Douglas Thompson denied the company’s extension request, saying the actions of the RCMP at the injunction site have put the court’s reputation at risk.
“In the current circumstances, I am not persuaded that the balance of convenience favours extending the injunction,” Thompson wrote in his decision. “The factors weighing in favour of extension do not outweigh the public interest in protecting the court from the risk of further depreciation of its reputation.”
The denial means an existing extension order prohibiting protesters from the area expires at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Thompson said that while allowing the injunction to expire could cause significant harm to both Teal Cedar and to the rule of law, “methods of enforcement of the court’s order have led to serious and substantial infringement of civil liberties, including impairment of the freedom of the press to a marked degree.”
“Enforcement has been carried out by police officers rendered anonymous to the protesters, many of those police officers wearing ‘thin blue line’ badges,” Thompson added. “All of this has been done in the name of enforcing this court’s order, adding to the already substantial risk to the court’s reputation whenever an injunction pulls the court into this type of dispute between citizens and the government.”
The RCMP, which has been enforcing the injunction since May, said Tuesday it was aware of the decision but did not provide further comment.
Protesters have been camped out in the area for more than a year to defend what they say is the last unprotected old-growth forest on southern Vancouver Island.
Mounties have arrested more than 1,100 people since the blockades began, including more than 100 people who have been arrested more than once.
Thompson said the methods of protesters have escalated over the summer “to the point where serious property damage has been done and risk of serious personal injury has emerged.”
The judge cited trenches dug in forestry roads and the construction of large tripods as examples of “the escalation in illegality,” adding “all parties to this application agree that interactions between police and protesters are becoming more intense.”
B.C. Premier John Horgan called the ongoing protests at Fairy Creek “intractable” during an unrelated news conference before the court decision was announced Tuesday.
“Is this an intractable problem? Yes it is,” Horgan said. “Does it frustrate me? Every single day. But I think the majority of British Columbians understand that if we are going to make progress on difficult issues, we have to do it together.”
In June, the B.C. government approved a request from three Vancouver Island First Nations and deferred logging in about 2,000 hectares of old-growth forest in the Fairy Creek and central Walbran areas for two years.
The activist group Rainforest Flying Squad says little of the best old-growth forest remains in B.C. and the deferrals fall short of protecting what is left.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
B.C. theatre to pay $55K to neurodivergent actor in discrimination case
British Columbia's human rights tribunal has awarded a neurodigergent actor, who was diagnosed with sensory and learning disorders, more than $55,000 after finding that a Kelowna theatre company discriminated against him because of his disabilities.
Who's responsible for regulating cannabis stores operating under the sovereignty banner?
It's not quite clear who is supposed to be regulating so-called sovereign cannabis stores or even ensure they're benefiting Indigenous communities.