Fairy Creek's old-growth logging protests injunction remains temporarily: judge
A court injunction against old-growth logging protests on Vancouver Island will remain in effect beyond its expiry date later this month at least temporarily, says a judge who will rule on its future.
British Columbia forestry company Teal Cedar Products Ltd. was in court this week applying for a one-year extension to the injunction, which was set to expire on Sept. 26.
But Justice Douglas Thompson said Friday it will be a matter of weeks before he provides his written decision on the request for an extension.
“It's a difficult decision,” he said at the conclusion of four days of hearings in B.C. Supreme Court. “I frankly don't know what I'm going to do at this point in time. It will probably be a matter of weeks.”
About 1,000 people have been arrested in the Fairy Creek area north of Port Renfrew since the RCMP started to enforce a B.C. Supreme Court injunction in May.
Teal Cedar lawyer Dean Dalke said the court has heard in submissions that public opinion favours stopping old-growth logging.
“But this is a court of law, not of public opinion,” he said.
He said not extending the injunction would be seen to condone the protests.
“The worst thing that could happen for the injunction is for it to lapse even for a day,” said Dalke, who told the court the blockades are impeding the company's legal rights to harvest timber.
Lawyers for a half dozen protesters disagreed with Dalke, arguing in favour of denying the injunction extension. They proposed allowing the injunction to expire and entering into a mediation process to resolve the issues of protecting ancient forests and logging interests.
Lawyer Steven Kelliher, representing Victoria landscaper Robert (Saul) Arbess, who opposes logging in the Fairy Creek area, said tensions at the blockades are rising and he fears people could get hurt.
“All for what, an injunction that should never have been issued in the first place,” he said.
Lawyer Elisabeth Strain, who showed the court videos of police pulling off the face masks of people at the blockades before dousing them with pepper spray, said the RCMP and the company have sought to “demonize” the protesters.
She said she supports mediation as a way to resolve the ongoing situation at Fairy Creek.
“Everything needs to calm down,” she said. “If the injunction continues and police enforcement continues, it's only going to escalate. The longer it goes the more likely somebody is going to be seriously hurt.”
Earlier Friday, the RCMP told Thompson it needs more powers to search and exclude people from the area.
Federal government lawyer Donnaree Nygard, who represented the RCMP, argued the Mounties also need more space to safely enforce the injunction.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
developing A bus plunges off a bridge in South Africa, killing 45 people. 8-year-old child is only survivor
A bus carrying worshippers headed to an Easter festival plunged off a bridge on a mountain pass and burst into flames in South Africa Thursday, killing at least 45 people, authorities said.
Calgary bridges remain closed due to ongoing police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Kinew, Poilievre meet at Manitoba legislature, discuss each other's priorities
Premier Wab Kinew and federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre met at the Manitoba legislature Thursday afternoon.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.