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
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire' are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Early results from London, U.K., suggest Labour's Sadiq Khan will secure a record third term as mayor
Sadiq Khan, the Labour Party's mayor of London, appeared Saturday to be romping to victory as results from the capital pour in.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.