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
BREAKING Quebec judge orders bus driver to stand trial for 2023 daycare crash deaths
A judge has ordered a Quebec man to stand trial on charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of two children killed when a bus rammed into a Montreal-area daycare last year.
Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
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.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for 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.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
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.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.