RCMP make 11 arrests at old-growth logging blockades on Vancouver Island

The letter to the B.C. premier and forests minister was released by the Ancient Forest Alliance and signed by the mayors of Duncan, Port Moody and the Village of Tahsis, along with elected councillors from cities including Vancouver, Nelson, Victoria and Nanaimo.

PORT RENFREW, B.C. -

Another 11 people have been arrested by RCMP enforcing an injunction against blockades set up to prevent old-growth logging on southern Vancouver Island.

The Mounties say several people were found Monday locked down along the Reid Mainline Forest Service Road, off the Braden Mainline area.

Of the 11 arrests, five were for breaching the injunction (civil contempt of court), four for obstruction and two for mischief.

The RCMP say in a statement that protesters breaching the injunction have been putting themselves in increasingly dangerous situations. Two of those arrested on Monday attached themselves in a locking device behind the wheel of a police car in an attempt to prevent it from taking other suspects out of the area. An officer spotted the two before driving off, and removed them from the vehicle.

There have now been 367 arrests since police began enforcing the injunction in May, including at least 26 people who have been arrested more than once.

Last month, the B.C. government approved the request of three Vancouver Island First Nations defer logging of about 2,000 hectares of old-growth forest in the Fairy Creek and central Walbran areas for two years, but the protests are continuing.

Activists with the group dubbed the Rainforest Flying Squad say very little of the best old-growth forest remains in B.C., and the deferrals fall short of protecting what's left.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2021.