Second judge to consider stay application for B.C. old-growth logging protesters
A judge hearing a request to stay proceedings against people arrested at old-growth logging protests on Vancouver Island says the application has a reasonable prospect of success, but he wants another judge to consider it with “fresh eyes.”
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Douglas Thompson says he has asked the chief justice to assign a second judge to hear the protesters' application, which alleges misconduct by the RCMP during arrests where about 400 people were charged with criminal contempt.
Over 1,100 people have been arrested since the injunction against blockades in the Fairy Creek watershed northwest of Victoria was granted last year to logging company Teal Cedar Products Ltd.
Six protesters were part of the application, but the Crown has since stayed charges against two women who also alleged abuse of process by officers who they said used unlawful tactics to arrest them.
In separate proceedings heard by Thompson, some people who pleaded guilty to contempt of court have been sentenced to up to seven days in jail or a $500 fine and 50 hours of community service.
Other protesters' trials were expected to start next month, and while Thompson says he will manage those cases, some of the protesters may choose to apply to adjourn proceedings and join the stay application.
Karen Mirsky, who has one client applying for a stay, says she represents about 25 others making similar allegations and that many of them are expected to join the stay application.
“We are holding back to find out if we could go ahead in this way,” she says of the potential for the case to move ahead depending on the new judge's decision.
Mirsky says it's reasonable for Thompson to pass the stay-application case to a second judge as he manages the trials of others charged for allegedly violating the injunction order.
She says the high number of arrests at the protests involved the largest-such police operation in Canadian history.
The Crown had argued the stay application had no grounds to proceed because some of the applicants were relying on accounts of others who alleged mistreatment by police.
A spokesman for the Crown did not wish to comment on Thompson's decision.
Thompson says he anticipates a new judge will hold a pre-hearing conference to get advice before lawyers for protesters and the Crown are told when the stay application will be heard.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Range of Iranian targets 'on the table' following attacks: Israeli ambassador
Israel's ambassador to Canada says the international community needs to send a 'concise, concentrated, focused message to the Iranian regime,' following attacks on Israel Tuesday.
Iran fires at least 180 missiles into Israel as regionwide conflict grows
Iran launched at least 180 missiles into Israel on Tuesday, the latest in a series of escalating attacks in a yearslong conflict between Israel and Iran and its Arab allies that threatens to push the Middle East closer toward a regionwide war.
Where to watch the vice-presidential debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz
Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz are set to go face to face tonight for the first and only planned vice-presidential debate of this U.S. election cycle. Watch the debate live on CTVNews.ca along with real-time commentary and analysis from journalists and experts.
Trudeau government survives another Conservative-led non-confidence vote
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government survived another Conservative-led non-confidence vote on Tuesday, the second in less than a week. This, the same day the Bloc Quebecois had an opportunity to table a non-confidence motion of its own, opting instead to push the Liberals to support one of its key demands.
13-year-old girl charged in deadly stabbing of 7-year-old sister after argument
A 13-year-old girl has been charged with allegedly murdering her s-year-old sister in Taylor over the weekend.
Man 'precariously hanging in some shrubs' rescued off side of B.C. mountain
A small bush on a ledge appears to have "miraculously" saved the life of a climber who fell down the steep slope of a mountain, according to B.C. search and rescue crews.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith comes under fire for comments about chemtrails
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's office says her recent comment about chemtrails doesn't mean she believes the United States government is spraying them in the province.
Community mourns Ontario man killed in collision with unmarked OPP vehicle
Tributes have started pouring in for a Midland, Ont. man who died after reportedly being struck by an unmarked provincial police vehicle over the weekend.
Canada condemns Iran's strikes on Israel, reiterates calls for ceasefire
As war spread in the Middle East on Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly 'unequivocally' condemned Iran's move to fire dozens of missiles into Israel and called for no further escalation in the war from all sides.