VICTORIA — All sides in the old-growth logging dispute dug in deeper Wednesday after a British Columbia Supreme Court judge refused to extend an injunction against protest blockades on southern Vancouver Island
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Forest company Teal Cedar Products Ltd. said in a statement it intends to appeal Justice Douglas Thompson's decision from Tuesday.
Luke Wallace, a spokesman for the protest group Rainforest Flying Squad, said supporters will stay put at blockade camps at Fairy Creek, a remote area north of Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island.
"Teal Jones still has every intent of logging all the remaining old growth in that valley and the surrounding valleys, and so we will be present on that land until the reality is changed," Wallace said in an interview. "Until those forests are no longer under threat of deforestation."
The B.C. government said in a statement it will not comment on matters that could still be before the courts.
Thompson's ruling immediately lifted the injunction that had been in place since April. He said the RCMP's enforcement of the court order led to serious and substantial infringement of civil liberties.
Teal Cedar and the RCMP asked the court to spend more of its "reputational capital" by granting the extension that would keep protesters at bay who may, or may not, be in breach of the injunction, the judge said in his decision.
There have been more than 1,000 arrests at Fairy Creek since the original injunction went into effect.
Teal Jones said it will continue to legally log in its Tree Farm licence 46 area and will report any alleged illegal activity to the RCMP.
Teal Jones was disappointed by Tuesday's B.C. Supreme Court decision, it said in a statement announcing the appeal.
"To do otherwise would be to allow anarchy to reign over civil society, and for misinformation campaigns to win over fact."
The company also said if it cannot continue its work, it may be forced to lay off employees and shut down mills.
In his decision, Thompson urged the B.C. government to consider further options to address the dispute beyond the injunction, including using criminal or provincial laws or even changing the laws.
B.C.'s Ministry of Attorney General said in the statement it was reviewing the decision.
Provincial Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau said she will push the New Democrat government to live up to its promises to resolve old-growth logging issues when the legislature resumes sitting next week.
"Absolutely, we will be once again asking this government why they are not taking their responsibility seriously, particularly now a judge of the B.C. Supreme Court has made it abundantly clear that it is the job of the government to address this," she said.
The province approved the request this year of three Vancouver Island First Nations to temporarily defer old-growth logging across about 2,000 hectares in the Fairy Creek and central Walbran areas, but protests continued.
The Rainforest Flying Squad said the old-growth forests outside of the deferred areas are still at risk of being logged.
"We are still in Fairy Creek and the surrounding old-growth forests and protecting those forests until the government puts them under permanent protection," said Wallace.
At the earlier hearing in Nanaimo, B.C., on the injunction request this month, lawyers representing the protesters said people from all walks of life with environmental concerns were being treated like terrorists.
Thompson's ruling said the RCMP acted with "reasonable force" during much of the injunction period, but some video evidence presented showed "disquieting lapses in reasonable judgment."
He cites video evidence showing police pulling off COVID-19 masks worn by protesters before dousing them with pepper spray.
National Police Federation president Brian Sauvé says in a statement the officers who enforced the injunction against blockades were "the thin blue line between order and chaos."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2021.
Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press
Forest company Teal Cedar Products Ltd. said in a statement it intends to appeal Justice Douglas Thompson's decision from Tuesday.
Luke Wallace, a spokesman for the protest group Rainforest Flying Squad, said supporters will stay put at blockade camps at Fairy Creek, a remote area north of Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island.
"Teal Jones still has every intent of logging all the remaining old growth in that valley and the surrounding valleys, and so we will be present on that land until the reality is changed," Wallace said in an interview. "Until those forests are no longer under threat of deforestation."
The B.C. government said in a statement it will not comment on matters that could still be before the courts.
Thompson's ruling immediately lifted the injunction that had been in place since April. He said the RCMP's enforcement of the court order led to serious and substantial infringement of civil liberties.
Teal Cedar and the RCMP asked the court to spend more of its "reputational capital" by granting the extension that would keep protesters at bay who may, or may not, be in breach of the injunction, the judge said in his decision.
There have been more than 1,000 arrests at Fairy Creek since the original injunction went into effect.
Teal Jones said it will continue to legally log in its Tree Farm licence 46 area and will report any alleged illegal activity to the RCMP.
Teal Jones was disappointed by Tuesday's B.C. Supreme Court decision, it said in a statement announcing the appeal.
"To do otherwise would be to allow anarchy to reign over civil society, and for misinformation campaigns to win over fact."
The company also said if it cannot continue its work, it may be forced to lay off employees and shut down mills.
In his decision, Thompson urged the B.C. government to consider further options to address the dispute beyond the injunction, including using criminal or provincial laws or even changing the laws.
B.C.'s Ministry of Attorney General said in the statement it was reviewing the decision.
Provincial Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau said she will push the New Democrat government to live up to its promises to resolve old-growth logging issues when the legislature resumes sitting next week.
"Absolutely, we will be once again asking this government why they are not taking their responsibility seriously, particularly now a judge of the B.C. Supreme Court has made it abundantly clear that it is the job of the government to address this," she said.
The province approved the request this year of three Vancouver Island First Nations to temporarily defer old-growth logging across about 2,000 hectares in the Fairy Creek and central Walbran areas, but protests continued.
The Rainforest Flying Squad said the old-growth forests outside of the deferred areas are still at risk of being logged.
"We are still in Fairy Creek and the surrounding old-growth forests and protecting those forests until the government puts them under permanent protection," said Wallace.
At the earlier hearing in Nanaimo, B.C., on the injunction request this month, lawyers representing the protesters said people from all walks of life with environmental concerns were being treated like terrorists.
Thompson's ruling said the RCMP acted with "reasonable force" during much of the injunction period, but some video evidence presented showed "disquieting lapses in reasonable judgment."
He cites video evidence showing police pulling off COVID-19 masks worn by protesters before dousing them with pepper spray.
National Police Federation president Brian Sauvé says in a statement the officers who enforced the injunction against blockades were "the thin blue line between order and chaos."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2021.
Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press
Canada: win for anti-logging protesters as judge denies firm’s injunction bid
Judge blocks Teal Cedar Products’ extension request and says police conduct on Vancouver Island has put court at risk
Judge blocks Teal Cedar Products’ extension request and says police conduct on Vancouver Island has put court at risk
For nearly six months, activists have set up blockades to prevent the logging of old growth forests in the Fairy Creek watershed on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island.
Photograph: Jennifer Osborne/Reuters
Supported by
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Leyland Cecco in Toronto
Wed 29 Sep 2021
A provincial court in Canada has refused to extend an injunction against protesters demonstrating against old-growth logging, ruling that police conduct has been so troubling that to extend the order would place the court’s own reputation at risk.
For nearly six months, activists have set up blockades to prevent the logging of old growth forests in the Fairy Creek watershed on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island. More than 1,100 people have been arrested as part of the largest act of civil disobedience in recent Canadian history.
Teal Cedar Products had since April used an injunction to stop protesters from interfering with the company’s road construction and harvesting operations. But Teal’s application to have the injunction extended for another year was rejected on Tuesday by the British Columbia supreme court.
“[The] methods of enforcement of the court’s order have led to serious and substantial infringement of civil liberties, including impairment of the freedom of the press to a marked degree,” Justice Douglas Thompson wrote in his judgment released late Tuesday.
The judge acknowledged that the behavior of protesters has become “more extreme over time”– such as locking their bodies to the logging road – but officers with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have responded by beating, dragging and pepper-spraying demonstrators.
Thompson said the police showed a “disquieting lapse” in the reasonable use of force.
“One series of images shows a police officer repeatedly pulling Covid masks off protesters’ faces while pepper spray was about to be employed,” he wrote.
“Another shows a police officer grabbing a guitar from a protester and flinging it to the ground, where another officer stomped on it and kicked what was left of it to the side of the road.”
Thompson also criticized a number of officers wearing “thin blue line” patches, obscuring their faces, not wearing name badges – and for their attempts to bar media from reporting on the long-running protests.
“All of this has been done in the name of enforcing this court’s order, adding to the already substantial risk to the court’s reputation whenever an injunction pulls the court into this type of dispute between citizens and the government,” he wrote. He also said media access to the area has been “improperly constrained” by police.
‘War in the woods’: hundreds of anti-logging protesters arrested in Canada
In determining whether to renew the injunction, Thompson was asked to look at the irreparable harm to the logging company’s business from protests – and the public interest.
Activist groups had previously called on the courts to recognize the value of the ancient forests when determining the public interest.
Thompson admitted that while “a powerful case might be made” for protecting towering western red cedar, Douglas fir and Sitka spruce, any ruling on that issue was likely outside of the court’s constitutional role.
While the injunction has been heralded as a win for activists, police will still have the power to arrest protestors at the blockades. Teal Cedar said it was reviewing the decision.
Supported by
Leyland Cecco in Toronto
Wed 29 Sep 2021
A provincial court in Canada has refused to extend an injunction against protesters demonstrating against old-growth logging, ruling that police conduct has been so troubling that to extend the order would place the court’s own reputation at risk.
For nearly six months, activists have set up blockades to prevent the logging of old growth forests in the Fairy Creek watershed on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island. More than 1,100 people have been arrested as part of the largest act of civil disobedience in recent Canadian history.
Teal Cedar Products had since April used an injunction to stop protesters from interfering with the company’s road construction and harvesting operations. But Teal’s application to have the injunction extended for another year was rejected on Tuesday by the British Columbia supreme court.
“[The] methods of enforcement of the court’s order have led to serious and substantial infringement of civil liberties, including impairment of the freedom of the press to a marked degree,” Justice Douglas Thompson wrote in his judgment released late Tuesday.
The judge acknowledged that the behavior of protesters has become “more extreme over time”– such as locking their bodies to the logging road – but officers with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have responded by beating, dragging and pepper-spraying demonstrators.
Thompson said the police showed a “disquieting lapse” in the reasonable use of force.
“One series of images shows a police officer repeatedly pulling Covid masks off protesters’ faces while pepper spray was about to be employed,” he wrote.
“Another shows a police officer grabbing a guitar from a protester and flinging it to the ground, where another officer stomped on it and kicked what was left of it to the side of the road.”
Thompson also criticized a number of officers wearing “thin blue line” patches, obscuring their faces, not wearing name badges – and for their attempts to bar media from reporting on the long-running protests.
“All of this has been done in the name of enforcing this court’s order, adding to the already substantial risk to the court’s reputation whenever an injunction pulls the court into this type of dispute between citizens and the government,” he wrote. He also said media access to the area has been “improperly constrained” by police.
‘War in the woods’: hundreds of anti-logging protesters arrested in Canada
In determining whether to renew the injunction, Thompson was asked to look at the irreparable harm to the logging company’s business from protests – and the public interest.
Activist groups had previously called on the courts to recognize the value of the ancient forests when determining the public interest.
Thompson admitted that while “a powerful case might be made” for protecting towering western red cedar, Douglas fir and Sitka spruce, any ruling on that issue was likely outside of the court’s constitutional role.
While the injunction has been heralded as a win for activists, police will still have the power to arrest protestors at the blockades. Teal Cedar said it was reviewing the decision.
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