THE LAW OF PRIVATE PROPERTY

Uphold the law: forestry firm

B.C. forest company says rule of law must apply to ongoing protests at Fairy Creek

The Canadian Press - Nov 15, 2021 / 2:38 pm | Story: 351652

Photo: The Canadian Press

Elders for Ancient Forests along with people declaring themselves "land defenders" take part in a peace circle along a logging road in the Fairy Creek logging area near Port Renfrew, B.C. on October 5, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

A lawyer for a British Columbia forest company says it wants the court to defend the rule of law at a protest site on southern Vancouver Island where more than 1,100 people have been arrested during ongoing old-growth logging protests.

Lawyer Dean Dalke, representing Teal Cedar Products Ltd., told a B.C. Appeal Court panel that the company has been the victim of an unlawful, highly organized protest campaign to disrupt its legal timber rights in the area.

The company is appealing a decision from a B.C. Supreme Court judge in September that denied the company's application to extend a court injunction against protest blockades for another year.

However, the injunction remains in place after Justice Sunni Stromberg-Stein granted a temporary stay last month in order to allow Teal Cedar to appeal the lower court decision.

Lawyers for the protesters, known as the Rainforest Flying Squad, are scheduled to present their arguments in court Tuesday.

Dalke says the lower court judge placed too much weight on the reputation of the court and not enough on upholding the rule of law.