Updated, Sunday, May 23, 2021: A further 14 anti-logging protesters in the Fairy Creek watershed were arrested after they occupied a police checkpoint Saturday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, six people were arrested at an encampment area near Port Renfrew for breaching the B.C. Supreme Court injunction order.
According to Sgt. Chris Manseau, a media relations officer with the RCMP, a group numbering between 50 and 100 people arrived at the McClure Forest Service Road checkpoint and asked police for permission to perform a ceremony at a location beyond the temporary access control area.
They promised that they would return, they were allowed to proceed.
After the ceremony the group stopped at the checkpoint and refused to leave, blocking traffic in both directions.
The court-ordered injunction was read to the group and they were provided with an opportunity to leave peacefully or face arrest.
About 14 individuals were subsequently arrested. They were transported to the Lake Cowichan RCMP Detachment for processing.
At this point, 59 people have been arrested in total, 47 for breaching the injunction and 12 for obstruction.
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Saturday, May 22, 2021
Seven protesters, including a man wearing a bear costume, were arrested by RCMP enforcing an injunction order in the Fairy Creek watershed on Saturday. Later in the day, a group of between 50 and 100 people began occupying a police checkpoint.
The anti-logging protesters have been trying to stop the logging of old-growth trees in the Port Renfrew and Lake Cowichan areas since August 2020.
They have set up a number of blockades of logging roads in the area.
In April the B.C. Supreme Court granted Teal Cedar Products an injunction to clear the roads and gain access to the site.
RCMP began enforcing the court injunction on Monday by establishing a temporary access control area with a checkpoint at McClure Forest Service Road.
The first arrests of people blocking the road took place on Tuesday. Police have arrested 33 people with a majority for breaching the injunction.
Of those arrested, five have also been charged with obstruction, two for possession of stolen property and one for obstruction and assaulting a police officer.
On Saturday, five of the seven activists were arrested at what protesters call Waterfall Camp and two were removed from structures suspended in the trees.
They were removed by a specialized RCMP unit that is usually deployed in high-angle rescue situations.
All of the people arrested were transported to the Lake Cowichan RCMP detachment for processing and to court in Nanaimo.
On Saturday afternoon a group of between 50 and 100 people indicated to police that they wished to perform a ceremony a distance past the RCMP’s McClure Forest Service Road checkpoint.
After the ceremony, the group indicated that they did not want to leave and are blocking the road.
No arrests have been made.
“We are monitoring and assessing the situation and industry are using alternate routes at this time,” said Cpl. Chris Manseau, a media relations officer with the RCMP.
