A group of seniors opposed to old-growth logging is asking the courts to consider the public interest when deciding whether to grant an extension to an injunction that has resulted in more than 800 arrests on logging roads near Port Renfrew.
The injunction granted to Surrey-based forestry company Teal-Jones Group on April 1 prohibits anyone from blocking access to roads and interfering with work by the company in a large area of southwestern Vancouver Island, where Teal-Jones has logging rights. Teal-Jones has applied in B.C.’s Supreme Court to extend the injunction for a year past its expiry date on Sept. 26.
To prevent old-growth logging, protesters have chained themselves to objects, suspended themselves from trees, locked themselves atop tripod structures made of trees and locked limbs into the ground.
The RCMP have made more than 800 arrests since May, in what has become one of the largest acts of civil disobedience in Canada.
Elders for Ancient Trees is arguing that renewing the injunction would do more harm than good to the public, citing the role of old-growth forests in mitigating climate change. It’s asking the court to reject the company’s application on that basis.
The group argues the court must consider the broader public interest, not just the interest of Teal-Jones, when deciding whether to extend the injunction.
“The destruction of old growth contributes to climate change, and we’re at a crisis point with climate change, that the harm done by granting this injunction far outweighs the good,” said Susan Gage, a spokesperson for Elders for Ancient Trees.
The group has hired Victoria lawyers Steven Kelliher and Diane Turner to file a response in court to Teal-Jones’s application for an extension.
“The Court will be invited to conclude that the loss of the old growth stand in Fairy Creek would be a tragic loss to the people of British Columbia and to the world. The Court will also be invited to take judicial notice that for weeks on end, the air in much of British Columbia is smoke-filled and nearly unbreathable; that the Earth’s temperature is rising; and that there is a close connection between state conduct, through its surrogate Teal Cedar and the harms that will be disclosed in evidence,” the response reads.
If successful, the case could change the way courts determine whether to grant an injunction, adding consideration of the public interest to other criteria focused on impacts to the applicant, Gage said.
In a statement Monday, Teal-Jones accused protesters of spreading misinformation and said they are disregarding the wishes of the local First Nations and the court injunction. The Pacheedaht First Nation has deferred logging in a portion of the blockaded area and has asked protesters to leave their territory and allow logging to take place in other areas. Protesters say they have been invited to the area by Pacheedaht elder Bill Jones, who has been a vocal supporter of the blockades.
“Without the injunction, anarchy would reign in TFL [Tree Farm Licence] 46. Teal Cedar is accordingly applying to extend the injunction to ensure the rule of law is respected and that Teal Cedar and all those who depend on the forest for their livelihood can continue their lawful work,” the company said.
A hearing is expected to take place in Nanaimo the week of Sept. 13.
Elders for Ancient Trees and a media coalition previously successfully challenged the RCMP’s attempts to restrict public and media access to the injunction area. Justice Douglas Thomas ruled police had not established that it was reasonably necessary to block access to a wide area and declared the RCMP’s actions “unlawful.”
regan-elliott@timescolonist.com
