{"id":44129,"date":"2021-03-05T18:36:12","date_gmt":"2021-03-05T23:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/?p=44129"},"modified":"2021-03-12T15:15:00","modified_gmt":"2021-03-12T20:15:00","slug":"campbell-rivers-staggered-protest-against-bcs-old-growth-logging-practises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/campbell-rivers-staggered-protest-against-bcs-old-growth-logging-practises\/","title":{"rendered":"Campbell River’s staggered protest against BC’s old growth logging practises"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Roy L Hales<\/p>\n

There was a staggered protest against BC\u2019s\u00a0old growth<\/a>\u00a0logging practises in front of\u00a0MLA Michele Babchuk<\/a>\u2019s office in Campbell River<\/a>\u00a0yesterday.<\/p>\n

Between fifteen and twenty people, many of them members of\u00a0Sierra Quadra<\/a>\u00a0or the Campbell River Chapter of the\u00a0Council of Canadians<\/a>, came out in the wind and rain.<\/p>\n

To conform to COVID-19<\/a> regulations, the protesters came in shifts of no more than six at a time.<\/p>\n

One of the organizers,\u00a0Geraldine Kenny<\/a>, explained that the protest began at 10 a.m. and there was supposed to be a shift change every hour.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>

Click on illustration above to access the report. Photo courtesy of the BC Government.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cYou showed up when you could and left when you were cold wet and miserable,\" said fellow\u00a0Quadra Island<\/a>\u00a0resident\u00a0Rod Burns.<\/a><\/p>\n

Burns stayed for an hour and a half, then left at 1:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Given that there were '40 knot winds coming down the channel, and heavy periods of rain, he said he would not be surprised if people left before the 5 p.m. finish time.<\/p>\n

When asked what the protest accomplished, Burns said, \u201cif one honk is worth a thousand votes, we got a lot of votes today.<\/p>\n

In particular, he mentioned a woman who came over to just say \u201cthank-you, so very much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kenny pointed out that while the provinces\u00a0Old Growth Strategic Review and Public Enquiry report\u00a0<\/a>was published last September, none of the recommendations have been implemented.<\/p>\n

She mentioned the\u00a0logging blockade at Fairy Creek<\/a>, near Port Renfrew.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese cedars are as old as Magna Carta. They are the legacy of nature at work. To cut them down is, in my opinion, ecocide. That our government permits \u2014 not only permits, but actively promotes \u2014 the industrial destruction of our old growth forest, in my mind, is a criminal activity,\u201d said Kenny.<\/p>\n

Burns added that dozens, possibly hundreds, of people have been manning the anti-old growth logging blockades for five or six months \u201cin the snow, the wind, the rain, the miserableness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neither of them were aware that the BC Supreme Court has just granted a three week reprieve for their colleagues attempting to stop forestry company\u00a0Teal Jones<\/a>\u00a0from obtaining to injunction to remove the blockades at Fairy Creek, near Port Renfrew.<\/p>\n

The defence team are seeking more time to assemble materials.<\/p>\n

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Power<\/a> said that as the blockade started last August, she did not think the delay would be problematic.<\/p>\n

The hearing is now scheduled to begin on March 25, and conclude the following day.<\/p>\n

\"Four<\/a>

Protesters in front of MLA Michele Babchuk's office on March 4. They staged demonstrations against BC's old growth logging practises in Campbell River. Photo courtesy of Geraldine Kenny.<\/p><\/div>\n

Kenny said that when she and the protesters assembled outside Babchuk\u2019s office, the door was locked.<\/p>\n

After our interview, she emailed, \u201cthe ONLY, the ONLY storefront in Campbell River that locked its doors to people was\/is my elected representative in the Legislature in Victoria. The MLA is my representative in parliament, I am her constituent and I am banned from visiting her office!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am outraged, memories of the GDR (formerly East Germany) flooded my mind\u2026\u2026I am shut out of THIS, HORGAN\u2019S pathetic attempt at democracy,\" she continued. \"Folks, wake up this is a very dangerous situation, this is our government\u2019s elected official\u2019s abdication of their responsibilities towards the electorate. I am contacting Civil Liberties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other protests are being held around the province.<\/p>\n

Megan Ardyche participated in the Campbell River event and is one of the organizers for a protest in Comox today (March 5).<\/p>\n

Kenny mentioned a province wide Ancient forest protest planned for March 19.<\/p>\n

This program was published March 5 and some edits made March 6, 2021.<\/em><\/p>\n

Links of interest<\/h2>\n