PORT RENFREW, BC – The RCMP’s enforcement of a BC Supreme Court injunction against blockades established to prevent the cutting of old trees on Vancouver Island continued this weekend.
The Mounties say they arrested 20 people on Friday, who were released in Lake Cowichan, while seven people arrested on Saturday were released in Port Renfrew.
They say officers have made 989 arrests since law enforcement began in the Fairy Creek watershed, including 110 people who have been arrested more than once.
They say police took one of the protesters to a waiting ambulance after the person fell down a ravine and injured his head around 1:15 a.m. Saturday.
Later that day, police say they took people out of a few small camps.
They say the improved night patrols would continue on Sunday.
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The British Columbia government approved the request of three First Nations from Vancouver Island to temporarily defer the felling of ancient trees on some 2,000 hectares in the Fairy Creek and central Walbran areas this summer, but protests have continued.
Mature forests outside the deferred areas are still at risk of logging, said members of the protest group dubbed the Rainforest Flying Squad.
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Ancient tree felling protests in BC have political impact, says UBC expert
Since May, the RCMP has been enforcing the court order issued to the Teal-Jones Group, the forestry company that holds the logging license in the area.
The court order will expire later this month and court hearings are scheduled in Nanaimo this week on a Teal-Jones request for a one-year extension.
© 2021 The Canadian Press
Reference-globalnews.ca