Two protesters who were arrested during a sit-in at the Department of Lands and Forestry offices in Halifax last November were cleared of charges under the Property Protection Act.
Eleanor Kure and Kevin Smith were physically removed by Halifax Regional Police officers on November 24, 2020, and fined. Tickets carried a fine of $ 227.41 each.
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“I’m happy of course,” Kure said. “It is written in the law. It is a bit shocking that they accuse us of a law that says it is a right to protest ”.
The two were part of a group of protesters who had gathered at the Land and Forest office on Hollis Street. At the time Kure told Global News, the sit-in was organized in solidarity with a group of Extinction Rebellion members, who were blocking sections of the forest in Digby County to prevent logging.
The group had sent a letter to then-Forestry Minister Derek Mombourquette outlining the dangers to endangered moose habitats in Nova Scotia. The group did not receive a response from the minister, and Kure said he had shown up at the office that November day to demand a meeting with him.
“Once you start paying attention, it’s very easy to go. ‘This is not right,’ ”Kure said Monday, describing why he got involved.
“I went in there with some friends and I said, ‘I’m going to sit down, I’m going to be polite, I’m going to be calm.’
Kure said that she and the other protesters adhered to COVID-19 protocols by wearing masks, using disinfectant, and staying separate.
She and Smith were eventually “taken off the premises by police after they were warned that this would occur if they continued to refuse to leave,” according to the court decision.
In her decision, Judge Debbi Bowes stated that the defendants were “clearly involved in protesting the government’s actions regarding development and species at risk.”
“Their refusal to leave the office when requested during normal business hours was a form of that protest,” he wrote.
“I find that the defendant Kure believed they were legally justified in protesting their common discontent, as previous requests had failed in their opinion. Ms. Kure stated that she believed that she had the right to “freedom of expression” guaranteed by the Letter. I find on a balance of probabilities that Ms Kure, a credible witness, reasonably believed that she had a legal justification for protesting in the Minister’s Department. “
While Kure is happy with the decision, which was published on November 21 this year, she is also aware that the fight to protect important habitat lands is not over.
During the sit-in, protesters called on the province to adopt sustainable forestry practices, such as reduced logging on Crown land.
Specifically, Extinction Rebellion members were blocking sections of the forest near Rocky Point Lake in Digby County.
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Kure said the land has since been cleared.
“There are many people who are very unhappy with the way the provincial government is moving forward and continues to ruin the forests here and not paying enough attention because we are in a climate and biodiversity crisis,” he said.
“Meanwhile, they keep cutting and … it’s so painfully obvious that they’re dragging their feet.”
She and others are now focused on protecting a forest near Beal’s Brook, west of Hwy 10 in Annapolis County. The site is an important habitat for elk and protesters are calling for it to be protected from logging.
Kure said that it is vital that the Lahey Report is implemented, because otherwise it is just “smoke and mirrors”. The report is an independent study of forestry practices in NS, conducted in 2018.
“By the time they implement the Lahey Report, there is nothing left to protect.”
– With a file from Karla Renic
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Reference-globalnews.ca