British Columbia

Police say arrests continue at B.C. protests against old-growth logging on Vancouver Island

A total of 158 people have now been arrested since RCMP began enforcing a British Columbia court injunction ordering the removal of blockades aimed at preventing old-growth logging on southwestern Vancouver Island.

Demonstrators are building structures and chaining themselves to objects make arrests difficult

Protesters near the Fairy Creek watershed on Vancouver Island where activists are demonstrating against logging old-growth forests. (Kieran Oudshoorn/CBC News )

UPDATE: As of Thursday evening, RCMP say they have arrested 165 people since enforcement of a British Columbia court injunction on southwestern Vancouver Island began.

A total of 158 people have been arrested since RCMP began enforcing a British Columbia court injunction ordering the removal of blockades aimed at preventing old-growth logging on southwestern Vancouver Island, police said Wednesday.

The Mounties say seven people were arrested Wednesday for breaching the injunction after officers found a large group blocking both directions of a forestry road in the Braden Creek area near Port Renfrew.

The injunction is to allow workers with the Teal-Jones Group to resume logging in that area and in the Fairy Creek watershed to the south.

Activists say very little of the best old-growth forest remains in B.C.

They say Fairy Creek is the last unprotected, intact old-growth valley on southern Vancouver Island.

Teal-Jones has said it plans to harvest about 20 hectares at the north ridge of the 1,200-hectare watershed out of 200 available for harvest.

WATCH | Protesters camp out in trees, chain themselves to objects:

Protesters chain themselves up to protest old-growth forest logging

3 years ago
Duration 2:12
Protesters are camping out in trees and chaining themselves to whatever they can to continue to fight against the logging of old-growth forests in Fairy Creek on Vancouver Island.