5 arrested in Fairy Creek
Jeff Bell / Times Colonist – June 29, 2022 / 17:35 | History: 373579
Photo:.
An old forest at the top of the Fairy Creek watershed near Port Renfrew last summer. Norman Galimsky
Four women and one man were arrested on Wednesday as the RCMP imposed a restraining order against protesters in old trees near Lake Kouichan.
One of the women and the man refused to identify themselves, and two of the women are recidivists, police said.
The area was the site of a previous blockade and was reoccupied this month by people who opposed forest operations in the Fairy Creek area.
The camp is in the traditional territory of Ditidaht, and the leaders of the first nations, Ditidah, Huu-ai-aht and Pacheedah, gave the protesters a final request to leave on June 23.
“We have heard the concerns of the affected leaders of the first nations and the RCMP is working with all stakeholders to find a peaceful solution,” the RCMP chief aide said. John Brewer. “Interference with the lawful use and use of property is a criminal offense, and obstruction of access to forest roads is a clear violation of a court order issued to Teal-Cedar Products Ltd.”
Officers were sent to the Hadan / Karmana main forest roads area on Wednesday, and anyone found to be in breach of the order is subject to arrest, police said.
Brewer said police had to remove “huge amounts of garbage, debris and harmful chemicals” from the camp, something they had seen in other protest camps in the area over the past year. “The environmental damage they have caused to the earth is appalling.”
Patrols in the area will continue, police said.
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