Friday June 18, 2021 | VICTORIA, BC
by Jalen C Codrington | Island Social Trends
Today three protestors chained themselves to the doors of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy in downtown Victoria.
“We are locking ourselves to the doors of the Ministry of Environment building today to protest the use of the RCMP as violent private security for the forest industry paid for by taxpayer dollars,” they wrote in a statement.
The event organizers describe themselves as three women – all cancer-survivors in their 40s to 60s.
“We are sickened by this deployment of RCMP—especially super-militarized units and their targeting of Indigenous people—against nonviolent, unarmed humans doing the job the premier promised to do: protect old growth forests.”
Their one demand is that “George Heyman, as Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, stand up and demand that Premier John Horgan protect all of the very very last of BC’s ancient forests, or resign.”
Event organizers describe the event as “powerful”. No one was arrested.
Where this fits in:
Despite the announcement of a two-year deferral on old-growth logging in the regions — requested by the Huu-ay-aht, Ditidaht, and Pacheedaht First Nations and approved by the provincial government on June 9 — demonstrators say there are still important old-growth ecosystems at risk.
Activists have been pushing to save the old-growth forests in the Fairy Creek, Caycuse, and Walbran regions since last summer. Recently, Mark Ruffalo, David Suzuki, Margaret Atwood, and numerous other celebrities have added their support to the protests.
Over 230 people have been arrested for violating the court-ordered injunction granted to logging company Teal-Jones in April.
What people are calling the “New War in the Woods” presently shows no sign of letting up.
