Back in December 2021 a significant upgrade was taking place at the Gorge Harbour log dump (East end of the harbour). Heavy equipment had been brought in; grading and filling were in progress and some trees had been cut to widen the access road.
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Cortes at Fairy Creek: In Their Own Words
[From the Archives: A series of programs originally broadcast daily between Dec 13 and 17, 2021]
I mean, I’ve been in cut blocks quite a lot before, I’ve been around that sort of stuff quite a lot, but I’ve never seen it the way I did when I was at Fairy Creek, you know, feeling the misery of the land and the devastation there, like on a very personal level.
— Dani
Most people are probably aware of the protest and blockade at Fairy Creek on Vancouver island. For over a year, forest defenders have blocked a logging road to prevent logging company Teal Jones from cutting intact old growth areas. For this special feature. I did a little oral history with seven local people who went to Fairy Creek to join that blockade.
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Update From Fairy Creek: interview with Kathleen Code
[Kathleen Code is is a spokesperson for the Rainforest Flying Squad and other land defenders attempting to protect old growth areas at Fairy Creek. She founded the legal team, and is also a member of their media team. Since joining the effort in August, 2020, she’s worked closely with elder Bill Jones to understand the situation of the Pacheedaht First Nation, in particular their interactions with industrial forest company Teal Jones and the NDP government. I interviewed Kathy on December 3rd 2021, asking her for an update to round out the “Cortes At Fairy Creek” story. This is a lightly edited transcript of that interview.]
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Fairy Creek and Lyell Island: Policing Then & Now
When Justice Douglas Thompson refused to extend an injunction against old-growth defenders blocking a logging road at Fairy Creek on Vancouver Island, his decision made headlines around the world.
Justice Thompson referred explicitly in his decision to “enforcement […] carried out by police officers rendered anonymous to the protesters, many of those police officers wearing ‘thin blue line’ badges.” The significance of this language may not be clear to every reader; but the judge’s reasoning was important — to more than just the struggle over the fate of the pathetic remnants (one or two percent) of BC’s old-growth forests.
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SRD vs Anderson: Zoning Compliance Issue
On January 26th 2021, Currents reported on continuing friction between the SRD Board and our elected representative Noba Anderson. Readers may recall that SRD had filed a petition against Anderson and her land partners after a bylaw compliance complaint against their Cortes Island property. Legal documents pertaining to this case are now publicly available, and Currents is able to report in further detail.
Why should Cortes Islanders care about a private legal dispute? Because this litigation has implications and consequences for all Area B residents. If SRD succeeds in court, it could set a precedent instantly rendering many Cortes properties non-compliant which have previously been legal. SRD has re-interpreted the language of the zoning bylaw in a new way, outside the traditional understanding of the community and of SRD’s own planners.
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