National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Fairy Creek activists have been dealt a blow after a court decision Wednesday upheld a logging company’s bid for an ongoing order to halt contentious old-growth blockades on southern Vancouver Island.
Continue reading Teal Jones wins court appeal to extend injunction against Fairy Creek old-growth blockadeNational Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Fairy Creek old-growth blockade is heading into winter hibernation mode but the search remains ongoing for two activists missing in the remote region on southeast Vancouver Island.
The Rainforest Flying Squad — the grassroots coalition behind the old-growth blockades — recently broke down the last of its publicly accessible camps due to extreme winter conditions.
Continue reading Hibernation hits Fairy Creek blockade camps, but hunt continues for missing defendersIt has been a week since the Federal Court of Canada condemned RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki for her failure to respond to the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC). The case revolved around an interim report from 2017, but in her Judgement and Reasons Associate Chief Justice Jocelyne Gagné pointed to numerous other cases where the RCMP had acted in the same manner.
“It is in the public interest to have a police oversight institution that functions properly and is unobstructed.” she wrote.
One of the organizations applauding the Court’s Decision to hold the police accountable is the Union of BC Indian Chiefs.
Continue reading Grand Chief Stewart Phillip: Why the RCMP must be accountableRoadside, one of the last remaining Forest Defender camps at Fairy Creek, officially closed down yesterday. In the end, it was severe weather rather than police actions that brought this about.
An unknown number of Indigenous folks remain at a nearby watch camp.
Continue reading Fairy Creek: Roadside camp closes down; Elder Bill Jones given environmental award
National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A notorious West Coast poacher is banned from stepping aboard a fishing vessel for life after he was convicted of harvesting crabs under the cover of darkness and leading enforcement officers on a dangerous high-speed pursuit.
Scott Stanley Matthew Steer, a repeat offender under Canada’s Fisheries Act, was recently sentenced to a lifetime fishing ban and prohibited from being on board any fishing boat by a B.C. Supreme Court Judge after being convicted of five offences.
Continue reading West Coast poacher gets lifetime ban for fisheries violations
