B.C. judge denies injunction extension over Fairy Creek logging

VICTORIA – A B.C. Supreme Court judge has denied a forest company’s application to extend an injunction against blockades by people opposed to the logging of old-growth trees in the Fairy Creek area of southern Vancouver Island.

Justice Douglas Thompson says in a written decision the factors in favour of extending the injunction do not outweigh the public interest in protecting the court’s reputation.

Thompson’s ruling included lifting the injunction Tuesday afternoon.

There have been more than 1,000 arrests at Fairy Creek since the original injunction went into effect in April.

Forest company Teal Cedar Products Ltd. applied for a one-year extension of the injunction during court hearings in Nanaimo earlier this month, arguing protests were impeding the company’s legal rights to harvest timber.

During the Nanaimo hearings, the court heard from lawyers representing the protesters who argued that people from all walks of life with environmental concerns are being treated like terrorists by police and the company.