{"id":50481,"date":"2021-10-29T14:22:03","date_gmt":"2021-10-29T18:22:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/?p=50481"},"modified":"2021-12-06T06:22:15","modified_gmt":"2021-12-06T11:22:15","slug":"fight-for-the-ancient-trees-police-violence-at-fairy-creek-adaitsx-blockades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/story\/50481\/fight-for-the-ancient-trees-police-violence-at-fairy-creek-adaitsx-blockades\/","title":{"rendered":"Fight for the Ancient Trees: Police Violence at Fairy Creek\/Ada\u2019itsx Blockades"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

* Guest blogger Liz Sparkes is an environmental science student and nature advocate from Vancouver Island<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n

Jump to the ways you can take action for the forest and the land defenders by clicking here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n

With over 1,000 arrests, the Fairy Creek\/Ada\u2019itsx blockades on Southern Vancouver Island are now the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history<\/strong><\/a>. As the efforts to protect the precious few last stands of old growth forest from logging have intensified, so have RCMP enforcement tactics. Land defenders are faced with a difficult choice: stand aside and allow industry to wipe out the irreplaceable ecosystem they have been protecting for nearly two years, or stay and suffer unrelenting violence at the hands of police<\/a><\/strong>. At the time of writing, more than 150 formal complaints have been filed with the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission against the RCMP for their conduct at Fairy Creek.<\/p>\n\n

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Shy-Anne Gunville<\/a> (Strawberry) being arrested at Fairy Creek\/Ada\u2019itsx blockades. Photo by Arvin Dang<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Since the BC court of appeal sided with Teal Jones and reinstated a temporary injunction<\/a><\/strong> on October 8 2021, police have ramped up their efforts to forcibly remove civilians from the area at all costs. And those costs have been high. From the tax-payer dollars funding the RCMP\u2019s assault on citizen\u2019s legal right to peacefully protest, to the medical expenses incurred by unsafe extraction methods, to the thousands of dollars in civilian property police have intentionally damaged, all the way to the yet to be realized costs of mass biodiversity loss<\/a><\/strong>, the BC NDP government will spare no expense while trampling on the rights of Indigenous communities and ignoring the best interests of Canadians in order to cater to industry.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

The Rainforest Flying Squad<\/a>, an Indigenous-led direct action group of volunteers, is the only thing standing in the way as Teal-Jones attempts to log the last stands of globally significant ancient temperate rainforest on Vancouver Island. <\/strong>Speaking to Pacheedaht Elder Bill Jones and Tla\u2019amin Elder Rose Henry, the leaders of the movement to protect the ancient forests of Fairy Creek, is simultaneously heartening and heartbreaking. Both are strong, resolute, and optimistic that the trees can be saved and that peaceful nonviolent actions will achieve that end. On the flip side, both have witnessed and experienced aggressive and violent actions at the hands of the RCMP<\/a><\/strong>. In fact, the targeting of BIPOC land defenders<\/a><\/strong> by the RCMP at Fairy Creek has been documented extensively and was a key element of Justice Thompson\u2019s decision not to extend the injunction<\/a><\/strong>. He stated that the RCMP\u2019s \u201cmethods of enforcement of the court\u2019s order have led to serious and substantial infringement of civil liberties, including impairment of the freedom of the press to a marked degree.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n\n

Unfortunately, now that Justice Thompson\u2019s ruling has been stayed, the violence perpetuated by the RCMP has resumed. <\/p>\n\n

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TELL HORGAN: SEND SOLUTIONS, NOT POLICE<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The arrests continue at #FairyCreek<\/a>. This was captured on my #GoPro<\/a> while I was photographing. Police then denied me access shortly after these moments. #rcmp<\/a> #CivilDisobedience<\/a> #OldGrowth<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/DKvVnLilY3<\/a><\/p>— Hell In A Handbag (@handbag_hell) August 21, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>