Residents gathered in front of Parksville-Qualicum MLA Adam Walker’s office to rally against the logging of old-growth forests on Vancouver Island on May 28.
The rallies will be held in the same place every Friday at 10 a.m. to how support for protesters near Port Renfrew in the Fairy Creek Watershed, according to Sierra Club BC.
Police are enforcing an injunction granted to Teal Jones Group on April 1 by the BC Supreme Court. It prohibits people from obstructing or interfering with logging operations in the Fairy Creek Watershed area, where blockades have been set up to stop logging.
Residents rallied in front of Parksville-Qualicum Beach MLA Adam Walker’s office on May 28 opposing old-growth logging. || Photo by Tyler Hay Residents rallied in front of Parksville-Qualicum Beach MLA Adam Walker’s office on May 28 opposing old-growth logging. || Photo by Tyler Hay Residents rallied in front of Parksville-Qualicum Beach MLA Adam Walker’s office on May 28 opposing old-growth logging. || Photo by Tyler Hay
RCMP said 133 arrests have been made since enforcement of the injunction began on May 17. At least nine people have been arrested more than once, according to Lake Cowichan RCMP.
Police said there have been claims circulating online regarding actions of officers conducting the arrests.
“Our officers are equipped with video recording devices and we are prepared to submit all footage as evidence in the court of law,” reads an update from Lake Cowichan RCMP released on May 21. “Body-worn video provides increased transparency, while also providing a first person view of what a police officer encounters, oftentimes in highly dynamic and tense situations.”
