9.71°C Vancouver 9.71°C Vancouver
Aug 17, 2021 7:21 PM -
The RCMP have now made more than 630 arrests related to blockages set up to protest the logging of old-growth forests on southern Vancouver Island, including 56 people who have previously been arrested a combined total of 131 times.
The Mounties say 462 people have been arrested for breaching a court-ordered injunction against blockades around the Fairy Creek watershed near Port Renfrew, while the remainder have been for obstruction, mischief and other offences.
They say protesters continue to lock themselves into structures and trenches dug into forest service roads and the latest 13 arrests include a minor who was released to their guardian without charges.
The BC government has approved the deferral of old-growth logging across about two-thousand hectares of forest in the Fairy Creek and central Walbran areas for two years, but the protesters who've maintained blockades since last August have said all old-growth logging should stop immediately.
