Injunction against Fairy Creek logging protests extended, but protesters declare 'moral victory'

A B.C. judge has extended an injunction against old-growth logging protesters in the Fairy Creek watershed on southern Vancouver Island for another year, but the protesters say his ruling is a "moral victory" for their cause.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Douglas W. Thompson issued his decision in the case on Wednesday. 

Though he opted to extend the injunction granted to Teal Cedar Products Ltd. for another year, Thompson dedicated a significant portion of his reasons for his decision to discussing the arguments of the protesters.

While his reason for doing so was to emphasize their dedication to their cause – and therefore the likelihood that they will continue attempting to disrupt Teal Cedar's logging activity – the judge wrote sympathetically about the protesters he has sentenced.

"I have come to understand what at first blush seems counterintuitive: the people I have sentenced value and appreciate the importance of obeying the law," Thompson wrote in his decision.

"Not a single person of the more than 100 I have sentenced has previously committed an offence. They are highly intelligent people, non-violent and principled by nature. They are not naïve and misguided dupes of some shadowy organization aiming to break down the rule of law. They are not trouble-makers with nothing better to do. Most are well educated with fulfilling and important jobs, often in occupations focused on helping others. Most have a notable history of volunteer service. Their motives are altruistic and compassionate."

On Thursday, the Rainforest Flying Squad – one of the groups responsible for the protests in the watershed – issued a statement highlighting the judge's words of praise.

Quoting Pacheedaht elder Bill Jones, who has welcomed protestors to join him in defending the old-growth forests on his ancestral territory, the group's statement read:

“It’s a moral victory for us. Justice Thompson’s words provide validation for the work we have taken on for the past two years.”