It’s back to “business as usual” for old-growth protesters starting next week.
That’s according to activist group Save Old Growth, which claims its members plan to “disrupt critical infrastructure in BC” starting Monday, June 13th.
However, they’re not diving into the details.
“Save Old Growth won’t announce the disruptions in advance, but they will be posted on social media when they begin,” according to a Thursday statement.
The group is calling for legislation to immediately end all old-growth logging in the province, noting that “inaction amounts to negligence when addressing climate chaos.”
“Protecting our last remaining old-growth forests is a complete no-brainer. We’ve been systemically lied to by the BC government,” said Save Old Growth coordinator Zain Haq.
“Through our civil resistance efforts, we’ll create political urgency for the government to represent the will of the people rather than serve the forestry lobby.”
Recent months have seen the group set up roadblocks along busy transportation arteries across Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.
In Greater Victoria, tensions were high along the Trans-Canada Highway on April 21st after protesters set up a blockade at the Malahat, leaving traffic backed up for hours.
When speaking with reporters, Premier John Horgan addressed the protesters’ actions, saying their objective isn’t to save old growth—it’s to make people angry.
“That’s not how you affect change in a civil society,” said Horgan.
More recently, on May 25th, Save Old Growth members were caught on camera dumping manure outside Horgan’s Langford constituency office before chucking the feces at the building.
SEE ALSO:
- Two old-growth protesters remain in custody following Wednesday’s Malahat blockade
- Man turns himself in following manure dumping outside Horgan’s Langford office
Save Old Growth says it’s part of A22 Network, an international civil resistance coalition spanning several countries, including Australia, Canada and the United States.
“Save Old Growth will continue to demand that the Horgan administration enact legislation to ban all old-growth logging in BC,” the group added.
“Old-growth forests make an invaluable contribution to fighting climate change as natural carbon sinks.”
The province of BC says it’s working with First Nations to defer logging of old-growth and develop a new approach to sustainable forest management.
“Deferrals have been implemented on nearly 1.7 million hectares of old-growth, including approximately 1.05 million hectares of BC’s forests most at risk of irreversible loss,” the government said.
