Court order that prevents protest blockades at Fairy Creek expires
Teal Cedar hasn't said whether it will apply to extend injunction that sought to stop anti-logging protests
The court order that made it illegal to block logging activity in the forest near the Fairy Creek watershed on southwestern Vancouver Island has expired.
Teal Cedar first sought the injunction in spring 2021, after protesters opposed to the logging of old growth trees set up camp in Tree Farm License (TFL) 46 — a section of Crown land the company is licensed to log.
When the temporary injunction first expired, Teal Cedar applied to extend it. The most recent extension expired on Sept. 26 and, so far, the company has not applied for an extension.
The injunction was against the Rainforest Flying Squad (RFS) and a number of named individuals — but also listed "John Doe, Jane Doe, and Persons Unknown," as an umbrella term to apply to any other protesters.
RFS was the ad hoc group that co-ordinated large protests and blockades at the Fairy Creek site in summer 2021, in defiance of the injunction.
In order to get the original injunction, and extend it, Teal Cedar had to make its case in court. Representatives for RFS argued against it and were prepared to do so again this year.
"I was expecting in July to start hearing about the application, then nothing happened," said Rani Earnhart, a legal administrator for the group, which she said doesn't really operate anymore, beyond court proceedings.
Lawyers representing RFS and individual protesters confirmed they've seen no application to extend.
Teal Cedar did not respond to questions from CBC News about whether it was still planning to apply for a new injunction, or take other action.
Other court actions still underway
The blockades in 2021 are considered the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history.
Tensions were often high, with police physically removing protesters who used concrete and elaborate contraptions to attach themselves to roads and logging equipment.
In one instance, social media showed police using pepper spray on a crowd of protesters.
Police made more than 1,000 arrests and more than 400 people were ultimately charged, mostly for contempt of court — i.e., breaking the injunction.
Those cases have been slowly making their way through the courts and have almost all been heard. One-hundred and forty-six charges were recently dropped because police failed to read the full injunction to protesters.
Some cases in which protesters are contesting the charges are still before the court.
That includes the case of Rainbow Eyes, a member of the Da'naxda'xw/Awaetlala First Nation who describes herself as a land guardian.
She's hoping to set precedent by using Indigenous law to fight her case.
Rainbow Eyes says there will be some celebration as the injunction expires.
"It will release the heavy energy that hangs over the forest, so I think it will be a good thing for now," she said, adding that she'll wait to see what Teal Cedar does next.
Both Rainbow Eyes and Earnhart are among those named in a civil suit filed by the company, in which it seeks economic damages from protesters. That suit is still making its way through the court.