Fourteen people were arrested Monday for stopping traffic in a series of coordinated Old Old Growth protests in Vancouver, Richmond and North Saanich.
Dozens attended the morning demonstrations at Second Narrows Bridge, Massey Tunnel, and Patricia Bay Highway, where one protester was injured after falling down a flight of stairs.
That individual, who was climbing the ladder in the middle of the road, was taken to hospital with injuries that did not endanger his life.
“The protest created frustration among travelers who tried to evade this illegal blockade,” wrote BC RCMP Cpl. Alex Bérubé in a statement Monday morning.
“These blockades are simply dangerous for protesters and others.… Although we understand the frustration of travelers, the RCMP does not approve of illegal actions taken to prevent blockades.”
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Between 12 and 15 people attended the North Saanich rally around 6 a.m., so northbound traffic on the Patricia Highway has stopped.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. Five were arrested, including the person who fell down the stairs.
“Get out of the way!” a traveler called the person on the stairs. Others cursed them.
At least one vehicle left the highway and drove along the grassy curb to get past the blockade.
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In Vancouver, police confirmed that five people were arrested for blocking traffic on Narrows Second Bridge and four vehicles were confiscated.
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In an interview, sgt. Steve Addison said the Vancouver Police Department had deployed additional officers prior to the protests and located “hidden” vehicles near the bridge for possible use in blockades.
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“At one point, there was a vehicle that entered the bridge with four occupants inside,” he told Global News. “This vehicle stopped and the occupants of the vehicle tried to get stuck, we believe, behind the wheel.”
Officers intervened and arrested the occupants of the vehicle. Five were arrested in total and taken to jail, Addison said.
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Richmond soldiers arrested four people who blocked part of the Massey tunnel shortly before 7:30 p.m. Three were sitting on Highway 99, and a fourth was perched on a platform ladder, dividing the north and south lanes.
One traveler initially tried to make her move by grabbing the Save Old Growth signs and throwing them off the road and trying to move the ladder, but she was unsuccessful and left. Police also failed to persuade the man to go down the stairs and eventually grabbed him and moved him to the side of the road so that the cars could move.
“It was determined that the individual on the scale violated his conditions based on a previous protest in a different jurisdiction,” police wrote in a press release.
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“The Richmond RCMP is prosecuting criminal charges against all those arrested.”
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The Save Old Growth movement aims to end the old logging in BC by disrupting critical infrastructure to draw the government’s attention to the problem.
The group argues that BC’s ancient forests make an invaluable contribution to the fight against climate change by hijacking polluting carbon emissions.
“Protecting our last remaining ancient forests is a no-brainer. The BC government has systematically lied to us,” Zain Haq, coordinator of Save Old Growth, said in a press release ahead of the protests.
“Through our civil resistance efforts, we will create political urgency for the government to represent the will of the people instead of serving the forest lobby.”
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In an interview after the end of the demonstrations, Save Old Growth coordinator Ian Webber said it was “quite difficult” to see one of his own, the North Saanich-scale protester, physically injured during his activities.
All involved, however, accept the reality that civil disobedience carries some risks.
“In the future, we have learned a lot and we will try to increase the safety of the people involved in Save Old Growth,” Webber said.
“It’s inherently insecure, but we’re approaching turning points that could lead to economic and social collapse. The alternative is really much worse.”
Webber said he is willing to risk his life to save old forests, because unless the government acts to curb the impacts of climate change, everyone’s lives are in danger.
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