After a six-week hiatus to recruit and train more protesters, the Save Old Growth group says it will resume roadblocks, bridges and other major infrastructure blockages in Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island starting Monday.
“This time we’re trying to make sure it’s a permanent occupation on the freeway, which is unprecedented,” said Save Old Growth spokesman Zain Haq, adding: “If we retire on the first day, the plan is to come back the next day and the next day with more numbers until there is a critical mass that can’t be easily removed. “
A group opposing Save Old Growth tactics called Clear the Road says protesters are essentially holding travelers hostage.
“I’m very concerned that their actions are heating up to the point where it’s even more dangerous for travelers and the RCMP,” said Tamara Meggit, organizer of Clear the Road.
Arguing that there must be consequences for blocking roads and disturbing tens of thousands of travelers, Clear the Road plans to file a class action lawsuit against Save Old Growth.
“So anyone who has been affected by these (protests), anyone who has lost their jobs or anything like that, let us know your story. We are looking to document and a class action will be discussed. with law firms, “Meggit said.
Haq says the threat of legal action will not deter protesters.
“It simply came to our notice then. We welcome anything that people want to do to us, because we don’t do it for ourselves or for our egos, we do it because we are in an existential emergency, ”Haq said.
“We feel we need to do this to cause enough economic disruption for the government to accept the demand.”
He says members of the group are not only willing to be arrested, but he benefits Save Old Growth if he is taken away with handcuffs.
“People see that people are arrested and that generates sympathy. Even if people are really upset with us, they respect the fact that we are willing to suffer for our beliefs,” Haq said.
As the threat of arrest is not a deterrent, Meggit says travelers should hit protesters and their financial sponsors in their pockets.
“If there are no consequences for their actions and it’s not their money, why wouldn’t they continue to create chaos?” said Meggit. “Going after funding, that’s one way to do it. Going after them on a personal level, that’s something that will follow them for years.”
Meggit, who is part of a forest family, also plans to go to protest sites to help drivers trapped in the chaos.
“I will be there to offer drinks and snacks to travelers and a blanket for privacy for those who need to pee on the side of the road and do what we can,” he said.
Save Old Growth will not disclose the locations of the planned protest sites, it only says “there will be extreme disruptions around Vancouver Metro” starting Monday.