Old-growth logging protest group 'de-escalating,' says traffic disruptions are over
Weeks after warning that its tactics would escalate, a protest group behind many traffic-blocking stunts says instead that it's planning to slow down.
Demonstrators behind the blockades Metro Vancouver and on Vancouver Island said Wednesday it will be "de-escalating" its actions.
Save Old Growth, a group against the logging of B.C.'s old-growth forests, said in a news release that it is changing its tactics, moving away from the highway protests.
"Major traffic disruptions will end today," organizers said, suggesting an end to protests blocking popular commuter routes.
During one of those protests, a van was driven on to the Lions Gate Bridge and parked across multiple lanes. It appeared to witnesses that someone then threw the keys over the bridge.
The group said Wednesday that it will keep working, but instead, it will turn to public outreach and events.
"Other strategies will be used that won't stop traffic," the group said. "We continue to request the government take urgent steps to permanently protect B.C.'s remaining old growth forests."
Earlier this month, the group admitted it knew the blockades were unpopular. Some even got heated, with drivers getting out of their vehicles to voice their frustrations.
"They might not like our tactics, but they want to save old growth," protester Sam Nguyen said.
He said at the time that protesters – many of whom have been arrested, some of whom after supergluing their hands to the road – don't want to be out on the roads, blocking commuters, but that they felt the actions were needed.
"We've tried petitions, we've tried to talk to MLAs, it's been 30 years, nothing's happened," Nguyen said.
The province's public safety minister praised police for the swiftness of arrests during these protests, and said he thought most people actually don't feel how Nguyen thinks they do.
"The public does not support what they're doing and if they think it does...they've got rocks in their head," Mike Farnworth said on June 14, after a blockade on Highway 1 near Horseshoe Bay.
At that time, the group was threatening escalation after taking a six-week hiatus.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
U.S. vetoes a widely supported UN resolution backing full membership for Palestine
The United States has vetoed a widely backed UN resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Cat found on Toronto Pearson airport runway 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Trend Line Anger, pessimism towards federal government reach six-year high: Nanos survey
Most Canadians in March reported feeling angry or pessimistic towards the federal government than at any point in the last six years, according to a survey by Nanos Research.
B.C.'s short-term rental regulations include $10K daily penalties for Airbnb, other platforms
Short-term rental platforms that violate B.C.'s pending regulations can face administrative penalties of up to $10,000 per day, officials announced Thursday.