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
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.