Seven protesters, including a man wearing a bear costume, were arrested by RCMP enforcing an injunction order in the Fairy Creek watershed on Saturday. Later in the day, a group of between 50 and 100 people began occupying a police checkpoint.
The anti-logging protesters have been trying to stop the logging of old-growth trees in the Port Renfrew and Lake Cowichan areas since August 2020.
They have set up a number of blockades of logging roads in the area.
In April the B.C. Supreme Court granted Teal Cedar Products an injunction to clear the roads and gain access to the site.
RCMP began enforcing the court injunction on Monday by establishing a temporary access control area with a checkpoint at McClure Forest Service Road.
The first arrests of people blocking the road took place on Tuesday. Police have arrested 33 people with a majority for breaching the injunction.
Of those arrested, five have also been charged with obstruction, two for possession of stolen property and one for obstruction and assaulting a police officer.
On Saturday, five of the seven activists were arrested at what protesters call Waterfall Camp and two were removed from structures suspended in the trees.
They were removed by a specialized RCMP unit that is usually deployed in high-angle rescue situations.
All of the people arrested were transported to the Lake Cowichan RCMP detachment for processing and to court in Nanaimo.
On Saturday afternoon a group of between 50 and 100 people indicated to police that they wished to perform a ceremony a distance past the RCMP’s McClure Forest Service Road checkpoint.
After the ceremony, the group indicated that they did not want to leave and are blocking the road.
No arrests have been made.
“We are monitoring and assessing the situation and industry are using alternate routes at this time,” said Cpl. Chris Manseau, a media relations officer with the RCMP.
parrais@timescolonist.com