Documentary Reflection

March 21, 2023 By: Allegra Solecki

I chose this article for several reasons, the main one being that it covers environmental issues in Ontario where I currently reside, and in British Columbia, where I’m from. The protest occurred at the Junos Awards in Edmonton earlier this month, where Ever Hatherly, a member of the group On to Ottawa, jumped on stage topless while Avril Lavigne was speaking. Hatherly wanted to bring attention to a huge issue across Canada right now – loss of carbon sinks. In British Columbia, old growth forests are continuously being logged, and in Ontario, Ford’s government is allowing parts of the Greenbelt, a massive carbon sink, to be destroyed to put up cheap homes. Though Hatherly appeared alone on the stage without support from her group, it does seem that she at least drew attention to her cause as she has made headlines across Canada. When asked about it, Hatherly said “It’s OK that people are talking about the wrong thing right now, because it happened two days ago and people are still asking questions.” By this, she means most people are talking about her topless stint and not the climate issues, but she is still hopeful the cause will get the right attention.

I relate this story to the civil disobedience displayed in Marshall Curry’s documentary “If a Tree Falls: The Story of the Earth Liberation Front” because the protestors, in this case Ever Hatherly, protested peacefully in the sense that she did not use any violence. However, she was charged with mischief and appeared before court.

This second article is from The Guardian, and it is from 2021, but it is regarding the same issue in BC. In 2021, an anti-logging protest against the old growth forests in BC became the biggest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history. At least 866 people were arrested and the protest lasted several months, with activists constantly coming up with new, non-violent ways to block loggers from cutting down massive trees.