Fairy Creek Blockade

August 18, 2023 By: Robin Arens

The Fairy Creek Blockade is an ongoing act of civil disobedience, protesting the logging of old-growth forest on Vancouver Island, BC. This protest, blocking logging roads to stop Teal-Jones personnel from performing any logging activities in the Pacheedaht territory, has been ongoing since August 2020. In June 2021 the Pacheedaht, Ditidaht and Huu-ay-aht First Nations submitted a request to the Province for a two-year deferral of the old-growth logging, which was subsequently accepted and led to Teal-Jones halting its operations in the area. This deferral was extended by another two years in June 2023. 

In the summer of 2021, RCMP began enforcing a B.C. court injunction that prohibited interference with logging activities in the area. The enforcement of this injunction led to the arrests of over 1,100 protesters, over 400 of which ended up in court on criminal charges. Complaints of use of excessive force by the RCMP have arisen, and the B.C. Supreme Court later ruled the injunction unlawful, stating that that it infringed on civil liberties of protesters and freedom of press.

While this news article focuses on the disruptions to Teal-Jones’ logging activities, I believe the Fairy Creek Blockade is a good example of how non-violent acts of civil disobedience can have positive impacts on the environment and the world as a whole. Were it not for this multi-year blockade, which gained much notoriety in the summer of 2021 when violent and sometimes illegal RCMP actions ramped up, I do not believe that the voice of the local First Nations would have been heard by the B.C. Government. And while it is of course a win for environmentalists that the old-growth forests of southern Vancouver Island are, for the time being, protected from the logging industry, I believe the real victory from these protests comes to the First Nations who have received a bigger say in the management of their own territories. 

Little, Simon. “3 Arrested as B.C. RCMP Resume Enforcement Against Fairy Creek Old-growth Logging Blockade.” Global News. August 15, 2023. https://globalnews.ca/news/9897961/fairy-creek-enforcement-resumes/