Direct Civil Resistance in BC

July 14, 2025 By: Robert Pritchard

Unit 4’s “How to Change the World: The Revolution will not be Organized” sent my mind down memory lane to my experiences in Fairy Creek. The Fairy Creek (Ada’itsx) old growth protests on Vancouver Island began in 2019, with the height of protestor/police clashes in 2020 and simmered out in 2021. There has since been a full-length independent documentary film created and at least a dozen mini-films and news specials. I was there on the front lines of this clash for most of the summer 2020, so my opinion of the movement is in heavy support. It was an astounding thing to see hundreds upon hundreds of folks willing to alter their future to some extent through obtaining a criminal record by standing up for what they believe in. I was one of the few who avoided arrest at all costs to maintain my chances of entering law school.

A civil resistance movement that very likely inspired the Ada’itsx protests was the Wet’suwet’en protests of the CGL pipeline. Unfortunately for these land defenders, the height of their support was at the tail end of 2019 and into 2020, during the same months everyone stopped what they were doing because of COVID.

To the question of whether I believe it can inspire a growing movement and generate positive change I would say, through this experience, yes. When the Fairy Creek movement collapsed after the area was protected from logging, many of these folks were so driven for change that they formed another civil resistance campaign dubbed Save Old Growth. Again I joined these sisters and brothers by blocking the Iron Workers Memorial Bridge with our bodies to draw attention to this issue. Eventually this collection of rebels was once again disbanded through some disagreements on legal strategies in court proceedings by the co-founders. Once again, a new group was formed by the name of Last Generation Canada and are still at it, blocking roads and throwing paint on art today in Ontario and Quebec metropolitan areas.

I urge anyone who is reading this to please consider joining a cause of civil resistance for environmental advocation, be it via direct action or monetary support.

References

Last Generation Canada website, https://www.lastgenerationcanada.ca//.

Muranetz, Jen. (2024). Fairy Creek. https://fairycreekfilm.com/about.

Rothwell, Jerry, director, writer. “How to Change the World: The Revolution Will Not Be Organized.” Originally produced by British Film Institute, 2015. YouTube Video, 1:26:59. Posted by George Hunsicker Mar. 28, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-7saEKyThc.

Save Old Growth news articles, https://globalnews.ca/tag/save-old-growth/.

Wet’suwet’en – CGL pipeline conflict, https://amnesty.ca/wetsuweten-report/.