After a six-week break to recruit and train more protesters, the Save Old Growth group says it will resume blockades of highways, bridges and other major infrastructure in the Vancouver Metro and Vancouver Island on Monday.
“This time we are trying to make sure that this is a permanent occupation of the highway, which is quite unprecedented,” said Save Old Growth spokesman Zayn Huck, adding: “If we are removed on the first day, the plan is to return the next day and the next day in greater numbers, as long as there is a critical mass that cannot be easily removed. ”
A group that opposes Save Old Growth’s tactics, called Clear the Road, says the protesters are essentially holding the hostages.
“I am very concerned that their actions will simply escalate and escalate to the point that it is even more dangerous for travelers and the RCMP,” said Clear the Road organizer Tamara Megit.
Claiming that there should be consequences for roadblocks and inconvenience to tens of thousands of travelers, Clear the Road plans to launch a class action lawsuit against Save Old Growth.
“So anyone who has been affected by these (protests), anyone who has lost a shift or something like that, let us share your story. We are looking for documentation and a class action lawsuit will be discussed with law firms, “Megit said.
Huck says the threat of legal action will not deter protesters.
“They can do the worst because we’re not going anywhere. We welcome everything that people want to do to us because we don’t do it for ourselves or our ego, we do it because we are in an existential emergency, “Huck said.
“We feel we need to do this to cause enough economic disruption for the government to agree to the request.
He says members of the group not only want to be arrested, but it is actually beneficial for Save Old Growth if they are handcuffed.
“People are seeing people being arrested and this is causing sympathy. “Even if people really annoy us, they respect the fact that we are willing to suffer for our beliefs,” Huck said.
As the threat of arrest is not a deterrent, Megitt says travelers should hit protesters and their financial backers in the pocket.
“If there are no consequences for their actions and it’s not their money, why don’t they continue to create chaos?” Megitt said. “Following the funding, this is one way to do it. Chasing them on a personal level is something that will follow them for years to come. ”
Megit, who is part of a family in the forestry, also plans to go to protest sites to help drivers in chaos.
“I will be there to offer drinks and snacks to travelers and a blanket of privacy for those who need to write on the side of the road and do what we can,” she said.
Save Old Growth will not reveal the locations of the planned protests, only saying that “there will be extreme disturbances around Metro Vancouver” from Monday.
Add Comment