Thread by @Lidsville

Today Teal Cedar went back to court in Nanaimo to ask for their injunction against #FairyCreek forest defenders to be extended.

The logging company's lawyer Dean Dalke is really in a tizzy over the tactical abilities of the protesters... (thread)

thestar.com/news/canada/20…

In court, the logging company's lawyer said of the land defenders, 'their resistance to being arrested is just shocking!' (This generated some amusement)

Leaving aside what "resistance" means for now, let's just review what's been going on with the RCMP at #FairyCreek...

Recall: the RCMP not only used this injunction to remove forest defenders from the #FairyCreek area, they exceeded their powers, & barred media from witnessing their actions, & more. In August, Judge Thompson (same judge as today) found that: cbc.ca/news/canada/br… #bcpoli

Now Teal Jones is back in court facing Judge Thompson, the same judge who found against the RCMP in his courtroom in August, while its lawyer pearl clutches over protesters' peaceful - and legal - civil disobedience.

Let's compare this to the RCMP defying a ruling of the court.

This demands repetition:

The RCMP exceeded its powers (illegal exclusion zones, barring media from its key watchdog role); a BC judge ruled against the RCMP; the RCMP then violated his ruling, & continues to do so.

What do we call it when police defy the courts?
#FairyCreek

I think everyone knows the answer to that question. Police blatantly ignoring the courts, continuing to exceed their powers & engaging in violent extra-legal activity falls easily within the "police state" definition. The silence of the BC govt of course implicates govt as well.

Media still can't get their equipment in to #FairyCreek to act as witnesses to the arrests, the ERT police twisting arms & legs to produce invisible internal injuries, pulling down masks to pepper spray faces

Last Friday Matriarch Marlene Hale reported:

https://twitter.com/Lidsville/status/1436760671820009472?s=20

To return to the question of the "resistance" of protesters to arrest (which seems to describe only peaceful tactics - tree sits etc), the histrionics of Teal Jones' lawyer Dalke seems like nothing more than a desperate attempt to justify RCMP actions on behalf of their company

Protesters are allowed to engage in civil disobedience on "public land" like #FairyCreek. One could describe their various ingenious methods of slowing down arrests (tripods above road, tree sits, lying in trenches) as 'resisting arrest,' but *it is peaceful.* There is no assault

Now remember that this is a civil case - a civil injunction. No one is saying that these are criminal charges against protesters. So why the histrionics? Methinks Teal Jones doth protest too much. If they're worried about illegal behaviour, perhaps turn the lens on the RCMP?

Teal Jones' lawyer Dalke is stopping just shy of repeating the RCMP lie that protesters are "well-funded." Dalke: "sophisticated, organized & dangerous." Sophisticated & organized? Yes. Well-funded? No. This is a huge underestimation of #FairyCreek forest defenders' DIY ingenuity

We had friends in court today listening to the shenanigans, & they reported that a rep for the Canadian Attorney-General was present today. That's interesting because while BC RCMP are a provincial police force, the federal AG govt still has jurisdiction.

That's it for now. Tomorrow is another day in court in Nanaimo & it should be more interesting. Apparently there's a livestream and I will try to livetweet it if I can get on it. Will append that to this thread. If anything here is incorrect or if you have Qs please jump in.

It's Day 2 of the court hearing in Nanaimo. The logging company Teal Jones is seeking to win an extension for its injunction against #FairyCreek forest defenders. Today we're hearing from Elders for Ancient Trees & Rainforest Flying Squad who are opposing the extension #oldgrowth

And just a clarification from yesterday tho I've tweeted about this before, RCMP are the national police force but in BC (unlike Ontario and Quebec but like many other provinces) are contracted as provincial police, & come under the jurisdiction of the BC govt/Solicitor-General

Right now, the courtroom is hearing from Steve Kelleher, lawyer for the two groups: Elders for Ancient Trees & Rainforest Flying Squad.

Kelleher is currently reading testimony from eminent BC forester @AnthonyBritneff
#FairyCreek #fairyCreekBlockade #bcpoli @KatrineConroy

@AnthonyBritneff @KatrineConroy From @AnthonyBritneff's affidavit: "The BC Forest Service has become an extension of the forest industry...

The forest industry through Council of Forest Industry *approves senior management positions in the BC Ministry of Forests*'

!!! #FairyCreek

@AnthonyBritneff @KatrineConroy From @AnthonyBritneff's affidavit: "I spoke to someone in a junior [Ministry of Forests] management position who told me that his appointment was awaiting final approval from COFI" (Council of Forest Industries)

Now Kelleher outlines all the subsidies BC gives to forest industry

@AnthonyBritneff @KatrineConroy This is going too fast to capture everything but I'll screenshot some of Kelleher's presentation to the court - this will only be a few highlights (needed more coffee)

@AnthonyBritneff @KatrineConroy "Teal Cedar as part of the forest industry is in a real sense the Ministry of Forests. It operates in place of its captive. When govt is so closely entwined with corporate activity" .. in a matter of public interest..We are protected by Section 7 of the Charter incl right to life

@AnthonyBritneff @KatrineConroy In short Kelleher is arguing that the Ministry of Forests is operating outside of the bounds of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

#FairyCreek #fairyCreekBlockade #bcpoli

@AnthonyBritneff @KatrineConroy To sum up, this injunction hearing is giving Steve Kelleher, lawyer for Elders for Ancient Trees and the Rainforest Flying Squad, the opportunity to lay the corporate capture of the Ministry of Forests in detail, & demonstrate that MoF can thus not protect the public interest.

@AnthonyBritneff @KatrineConroy The issue is climate change - "the harm caused by the destruction of old growth forests is so great that it is immeasurable and affects us all gravely... and will eventually threaten life itself"

@AnthonyBritneff @KatrineConroy Re: what the Pacheedaht stands to gain from #oldgrowth logging in #FairyCreek in their territory - Kelleher is saying that their share of the logging profits from #FairyCreek is only enough to buy one of Teal Cedar's logging trucks.

@AnthonyBritneff @KatrineConroy 'Teal Cedar as has accumulated a vast fortune logging the #oldgrowth forests of British Columbia while Indigenous groups have made very little, yet they stand here in this courtroom using Indigenous rights to justify their activities.'

@AnthonyBritneff @KatrineConroy "Teal Cedar comes to the court saying the RCMP decide not to enforce the law? The RCMP won't enforce the law unless you give us the injunction? That has a coercive ring to it, a threatening tone. Teal Cedar saying police won't do their job unless you give us what we want?

@AnthonyBritneff @KatrineConroy M'lord, the climate crisis is not going away; the public interest is not going away. The opposition is only going to grow. How much leeway are you going to give the RCMP, should this injunction be awarded?

@AnthonyBritneff @KatrineConroy (These summaries aren't direct quotes - it's going too quickly to keep up, so pardon the clumsy summaries)

@AnthonyBritneff @KatrineConroy Now we have lawyer Canning:

"Are Teal Cedar and RCMP above the law? They are acting as such." #FairyCreek #bcpoli

@AnthonyBritneff @KatrineConroy Canning (who is either the lawyer for Rainforest Flying Squad or Elders for Ancient Trees, I'm trying to get confirmation)

He's effectively saying that Teal Cedar has used the injunction as cover to work with the RCMP illegally

@AnthonyBritneff @KatrineConroy It's hard to follow this - Canning is going too fast and it's in the legal weeds. He's talking about RCMP raids on people's cars (confiscation/destruction) that weren't illegally parked at the #FairyCreek HQ camp - he's laying out extralegal behaviour by RCMP

@AnthonyBritneff @KatrineConroy Much of Canning's presentation concerns arbitrary power assumed and exerted by the RCMP - he began with a quote from Thomas Paine about arbitrary power - 'it doesn't enter a country all at once, but step by step'

@AnthonyBritneff @KatrineConroy The court has paused for lunch. Here's the opening section of the final legal presentation by the lawyers for Rainforest Flying Squad and Elders for Ancient Trees on the #FairyCreek injunction.

@KatrineConroy Perhaps the most explosive section of the presentation by the lawyer for the #FairyCreek forest defenders vs. Teal Cedar is the affidavit by @AnthonyBritneff who worked for the BC Forest Service for 40 years. He describes the full corporate capture of the Min. of Forests: #bcpoli

@KatrineConroy @AnthonyBritneff Will have to pick this up later. Lawyers are coming back from lunch but we have a #SiteC/#Keeyask dam resisters' zoom call now (one issue after another). Will go through the legal arguments and resume later this aft.

@KatrineConroy @AnthonyBritneff We now have Patrick Canning presenting to the court in Nanaimo on the #FairyCreek injunction application. He's the lawyer for Rainforest Flying Squad I believe?

NOTE: spelling correction, Steven *Kelliher* is the lawyer rep'ing who presented first, for Elders for Ancient Trees

@KatrineConroy @AnthonyBritneff Here's the information on Elders for Ancient Trees and their opposition to Teal Cedar's application for an injunction extension on #FairyCreek. Lawyer is Steven Kelliher timescolonist.com/news/local/sen…

@KatrineConroy @AnthonyBritneff Patrick Canning, lawyer for Rainforest Flying Squad, going all the way back to the Magna Carta to argue that *everyone* is subject to the law.

"Without the rule of law, there is only the rule of might."

Obvious reference to RCMP operating outside law at #FairyCreek. #bcpoli

@KatrineConroy @AnthonyBritneff Canning is referencing previous cases in which injunctions were denied.

He's arguing that the system is bypassing procedural rights and is geared to convicting those practicing civil disobedience for the sake of efficiency

@KatrineConroy @AnthonyBritneff Judge Thompson asks what has changed since the first injunction was granted, after Teal Cedar applied to court to get access to timber they have a right to

Canning: it undermines the rule of law: this is not a normal injunction extension case, this is an experiment by the RCMP

@KatrineConroy @AnthonyBritneff That "experiment" by RCMP includes media exclusion zones, confiscation of personal property, etc - Canning is talking about RCMP testing the limits of what they can get away with

@KatrineConroy @AnthonyBritneff You can all watch this here teams.microsoft.com/dl/launcher/la…

@KatrineConroy @AnthonyBritneff This is hard to follow but I think the lawyers for Rainforest Flying Squad are arguing that instead of the injunction extension, the court could send this issue to mediation with govt, Pacheedaht & I assume Teal Cedar

@KatrineConroy @AnthonyBritneff First reference I've heard of the RCMP officers wearing thin blue line patches. Mention also of over 350 complaints to the RCMP. Mention of @bccla questioning the efficacy of the complaint process - can anyone else who's listening in please confirm?

@KatrineConroy @AnthonyBritneff @bccla 2nd lawyer (name?) arguing that this isn't just an application for an injunction extension - it is in effect a veiled workaround, an application for variation on police powers, asking judge to revisit core issues dealt with on their previous application

@KatrineConroy @AnthonyBritneff @bccla Judge Thompson says that he had said in his earlier decision, which dealt specifically with media's (not forest defenders') access to #FairyCreek vs RCMP, that the RCMP should apply separately for an extension of their powers, but that the federal A-G had taken issue w this

@KatrineConroy @AnthonyBritneff @bccla For Judge Thompson's August ruling in favour of the media's right to access #FairyCreek and witness RCMP actions (a ruling the RCMP have ignored and violated since), @davidpball wrote a good summary for @cbcnewsbc cbc.ca/news/canada/br…

@KatrineConroy @AnthonyBritneff @bccla @davidpball @cbcnewsbc When Judge Thompson pointed out that the hearing in August solely dealt with media, the 2nd lawyer for Rainforest Flying Squad argued that you can't really separate the media issue from a homogeneous whole. RCMP illegally excluding media is part of the larger rights issue.

@KatrineConroy @AnthonyBritneff @bccla @davidpball @cbcnewsbc 2nd lawyer for RFS ends his submission by saying that these injunctions do not take into account the extreme circumstances of climate change and ecosystem collapse that affect us all. "What this calls for is a bold response from the court for a more just and equitable society."

@KatrineConroy @AnthonyBritneff @bccla @davidpball @cbcnewsbc We are now watching video of Pacheedaht elder Bill Jones at #FairyCreek, complaining directly to RCMP officers on the ground that they are breaking the law and preventing him from access to/protecting his sacred areas #oldgrowth #Indigenousrights @MurrayRankinNDP @mikefarnworthbc

@KatrineConroy @AnthonyBritneff @bccla @davidpball @cbcnewsbc @MurrayRankinNDP @mikefarnworthbc The court was then shown a terrifying video of a Teal Jones logger assaulting a peaceful protestor

@KatrineConroy @AnthonyBritneff @bccla @davidpball @cbcnewsbc @MurrayRankinNDP @mikefarnworthbc Now hearing from lawyer Matthew Nefstead on the evidentiary basis for their arguments (rather than legal basis).

Responding to A-G of Canada's response to their application. AG said the order they requested "is so vague as to be meaningless" re the media exclusion zones, but...

@KatrineConroy @AnthonyBritneff @bccla @davidpball @cbcnewsbc @MurrayRankinNDP @mikefarnworthbc Nefstead says in response to this that their application is not vague (ie unclear about which media exclusion zones); they are arguing that *all* exclusion zones are illegal.

And RCMP would have to demonstrate that exclusion zones are necessary for them to do their work

Lawyer Matthew Nefstead is listing a number of instances when RCMP violated Judge Thompson's ruling that RCMP could not enforce illegal "exclusion zones" keeping out media and Elders for Ancient Trees

In one instance media were forced by RCMP to walk 7 km up to the area where arrests were occurring at #FairyCreek [impossible with TV and other equipment]

Interesting story about someone stopped on the public road at Gordon River mainline by Domtar, which is the private security outfit retained by Teal Cedar. He told them they were violating Judge Thompson's order & they said 'we know what we're doing is illegal, talk to the RCMP'

When members of the public have challenged RCMP on the ground that their actions are unlawful and violate either Judge Thompson's ruling or the original injunction, they say they are following orders from their superiors. #FairyCreek

The RCMP has tried to argue that under 1 km is legitimate distance to keep media from their actions as a safety perimeter. Nefstead saying that a safety perimeter might reasonably be a small ring, but not 1 km [distancet a which media obvs cannot properly monitor police actions]

When Elders for Ancient Trees have tried to access sites to engage in lawful peaceful protest and to observe how the RCMP were or were not changing their approach to media exclusion zones, following Judge Thompson's ruling. They encountered a gate manned by RCMP.

Referring to P6 of an affidavit by Jackie Larkin of Elders for Ancient Trees describing RCMP excluding elders from a site up Granite Main. It appears that the access control point was established just as they approached to stop them from proceeding further. No shade on a hot day

Elders tried to argue this was unlawful; RCMP said they were just following orders. One of the elders fainted in the heat, was attended by a doctor in the group, & taken back down the road by RCMP vehicle. In the activity a protest sign was placed on a vehicle; RCMP took it

Affidavit noted that this exclusion zone was deliberately placed in a clearcut zone on a hot day in a heatwave, and not in a shaded area 100m just up the road.

The lawyer Matthew Nefstead is painting a picture of the arbitrary actions of RCMP in enforcing exclusions zones. Personal editorial - it presents a picture of petty and cruel actions against elders exerting their legal rights on a public road.

End of hearing for today.

Appending this here:

https://twitter.com/jwsthomson/status/1438273714756325376

It's day 3 of the #FairyCreek injunction hearing in BC Supreme Court in Nanaimo. Various groups & individuals are opposing Teal Cedar's application to extend its injunction against forest defenders.

They're currently cueing up video of RCMP overstep...#bcpoli #oldgrowth

If you want to watch this court case, here's the link. You need to download Microsoft Teams. teams.microsoft.com/dl/launcher/la…

Or call in (audio only)
[phone],,543625331# Canada, Vancouver
(844) 636-7837,,543625331# Canada (Toll-free)
Phone Conference ID: 543 625 331#

Correction from yesterday - it was a scramble to catch up, and thanks to lawyer Phil Dwyer for providing the details. Lawyer Steven Kelliher is representing Saul (Robert) Arbess, whom many of us know from BC forestry discussions.

https://twitter.com/PhilipRDwyer/status/1438334660094808070

Lawyer (apologies, seeking her name) is giving background on TFL 46 (tree farm), its location and the site of the defender camps. She is representing 2 of the forest defenders, a younger man and woman. #FairyCreek #fairycreekblockade

"The plaintiff is implying that they are harvesting trees from a "tree farm" {TF46) but this is not a tree farm, it's an ancient forest. The words that we use define what we are doing. We need to be very careful how we describe what we are actually talking about in these courts"

Lawyer: we have already spent so many months trying to deal with this injunction but it has been an utter failure & every lawyer in this courtroom knows that, including the RCMP lawyer and Teal Jones' lawyer. "Enforcement is futile unless we are given further militaristic powers"

'Protesters aren't there because they want to confront the police, or because they want to engage in criminal behaviour. They are listening to the UN, they are listening to the science, and they are looking at a future that is very bleak.' #FairyCreek

#FairyCreek is the last intact watershed in Southern Vancouver Island. That's why protesters are there.

Now lawyer is detailing the *current* manifestations of climate change in BC: flooding, heat dome, #WhiteRockLakeFire, rain falling on Greenland for the first time in history

"I expect that BC is about to erupt in civil disobedience in the coming months. We have #TMX and Indigenous groups facing fossil fuel extraction, we have @ExtinctionR ebellion all over the province facing the signs of climate change.

We need to look at things afresh.'

@ExtinctionR 'Teal Jones had a great responsibility when they came to ask for an injunction extension, and they have not lived up to it. And the RCMP have not lived up to it. We are going to show video & photos of the RCMP overstep at #FairyCreek'

See the disallowed thin blue line patch:

'See this officer? He is not only wearing the thin blue line, widely considered to be racist and disallowed by the RCMP, but he is also not wearing a name badge, his face covered by a covid mask and gloves. If you complain to him, he says talk to the police commissioner.'

'Here's another RCMP officer wearing the thin blue line, in the face of an Indigenous woman drumming, a woman who has just had to witness the discovery of the bodies of their children in unmarked graves at residential "schools"

Indigenous people find this badge racist.'

(The thin blue line patch is worn on their upper right chest, right where their name badge should be) @BCRCMP

'Teal Cedar has implied the road the protesters are on is their road. It's not their road, it's a public road. Arguably it's a road on Indigenous territory. This Indig woman & her children were camping there. RCMP formed a sudden "exclusion zone" moved her sans her belongings

They're showing a video with police pushing people off a road via a temporarily exclusion zone, which is to assist industry, but there's no industry there, which a protester points out. Officer reads out Judge Verhoeven's injunction. Protester asks for badge #, is arrested

RCMP officer had given the man 5 minutes to get off the road; was arrested before the 5 minutes were up

Now a photo of a Teal Cedar vehicle arbitrarily removing the belongings of protesters. This isn't trash, this is their belongings taken away - by industry.

Now lawyer shows the video of the police officer smashing his foot through a guitar he has just grabbed at #FairyCreek

This is an area where people have camped for decades, this is where the Pacheedaht have done their ceremonies here for 1000s of years. This is not a "tree farm"

'Those being violently arrested are just regular people holding onto each other. They're just like those people who sad down at universities and were pepper sprayed. '
Now shows video of cops - including "green men" (ERT?) pulling down woman's mask. Then another woman's...

Judge Thompson is asking the video clips to be played several times, so he can see what's going on. I can feel my heart pounding - it's horrifying to watch, and enraging.

Now we're watching video of pepper spraying. Media being shoved aside. People being dragged to the ground in front of moving vehicles. 'These are just regular people m'lord. They are not terrorists, no violence, they're not armed'

'See how they're being pepper sprayed directly, that poor boy w his head pulled up... Now see the RCMP pulling protesters from outside of the observation zone into the observation zone (upgrade from an exclusion zone) - see Officer Burr's affidavit Tab 44 para 22

This is stressful - it's a long video, 12 minutes. Hard to get good screenshots as it's stuttering a bit and moving fast. We see people screaming as they're pepper sprayed in the face at close range - and one woman going into convulsions

Later that day, RCMP released this press release, giving their version of the story. What you see in their description is not what you see in the video #FairyCreek

'After that video was released later that day on social media, along with other videos, there were protests across BC and actually the country over #policebrutality'

then the RCMP released *another* video saying they've pushed over an officer. Let's look at video again:

'IN the video we see he & the rest of officers are trying to push the protesters, who are linked arm in arm, and that officer steps back and falls into a ditch. No one pushed him - you can see it.

This is concerted disinformation about these people in media & in submissions.'

Next video. 'This video shows helicopter doing 'dusting' on the road, blowing up dust around gathered protesters

'These are just people, including families, walking along a forest road with indigenous people drumming.

An example of police trying to stop peaceful protest' #FairyCreek

Now we're looking at photos of people being extracted from trenches and other devices. Lawyer says she's going to go through these photos slowly. #FairyCreek

'If the excavator operator hits a chain or that arm, he would sever that arm. He doesn't know what's down there, and neither do we. If that bucket moved back and forth at all, he could hit that head and a hardhat'

Judge is asking how to remove them then. She says "use a shovel, that's how they got there.

I see what you're saying, m'lord, but you can't do this under WorksafeBC. If she died? We'd be having a Royal Commission right now.'

Photos of excavators digging protesters out. 'There is no ambulance anywhere nearby, in case the protesters are harmed

If the excavator operator makes a mistake, she'll be crushed. You don't use big machinery to dig out an arm'

This woman has an excavator digging at her. She doesn't even have a hardhat on. This is designed to terrorize her. Yes, she has buried her arm to buy a few hours. She's terrified about her future. She's not going to university or having children; she's here protecting her future'

Lawyer reads out the comments of an excavator operator who makes it clear this can't be done safely and is absolutely being used mainly to intimidate

Now we're looking at photos of excavator extracting a protester from a "tripod" across the road. He's only got one line across that very sharp area of the bucket. Operator says he's had training in line work and all lines should be doubled... (lots of complicated info here)

'This is an older woman, shown terrified in a prior photo, not supported by a proper harness, falling as police bring her down. An elderly woman.'

Mr Kimmit says this would be dangerous for even a younger woman. See her slipping through the single strap, in a dangerous posture

Video of the police cutting the bottom of a tripod causing young men to fall from 15 feet.

Judge: 'the protesters are using ingenious methods to make extraction difficult, time-consuming, dangerous, in aid of their cause. They're counting on police to exercise utmost care'

The judge is saying that police would be much rougher elsewhere, and he is having a hard time with the submission for this reason

Lawyer: there is no reason for these people not to be protected with gear, and we should be better than those "other places." These aren't terrorists

Lawyer: 'This needs to be dialed down or someone will be seriously hurt or lose their life.

This photo shows a Teal Jones excavator. Not a police excavator. That's significant. (Teal Cedar, the company cutting #FairyCreek and area)

Here's a boy being lowered down with a noose tightening around his waist/ribs and his entire body weight on that rope. He's being lowered from a cherry picker.

'I would suggest THAT is like another country, yet it's happening in Canada' #FairyCreek

I've temporarily lost the stream. Lawyer is talking about the fact that these videos are circulating. Citizens, including older people, are watching these things and seeing that this is police practice. #FairyCreek

Video of RCMP officer being threatening with a media person: "If you speak, you're gone"

And this reporting from CBC saying that in order to get into #FairyCreek they had to walk 7 km uphill to cover the issue, and at end of day will have walked 14 km to cover this

'M'lord we have a great problem in #FairyCreek.

Eve Green is 17 yo. Yes, she put herself at risk, on a tripod, because she's frightened for her future. She also has an anxiety disorder, which the RCMP knew. She asked a female police officer to remove her leg chains; said no...

Eve Green then asked for her medication which was being held by the police liaison; they said no, when you get in the car. She started to have a full-on anxiety attack, asked for meds, they said "when you sign" and drove her to Cowichan - she didn't even know what she was signing

Lawyer describing all of the people up at #FairyCreek - 'families, lawyers, older women, Indigenous elders... "These are not terrorists." Their treatment is bringing the justice system into disrepute.

'These people are looking for the court to help.

'Faith in justice rides on this case.

M'lord you might say, well what can I do?

Make this a proper civil case. Send it to mediation. Otherwise the militarism is going to escalate #FairyCreek #bcpoli

Lawyer ends by saying that one man did die later of the effects of these events, and then his wife miscarried. "We are losing people." End of submission.

Lawyer Steven Kelliher noting now that Ministry of Forests has not responded to their written arguments which it has had since Sept 7 and has had @AnthonyBritneff's affidavit since August. Does it have standing to speak now at all? Now they wish to stand?

Kelliher is asking for their submission to be given no weight. And Teal Cedar has had our full written submission since Sept 7.

Lawyer Matthew Nefstead wants to note re: the pepper spraying that there is another video by Christie Greer, professional 4K video that he wants added to evidence

Now we have Katherine Reilly speaking for the Ministry of Forests.

Talking about the affidavits of @DrSuzanneSimard
& @AnthonyBritneff
as irrelevant, argumentative and vexatious #FairyCreek

@DrSuzanneSimard @AnthonyBritneff Katherine Reilly speaking for Ministry of Forests says that the evidence of @AnthonyBritneff, who had 40 years in the BC Forest Service & is an eminent forester, that Britneff's statements about industry capture of the ministry are ill-founded. Now she attempts to discredit him.

@DrSuzanneSimard @AnthonyBritneff Reilly says that because Britneff been out of the forestry civil service for 11 years his affidavit is not reliable.

She is disputing his testimony that Teal Cedar and the BC Ministry of Forests are one and the same.

@DrSuzanneSimard @AnthonyBritneff Now Reilly moves to Dr. Suzanne Simard, reminding court affidavit is not an expert report and she seems to be trying to undermine the credibility of Dr. Simard (let's remember that Simard is an internationally renowned forest ecologist)

@DrSuzanneSimard @AnthonyBritneff Sorry, there's some procedural stuff going on with affidavits that I'm not following

@DrSuzanneSimard @AnthonyBritneff There was just something of a skirmish when lawyers on the Min of Forests/Teal Cedar side wanted to introduce new info & forest defenders' lawyers said police actions are unfolding daily & yet they haven't been permitted to add new affidavits detailing these... #FairyCreek

@DrSuzanneSimard @AnthonyBritneff Break for lunch, and not a moment too soon.

@DrSuzanneSimard @AnthonyBritneff When court returns from lunch you can watch this BC Supreme Court injunction hearing on #FairyCreek yourself. Again here is the livestream login info. Phone in, or view using Microsoft Teams

https://twitter.com/Lidsville/status/1438556871669866501

And in the meantime, you may want to follow @SaveFairyCreek

https://twitter.com/SaveFairyCreek/status/1438590108173701121

#FairyCreek

@SaveFairyCreek And while court is still on lunch, more international media on #FairyCreek making BC an international embarrassment

https://twitter.com/SaveFairyCreek/status/1438559158601601031

@SaveFairyCreek I'm not sure when court resumes - had thought it was 1:30. Does anyone know? #FairyCreek

Court is now resuming in the #FairyCreek injunction extension application hearing in BC Supreme Court in Nanaimo. Watch on the livestream. #bcpoli

https://twitter.com/Lidsville/status/1438587041978060810

Apparently people are abusing the MS Teams chat or using it in ways seen as out of bounds; there's a discussion about whether this is the same as people acting out of bounds in a physical courtroom. Interesting Q. There is no way to shut down the chat it seems (I haven't seen it)

Judge is seeking advice from all the lawyers, and they all agree that no one should be chatting in the middle of court. Lawyers for the #FairyCreek side are asking that the the chat function is not the forum for this purpose; Matthew Nefstead asks supporters to stop.

Lawyer for Attorney-General of Canada, rep'ing the RCMP, making several points: while the AGC acknowledges the reality of climate change, it is the job of the RCMP to carry out the court's order/injunction. But further, this is not the venue to try the RCMP on its conduct...

Again apologies, didn't catch the name of this lawyer, who's physically in the courtroom not coming in from remote so I can't see her name.

The judge asks her how he is supposed to wait for the bogged-down RCMP complaints process?

She says that the judge should not be prejudging those police complaints based on what's a very limited record of incidents before him.

She allows that there have been "mistakes of judgment" on the part of individual officers

Canadian AG lawyer for RCMP saying that just the fact that there are all these complaints against the RCMP does not indict them, "it's a neutral fact"

Judge Thompson: 'but is this timely? Is it going to be next month, year, or 2030?' (!)

Canadian AG lawyer for RCMP saying that months or longer is a reasonable time frame. If the complaints lead to trial that too would take weeks or months. These aren't the sorts of decisions that should be made on the fly

Judge: sure it takes time, but...

This is a jurisdictional and procedural discussion I guess about whether the evidence against police is admissible as it hasn't been established as illegal.

Judge Thompson: let's flip the coin. Re the behaviour of the protesters: must we await another body to analyze that?

Judge Thompson: I have to wait for a complaints process? I must act based on what I am seeing. I'm seeing protesters dug into trenches & on tripods. Likewise I am seeing police pulling down masks & directly spraying pepper spray on faces, & wearing the thin blue lines. Why wait?

Canadian A-G lawyer for RCMP: we received 67 affidavits in total on Sept 7. She's criticizing some of them for being incomplete?

Says these RCMP officers are drawn from throughout the RCMP then go home to their home area, & it's hard for us to track them all down

Excuses?

Canadian A-G lawyer for RCMP saying based on these issues it's not possible for the judge to make a decision on whether the actions of the RCMP were or were not appropriate.

There's a long discussion about police actions at #FairyCreek. Lawyer for A-G disputes whether the photos are accurate (angles etc)

But then we hear that RCMP need pepper spray and you have to remove masks or it won't work

This is a rep for the Attorney-General of Canada.

Lawyer for the A-G of Canada is taking issue with lawyers [& by extension me/others] who say the protesters are both peaceful and legal. Peaceful maybe, she says, but legal? They're blocking the road against an injunction. This is where it gets fuzzy around civil disobedience

I'm not going to get into the question of whether civil disobedience is "legal" - it's a question of the right to civil disobedience where the law is being questioned digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/cgi/viewconten….

Judge Thompson: we can either decide that a police officer stomping his foot through a guitar is what it is; should we wait for a police complaints process on that?

Lawyer for the A-G: I'm not even going to attempt to defend that. But those few actions shouldn't taint everything

15 minute break. Someone keeps saying the word "blob" on the livestream now, which is a tad odd.

Lawyer for the A-G /RCMP is going over the details of affidavits describing inappropriate police behaviour. I'm not going to go into all the details because it is impossible to keep up. Will try to summarize/give key examples of her defense of police behaviour

Lawyer for the A-G of Canada /RCMP: she's responding one by one to the descriptions of police behaviour detailed earlier in this thread. Re the female police officer who didn't help the young woman, lawyer says no female RCMP officers are trained in aerial extraction

[Seems a little weak - that female officer could have asked for the assistance of her colleagues nearby on site who were clearly trained to do the extraction because they were busy doing it]

Trying not to editorialize too much but it's hard to stomach much of what the lawyer for the AG of Canada/RCMP is saying:
'Officers HAVE TO pull people's covid masks down to spray pepper spray in people's faces "OR IT WON'T WORK." Now she's commending the RCMP's professionalism.

She just said they are having to do these things because of the resistance they are facing. So the protesters are making the police do this.

Judge Thompson: if someone doesn't actively walk away with the police is that "resisting arrest"? Where is the line?

Lawyer for the A-G of Canada /RCMP: when protesters don't go willingly, that's resisting arrest and it's appropriate for RCMP to use "force"

Lawyer for the A-G of Canada /RCMP: with some of these "sleeping dragon" contraptions the protesters can walk away or even swap out for each other. Says RCMP try to get them to leave voluntarily and sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.

Yes and it's a good point:

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438635691571777537

Lawyer Nygard for A-G of Canada/RCMP: they're hashing out civil disobedience issue and what police powers are (they can't arrest for contempt)

Judge saying that there are very different cases with many of these arrests, but this has been going on a long time, & it's not working

Thanks for assistance here Steve!

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438638454921850880

And

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438638926399295490

It's 4 pm. Court resumes tomorrow morning at 9:45. Judge Thompson says it will surprise no one that he intends to reserve in this case as there is no way he can have a decision by Sept 26 when the injunction expires, & he expects lawyers to respond tomorrow. See you tmrw all.

Here's one summary of today's #FairyCreek injunction hearing in BC Supreme Court, by Kathy Code (Facebook link) facebook.com/kathy.code.9/p…

It's Day 4 of the of the #FairyCreek injunction hearing in BC Supreme Court in Nanaimo. Various groups & individuals are opposing Teal Cedar's application to extend its injunction against forest defenders. #bcpoli
Watch here:

https://twitter.com/Lidsville/status/1438556871669866501

This is what it looks like in BC Supreme Court today - Nanaimo courtroom on the left, Judge Thompson at centre, lawyers calling in from remote on the right (a bottom right that's Steven Kelliher, lawyer for Saul (Robert) Arbess, one of the complainants. #FairyCreek

This morning we have the lawyer for the A-G of Canada & the RCMP Nygard (sp?) discussing procedural issues with Judge Thompson re: RCMP complaints process (she doesn't think this hearing should deal with those but that police complaints process should).

Before I continue, recall: y'day at the very end of the court session Judge Thompson stated he intends to reserve in this case, as there is no way he can have a decision by Sept 26 when the injunction expires, and that...

https://twitter.com/Lidsville/status/1438639765918683140?s=20

..and that today Judge Thompson will ask all of the lawyers what they individually think should be provisionally put in place after the term of the injunction expires & before the date on which he is able to make a ruling on the evidence before him. "Because this is not working"

Back to today's proceedings: lawyer for the A-G of Canada & now responding to earlier arguments by lawyer for #FairyCreek defenders Patrick Canning on an individual often apparently contracted out to both Teal Cedar and the RCMP who was aggressive with protesters

Re: police not wearing name tags. Lawyer for A-G of Canada/RCMP saying due to online targeting of RCMP officers, RCMP let them take name tags off.
Judge: so why didn't they use badge numbers?
Lawyer: they didn't have those.
Judge: They had time to make thin blue line patches (!)

Lawyer for A-G of Canada/RCMP:
A bit hard to hear which complaint we're dealing with now over the rustling of documents. But the lawyer is responding one by one to accusations against RCMP officers raised over the past few days.

Lawyer for A-G of Canada/RCMP: "this is a very long police action, it's very complex, of course police have made mistakes, no one should expect perfection."

Editorializing: so we should be kind and fair, and forgive #PoliceBrutality even if has traumatized kids, because reasons.

Lawyer for A-G of Canada/RCMP: on yesterday's video of police threatening the media person, whom she thinks was from @TeenVogue:
She says officer's RCMP superior agrees this was out of line but that it doesn't require disciplinary action

https://twitter.com/Lidsville/status/1438578123382018067?s=20

@TeenVogue This is an excellent summary of what's going on here with the lawyer for A-G of Canada/RCMP - and bringing up this key point that Judge Thompson has already said re: the police enforcement at #FairyCreek: "this is not working."

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438914481422102528

@TeenVogue The lawyer for A-G of Canada/RCMP saying RCMP weren't "confiscating" personal belongings of protesters, just 'moving them' (!) etc etc

Judge Thompson: are we going to get back to the thin blue line patch? #FairyCreek

@TeenVogue Lawyer: there is more context on that thin blue line patch

Judge Thompson wants to know if when RCMP are enforcing a court order, they are under the direction of the court & how does that patch figure under these conditions & reflect back on the court?

@TeenVogue Lawyer talking about layers of jurisdiction and the union but as Steve says: Judge saying "I don't see why I should give a hoot about that; my concern is the reputation of the court"

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438917423789342720

@TeenVogue Lawyer: the RCMP isn't working for the court

Judge: But every RCMP press release begins with "we are enforcing an injunction of the court & doing court's bidding." He's getting impatient with the discussions about independence

@TeenVogue Lawyer: I don't doubt some individuals interpret that patch the way they say they do

Judge: Sure. But we have to judge the meaning of that patch based on what has gone on around us for the last couple of years (referencing of course #BLM /racism)

@TeenVogue I'm going to include some of the tweets that I'm seeing in my mentions as we go along. Can't disagree with this.

https://twitter.com/Seej500/status/1438918607426232327

@TeenVogue Lawyer for A-G/RCMP now talking about the increasingly difficulty of removing protesters in increasingly complex contraptions - sleeping dragons, tripods, trenches in the road, under logs, tree sits, cantilevers
Judge: Isn't this old? Isn't it what triggered the orig injunction?

@TeenVogue Or to say this more simply, Steve coming in with a more laser-like assessment of what's going on right now (thanks Steve)

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438919427580313703

I just got kicked off the feed - attempting to get back in. Has anyone else experienced this?

Good time to have lost the feed - court is now on break. It's so much easier when there's more than one of us on this, thanks @SteveLloyd001

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438921480503324672

@SteveLloyd001 The feed has returned from the BC Supreme Court Nanaimo courtroom.

As for what the judge will decide, as a rule I maintain 'hope without guarantees' rather than optimism/pessimism, always.

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438925015743795202

OK so we've just been informed (this is news to me) that we aren't allowed to take screenshots of the court proceedings. Makes sense. So we won't be seeing any more of those, apologies.

Well, well.

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438927162787057668

I guess we'll see... It remains shocking that RCMP officers arresting protesters have been wearing no ID badges.

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438927541327122432

Lawyer for A-G/RCMP: now looking at maps of the #FairyCreek area and laying out where police stops were. Thanks @SteveLloyd001 for this analysis:

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438929301735297026

@SteveLloyd001 Lawyer for A-G/RCMP: mentions "protester incursion" into areas

Judge Thompson: "police incursion?"
RCMP Lawyer: it's grating to the public ear but it's just police term
Judge: It's policespeak
Lawyer: yes
Judge: would you also talk about lawyer incursion, media incursion? (!)

@SteveLloyd001 Precisely.

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438930152776343553

Lawyer for A-G of Canada/RCMP:

Now talking about the need for RCMP to do voluntary searches on the road. Note if you don't submit, you are turned away. She is saying this increases flow of protesters entering the area (!)

Wow, this is getting into iffy territory. RCMP lawyer saying these "conditional entry searches" increase access to #FairyCreek because it allows RCMP to keep out "people who might cause a problem"

When people tell you who they are...

Lawyer talking about people "coming through temporary exclusion zones in large numbers. If this happened at the buffer zone, that would be al massive problem"

Remember that where people have overwhelmed police exclusion zones, they are groups of white-haired elders/seniors.

Judge Thompson is referencing other protests incl one in Edmonton. We've got an exclusion zone, a little one and a big one: where is the line? Lawyer: this isn't an urban protest, it's a remote rural area where extraction is going on, more volatile, dangerous & unpredictable

Lawyer: here we have a history of protestors breaking thru lines set up by police. If they'd previously broken through a small cordoned area, police would be justified in setting a larger cordoned off area. ...there's 1 road in and out & RCMP can get trapped between protesters

Exactly - RCMP lawyer is trying to paint the RCMP as the party in danger here. They're coming in with officers effectively paramilitary-trained, fully armed with weapons including chemical, to deal with peaceful protesters.

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438932939685826560

Judge Thompson isn't really buying the argument that the RCMP are in danger at #FairyCreek, which is the tack the lawyer for the A-G of Canada & the RCMP is repeatedly taking.

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438933818631548928

#cdnpoli #bcpoli

Lawyer now saying that because of what the protesters are doing, the public doesn't have access to this public area now either, only the protesters do. (Trenches & tripods across roads etc)

Also:

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438934575544102913

Judge Thompson: comes back at the RCMP lawyer asking if what RCMP are doing at #FairyCreek could be compared to police creating a cordon around the Downtown Eastside (DTES) in Vancouver, with stop searches and restricting materials.

No one is really buying, I think including the Judge, that the RCMP are in danger from these protesters.

https://twitter.com/perfidiousSH/status/1438935212432388096

Lawyer apparently arguing that the only way out of the quagmire is increased powers

Judge mentioning one solution is section 430 sub 1 of the criminal code where anyone creating trenches in roads etc. can be prosecuted for public mischief w jail time

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438935619468627972

Sorry to briefly digress here, but this is going on right now at the @UBCM conference, where @jjhorgan is making his allegiances clear

https://twitter.com/A_MacLeod_Tyee/status/1438936285951844354

Hope it's just that Judge Thompson is laying out what his options are, not that this is really his intention, but I didn't like hearing him talk about this either.

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438936924538880001

Agreed.

https://twitter.com/MrMdc1964/status/1438938427248943106

RCMP lawyer is responding to the submissions of lawyer Matthew Nefstead for the #FairyCreek protesters who detailed RCMP actions, and she is saying but exclusions zones are different from day to day & change with the circumstances.

[Apparently!]

I would agree with this assessment of what's going on.

Thanks for these eyewitness observations of RCMP behaviour at #FairyCreek, @scribblechris. I'm attaching them to this thread:

https://twitter.com/scribblechris/status/1438940794358878208

@scribblechris And this, on RCMP officers at #FairyCreek refusing to give citizens their names verbally:

https://twitter.com/scribblechris/status/1438941032788361216

@scribblechris I don't know if this lawyer for the crown/RCMP realizes how flimsy her case is), but she's making a lot of mistakes, including this one.

https://twitter.com/MrMdc1964/status/1438940464871186437

Now the lawyer is asking the judge not to listen to hearsay, which would imply he'd be inclined to do that. That's thin ice. He shows restraint and says he is quite capable of filtering out hyperbole etc. but also that this cuts both ways.

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438942293818429442

We are now breaking for lunch. The remainder of the hearing is from 1:45 to 3:45 today.

Judge Thompson saying he'd like to hear from the defenders and their allies. When the RCMP lawyer replies to them, he'd like her to ID what she's referring to & show how it's "new"

Judge Thompson reminds the court that he will not be making a decision today. The injunction against #FairyCreek protesters expires Sept. 26. Provisional measures will have to be made between then & when he can produce his decision. See earlier comments:

https://twitter.com/Lidsville/status/1438911037546188808

Yes. Again, the crown is looking not just for an extension to the original injunction granted by Justice Verhoeven last spring; they are asking for even broader RCMP powers at #FairyCreek. #bcpoli #cdnpoli

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438944370078601219

And thanks for this photo @KjellLiem. Today the RCMP lawyer maintained that RCMP weren't wearing badge ID numbers instead of nametags because 'they don't have standalone ID # badges' - wrong. They evidently do.

https://twitter.com/KjellLiem/status/1438942022899957762

#FairyCreek

More on police taking arbitrary actions ie. exceeding their powers from a forest defender who was there at #FairyCreek:

https://twitter.com/scribblechris/status/1438945262521577472

#fairycreekblockade

Cont'd (and yes I detailed this earlier, including the unnecessary and unexplained destruction of a forest defender's vehicle)

https://twitter.com/scribblechris/status/1438946031987617792

I would say this is a fair assessment.

https://twitter.com/cindian1/status/1438947218090721281

While court is on lunch, this report: #FairyCreek

https://twitter.com/timethief/status/1438958782407610375

Someone asking whether a cop without any identification is still legally police...

https://twitter.com/jnarai/status/1438957729528401924

Court is now resuming. This is the final afternoon of this injunction extension hearing; we are told it will conclude by 3:45.

They are looking at the affidavit containing video of protesters covered in mud. Lawyer for the protesters Elizabeth Strain will be responding

This will be the order of lawyers for the various forest defenders: Nefstead, Canning, Kelliher, Strain

Lawyer Matthew Nefstead responding to A-G of Canada/RCMP lawyer Nygard's submissions of this morning:

'We don't have evidence that those officers who do have numbered badges are wearing them, or that those who don't will, once they receive theirs.'

Lawyer Matthew Nefstead responding to A-G of Canada/RCMP lawyer Nygard: - I may have misheard but think he said we need to hear whether police have been instructed not to wear badges or been instructed to

Lawyer Matthew Nefstead responding to A-G of Canada/RCMP lawyer Nygard

Best example of unlawful media exclusions zones, which violate this same Judge's order of August, is in the affidavits of Jackie Larkin & one other who were excluded

Lawyer Matthew Nefstead -

AG lawyer says public access has been restored to previous enforcement areas but this is not true - RCMP may have moved on but those blocks now locked down by Teal Cedar, authorized by BC Min of Forests

'Point is just that there are broader definitions of public access than what we are seeing at Fairy Creek'

Lawyer Matthew Nefstead is responding point by point to A-G of Canada/RCMP lawyer Nygard's submission of this morning

'We're not asking you to adjudicate on each of these police actions m'lord, but the violence, whether court calls it justified or not is affecting rep of justice

..'and that these police actions right or wrong are resulting from the carrying out of the court's injunction' - in short, he's suggesting I think that the injunction needs to be revisited

Now lawyer Patrick Canning responding to A-G of Canada/RCMP lawyer Nygard's submissions earlier

It doesn't matter which type of police action we're talking about, #FairyCreek, Edmonton or Vancouver DTES, it's the same thing

..Defenders are afraid to give affidavits, they fear their vehicles being taken, they fear being added to threatened civil suits. Lots of evidence that people are afraid to give evidence because it might draw police attention to themselves esp during catch & release arrests

Re 'thin blue line patches. Court could take its traditional notice of the relationship between Indigenous people and the RCMP, who took children to residential schools & took them back there when they escaped, and see that thin blue line patches are inappropriate'

Thanks Steve, I spaced out and missed that point

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438973577533874178

Canning: re: Robert (Saul) Arbess' case: re: the Min of Forest submission y'day, (we are having a lot of trouble hearing right now - audio is garbled)

There was a key point in there about a legal test that can be tried given new legislation (?) but it's too garbled to hear - did anyone catch it?

Canning: 'I spoke to my client Pacheedaht Elder Bill Jones this a.m., a leader within this move't, many protesters at #FairyCreek say they're in TFL46 by his permission. Jones says they'll stand down if Teal Cedar agrees to stop cutting #oldgrowth while this goes to mediation'

Steve Kelliher, lawyer for Robert (Saul) Arbess, one the forest defender side:

Judge Thompson apologizes for the timing of the case so close to the expiry date (says that part at least is not Teal Cedar's fault)

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438976459658330112

Steve Kelliher, lawyer for Robert (Saul) Arbess, one the forest defender side:

The statement "this is not working" is too mild for these events. What we have seen in the videos of RCMP actions is shocking." #FairyCreek

All of this reflects on the court tho it's politicians who should be responsible here #FairyCreek

But what was most shocking about the videos of RCMP ripping masks off elderly woman & her daughter in order to pepper spray them, and the A-G's lawyer can normalize this in court

It is shocking that ripping masks off an elderly woman so they can gas her is being normalized in British Columbia

You have authorities trying to compare these well-intentioned protestors to the January 6 rabble!

The public prosecution process does not direct the police. The crown counsel act puts daylight between the govt and police. The RCMP are under the power of the A-G who could tell the police to stay where they are right now. This is going to get serious
twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/…

Kelliher warning that this is going to escalate and result in more serious injury or death. The fault ultimately lies with the politicians (federal and provincial) to call off the dogs.

I am grateful that Kelliher went after the A-G of Canada/RCMP lawyer's calmly-stated descriptions/ defenses of grisly RCMP violence yesterday and that it was normalizing brutalization in court.

https://twitter.com/Lidsville/status/1438632433071517703?s=20

Now lawyer Elizabeth Strain for the forest defenders, responding to lawyer for A-G of Canada/RCMP:

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438979439338029056

Sorry - Elizabeth Strain is responding to Dean Dalke here, the lawyer for Teal Cedar, as well as/instead of Ms Nygard lawyer for A-G of Canada/RCMP

Elizabeth Strain: 'lawyer for A-G complains that the protesters' affidavits use "inflammatory language," eg "it was shocking to see racism alive in the RCMP" (from seeing thin blue line & intimidation tactics)

It's not inflammatory m'lord we need to hear what ppl think'

Lawyer for Teal Cedar, Dean Dalke, wants Elizabeth Strain to respond to a complaint about affidavit of Donna Clark one of her clients. Depicts a police raid on Heli Camp. Clark disputes that protesters disturb a "heli pad" (doesn't exist) & debris is police not protester caused

RCMP left tarps all over the place, and helicopters land wherever there's room, so the complaint that protesters have blocked a heli pad is false

Now Strain responding to Teal Cedar complaints that protesters were naked. Strain says this is more attempt to demonize protesters. "Can't get more stereotypical than that, and if Teal Cedar is upset by that (faint smile in voice) I'm sorry

NOTE: some wore mud. Not "feces"

Teal Cedar's lawyer saying that protesters claiming the mud on their bodies is feces creates problems for enforcement officers

Judge Thompson: 'they'd have to be pretty credulous to believe that, no? They have noses' (laughter in court)

That was funny and I didn't see it coming

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438983271900073987

Judge Thompson: I will accept these affidavits and I'd like to say I appreciate all these lawyers here that we have not spent a week arguing admissibility of evidentiary materials and after 4 days I feel equipped to make a decision here'

Dalke: 'The injunction has largely worked, and Teal Cedar has been able to do most of its logging work, and if the injunction extension is granted it can continue its work'

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438983661446053889

Dalke: going through legal precedents and questions of jurisdiction here. It's going so fast into the legal weeds I'm losing the thread.

I think I'm hearing that the precedent is Justice McEwen on MacBlo vs. Simpson on an issue in the Slocan

Dalke is asking for Justice Thompson to go by the precedent and not let the injunction lapse, but to extend the injunction which would act to dissuade protesters.

Which I would agree is, in effect, this:

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438985906854137856

Judge Thompson: civil injunction is the remedy where A-G won't enforce criminal law

Here is that case:
scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-cs…

Precisely and Judge Thompson is saying this is the cause of frustration.

Bec court is repeatedly tasked with doing bidding of companies and issuing injunctions where A-G doesn't step in?

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438986258567467010

Dalke admits that enforcing these injunctions is not pretty

Good point.

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438987214709354496

Dalke, lawyer for Teal Cedar, is actually arguing that if Judge Thompson doesn't extend the injunction it will amount to condoning illegal acts of protesters. He seems to be drawing to a close

Dalke again asking for an interim injunction after Sept 26 because he doesn't think there will be enforcement by RCMP without it and that if it lapses even for a day there will be numerous more hard blocks & other protester moves in TFL46

Dalke responding to Steven Kelliher and he's discussing mandamus, saying it makes no sense for Teal Cedar to apply for it.

Dalke: I always advise my clients to mediate but this is being raised beyond the 11th hour. While notice to mediate can be provided at any time...

Now lawyer trying to say logging in #FairyCreek was deferred but it didn't deter blockades outside that narrow boundary

re mediation and mandamus

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438989543059836930

Dalke: lawyer is focusing on "debris left on the road" and Teal Cedar's concern that if they leave these materials they'll be used to build new installations.

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438989805698760704

Dalke talking about some of the evidentiary materials including the contractor with the offensive shirt, removing people's property, Teal Cedar says shirt's unfortunate but not their responsibility

Yes, I'm not going to cover all of this - going too quickly anyway.

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438990457158070280

Dalke says Teal Cedar is legally entitled to tow the public's vehicles and does it with RCMP oversight - he's responding here to accusations that Teal Cedar is removing the public's property unlawfully

Dalke, lawyer for Teal Cedar, closing by urging judge to do something bold and while the public overwhelmingly oppose #oldgrowth logging, this is not a court of public opinion. #bcpoli #FairyCreek

Disappointingly, Judge Thompson just abruptly stated that the"status quo shall remain" ie injunction remains in place for now until he makes his decision in a few weeks.

Before the livefeed went dark a voice broke in saying"Shame on the A-G of Canada. Shame." #FairyCreek

Yes.

https://twitter.com/mediocrateaze/status/1438992536555556866

There's that, and now we wait.

https://twitter.com/SteveLloyd001/status/1438992917939449856

Thanks so much to everyone who followed along, & who cares about #FairyCreek and more broadly our future & the state of our govts & justice system. Special thanks for invaluable reporting, commentary & comradely help from @SteveLloyd001 who made this easier and more fun.

@SteveLloyd001 I'll keep appending others' reactions here. Thanks for this Mark.

https://twitter.com/greyowl76/status/1438994795934859264

As everyone leaves BC Supreme Court in Nanaimo, there is drumming for #FairyCreek

https://twitter.com/SkyeRyanCHEK/status/1438996131468349449

#bcpoli

This 4-day tweet of the #FairyCreek injunction case in BC Supreme Court began here. Sorry for its length, & thanks for joining us on this long voyage on the HMS Fairy Creek Livetweet. We'll pick up again when Judge Thompson is back with a ruling.

https://twitter.com/Lidsville/status/1437923821638479872?s=20

I know I'm only one among many 1000s in BC who feel deep admiration & gratitude to all the #FairyCreek forest defenders. Despite being brutalized & traumatized they have doggedly, steadfastly kept their eyes on the prize. If you can go to #FairyCreek, do. If not, spread the word.