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More than a dozen arrested in B.C. anti-logging protests

PORT RENFREW, B.C. — Mounties say 14 people were arrested on southern Vancouver Island Saturday as officers enforced a court injunction ordering the removal of blockades set up to protest old-growth logging.

PORT RENFREW, B.C. — Mounties say 14 people were arrested on southern Vancouver Island Saturday as officers enforced a court injunction ordering the removal of blockades set up to protest old-growth logging.

Police say six people were arrested Saturday near Port Renfrew, B.C., at an encampment.

RCMP say two people were then removed from a structure hanging between two trees along the remote McClure forest service road west of Lake Cowichan later in the day.

Mounties say after the initial arrests a group formed around midday, blocking traffic along the road and resulting in several more arrests.

Activists say Tzeporah Berman, one of the organizers of the 1990s "War in the Woods" protest against old-growth logging, was arrested during the police sweep.

Mounties say those arrested were offered the opportunity to leave or be arrested.

Activists say very little of the best old-growth forest remains in B.C. and Fairy Creek is the last unprotected, intact old-growth valley on southern Vancouver Island.

Police say they have now arrested 48 people over the course of the protest.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 22, 2021.

The Canadian Press

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version, based on information from police, erroneously reported that more than two dozen people were arrested. In fact, the number was 14.