Old-growth logging protesters dig in as company to Appeal Court's injunction denial

Photo: The Canadian Press

An RCMP officer stands by as protesters, left, are chained to a gate during an anti-logging blockade in Caycuse, B.C.

A decision by a British Columbia Supreme Court judge refusing to extend an injunction against old-growth logging protesters did little to release pressure in the dispute as all sides hold steadfast to their positions.

Forest company Teal Cedar Products Ltd. says in a statement it intends to appeal the judge's decision from Tuesday.

Luke Wallace, a spokesman for the protest group Rainforest Flying Squad, says supporters will stay put at blockade camps at Fairy Creek, a remote area north of Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island.

Justice Douglas Thompson's decision urged the B.C. government to consider further options to address the dispute beyond the injunction, including using criminal or provincial laws or even changing the laws.

B.C.'s Ministry of Attorney General says in a statement it is reviewing the decision and will not comment due to the possibility of appeals launched by the parties involved.

Provincial Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau says the judge made it abundantly clear that it's the government's job to address the old-growth logging issue.

Meanwhile, National Police Federation president Brian Sauvé says in a statement the officers who enforced the injunction against blockades were "the thin blue line between order and chaos."