National

B.C. old-growth protesters celebrate as contempt prosecution has 'collapsed'

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 19 Apr, 2023 01:48 PM

The B-C Prosecution Service says it has withdrawn criminal contempt charges against 11 more people accused of breaching a court injunction during old-growth logging protests on Vancouver Island.

Gordon Comer with the prosecution service says they’re reviewing other cases affected by a court ruling back in February that acquitted protester Ryan Henderson on contempt charges due to the R-C-M-P’s failure to properly read an injunction to Fairy Creek blockaders.

Comer says charges are being reviewed on a case-by-cases basis and that the Crown is appealing the Henderson ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Lawyer Karen Mirsky, who has defended several clients facing Fairy Creek contempt charges, says the R-C-M-P’s decision to use a short-form script of the injunction went against long-standing and established legal principles, leading to the collapse of upwards of a 150 cases involving Fairy Creek protesters.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Long lineup in London as queen lies in state

Equipped with sleeping bags, books and backpacks of food, they formed a queue that was nearly four kilometres long as of 6 p.m. local time. With Westminster Palace silhouetted across the river, people waited patiently as the line wound its way past the London Eye and across Lambeth Bridge.

Long lineup in London as queen lies in state

Northeast B.C., blaze scanned to confirm perimeter

The B.C. Wildfire Service says the scan was done late Tuesday. It will also be used to identify hot spots on the east flank of the 287-square kilometre wildfire, nearest to the W.A.C. Bennet Dam and the evacuated community of Hudson's Hope.

Northeast B.C., blaze scanned to confirm perimeter

Man fatally shot in Burnaby, B.C., attack

A statement from Burnaby RCMP says the attack happened just after 11 p.m. Tuesday along a busy stretch of Hastings Street near Confederation Park. The unnamed victim died at the scene.

Man fatally shot in Burnaby, B.C., attack

Reward doubled to $500K for B.C. gondola vandalism

It comes as RCMP reveal more details about their investigation and share a photo of a suspect who may have been responsible for cutting the cable on the Sea to Sky Gondola twice, in 2019 and 2020.

Reward doubled to $500K for B.C. gondola vandalism

Schools not to blame for high COVID rates: doctor

Dr. Bonnie Henry has been criticized by some parents, advocacy groups and health-care professionals who say a major jump in infections occurred during the school year among children under age 10.

Schools not to blame for high COVID rates: doctor

B.C. shuts schools, gives workers day off Sept. 19

A statement from the province says it's a national day to reflect on the "incredible life of Canada's Queen and the longest-serving monarch in British history." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared that Monday will be a holiday for federal government workers to mourn the Queen on the day of her state funeral.