A Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge has issued a permanent injunction against a blockade of logging roads in southwestern Nova Scotia.
Justice Kevin Coady says in a written decision issued Thursday that Westfor Management Inc. established a strong case against Extinction Rebellion, and that the forestry group would suffer irreparable harm if the blockades were permitted to resume.
The protesters set up camps on logging roads near the Caribou River on Oct. 21, saying they were protecting the habitat of endangered mainland moose.
On Dec. 10, an interim injunction was granted ordering them to stop the blockades, and five days after that, the RCMP arrested nine people and the two roads were reopened.
In granting the permanent injunction, Coady noted Extinction Rebellion never sought a judicial review of the minister’s original decisions permitting the logging to proceed.
However, the judge refused to grant a wider, more sweeping injunction that would have prohibited the protesters from blockading other forestry operations run by Westfor.
Coady also declined to order the advocacy group to cover legal costs of the forestry company, noting, “this organization, and similar public interest groups, are well-intentioned and play a role in our modern-day democracy.”
Marcus Zwicker, general manager of Westfor, said in a release that the company was pleased, as “the judge found that laws must be followed.”
“The families that depend on forestry have a right to earn a living and the protesters illegal blockades were stopping people from going to work,” Zwicker said.
However, Extinction Rebellion member Nina Newington said her group was delighted by the decision, because Coady refused the wider injunction.
“Given how heavily the case law around injunctions favours resource extraction companies, this was quite a win for us,” she said in a news release.
“Now if the government will do its job as promised, protecting the habitat of endangered species and reforming barbaric forestry practices, Nova Scotians won’t have to put themselves at risk again.”
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