A group of demonstrators plan to block access to the Cambie Bridge Saturday to protest old-growth logging in British Columbia.
Extinction Rebellion’s Vancouver chapter dropped a banner over the Cambie Bridge on Thursday (March 24) to announce that they will engage in "peaceful civil disobedience" Saturday (March 27).
Extinction Rebellion is a grassroots movement that uses nonviolent action to drive systemic change in the face of the climate crisis.
The group plans to gather on the north side (back steps) near the George Vancouver statue outside of Vancouver City Hall at noon, which the group points out is located on the unceded territory of the Squamish, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.
After that, the group says it plans to walk onto the Cambie Bridge and "peacefully occupy public space, disrupting regular traffic."
The action, featuring speakers, music, and art, will take place on the same day as a mass mobilization at the B.C. Legislature to call for an immediate end to old-growth logging - an action initiated by the group blockading logging of the Fairy Creek watershed on historically Pacheedaht lands.
Attendees are asked to wear masks.
“Logging old-growth directly violates Extinction Rebellions's second demand to Act Now. Cutting down ancient forests not only destroys the rarest and most biodiverse habitat we have. It also trashes an extremely effective carbon sink and disturbs the soil, resulting in further CO2 emissions,” said Kelly Tatham, a volunteer with Extinction Rebellion.
“These trees are a vital component of mitigating catastrophic warming and biodiversity loss on the planet and they deserve to be respected as ancient living beings - not ravaged for consumption.”
Old Growth Strategic Review Panel
The B.C. government’s Old Growth Strategic Review Panel report, released in September 2020, recommended an overhaul of old-growth management in the province including a halt to logging in rare and at-risk ecosystems.
Extinction Rebellion writes in a release that "The government has missed the six-month report deadline and old-growth forests continue to be felled daily. Likewise, the Federal government is moving ahead with Trans Mountain pipeline construction against the recommendations of the PBO and CER, who, in reports last year, warned that the government-owned project would not be profitable if Canada takes action to cut its GHG emissions."
The group’s third demand regarding the creation of a Citizens' Assembly (CA) is being forwarded through a proposed Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill for B.C.
Vancouver Police Cst. Tania Visintin tells Vancouver Is Awesome that police are aware of the protest and will have officers on scene for safety.
