Opponents to B.C.'s old-growth logging strategy have once again blocked traffic along a major Metro Vancouver highway Monday morning (April 18).
Members of Save Old Growth have positioned themselves on the westbournd lanes of Grandview Highway at Boundary Road on the Burnaby-Vancouver border.
One participant has glued themselves to the road, while another has mounted a ladder set up in the middle of the road.
This is the third week of protests organized by the group in its latest wave of regular traffic-stopping campaigns to draw attention to the province's practice of logging old-growth trees.
“Every time we step foot out onto the road we are met with increasingly severe police tactics," said Save Old Growth spokesperson Julia Torgerson.
"What they have yet to realize is that as the police continue to escalate their tactics, so will we. We will stand firm in the face of adversity and we will not stop disrupting commuter traffic until real legislative change is achieved. That is a promise. There will be no jobs, school, or appointments to be on time for on a dead planet.”
Save Old Growth describes itself as “an offshoot” of Extinction Rebellion, the group behind multiple protests in Metro Vancouver and Victoria that routinely blocks traffic on major roads, off- and on-ramps, and bridges in order to draw attention to the issue of climate change and what they believe is government inaction.
The group began its highway-blocking protest campaign in January. Since then, 80 participants have been arrested in Save Old Growth-organized protests.
"Disruptions will continue to escalate until the government acts to pass legislation, as soon as that happens we will be off the highway," notes the group.
- Take our poll: Should anti-logging protesters block highways and bridges to get their message heard?
