Forest City urged to join fight over old growth forest in B.C.
A rally in Victoria Park called on Londoners to voice opposition to logging inside an ancient forest on the west coast of Canada.
People have been camped out in the Fairy Creek watershed since last August to defend what they describe as the last unprotected old growth forest on southern Vancouver Island.
London-native Jamie Ranney has just returned from the front lines.
“The thing that touched me the most being there was just reconnecting with nature because you can get so disconnected in the city,” Ranney tells CTV News London.
Ranney joined members of Climate Action London outside the entrance to Ribfest on Friday to educate Londoners about the protest occurring half a country away.
And that the Forest City has an interest in the health of forests in B.C.
“We have seen already this year all the smoke that arrived here from the forest fires across Canada,” says Mary Ann Hodge of Climate Action London.
Logging company Teal Jones holds the license for the watershed, and has previously stated a belief that 200 hectares of the 1,200 hectares are harvestable.
Ranney says the old growth forest in the Fairy Creek watershed took a thousand years to grow, storing carbon from the atmosphere.
“The carbon that these forests store is unlike any forest we have in Canada, and certainly nothing like a replanted forest,” she says.
Tensions heated up this spring when a court injunction forbid protestors from preventing access.
The RCMP have made more than 400 arrests.
Climate Action London says concerned people in our region should contact their member of parliament.
Ranney hopes her hometown will step up.
“Getting the word out, telling friends and family about this is going to help our fight.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
What Canadians think of the latest Liberal budget
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Her fiance has been in prison for 49 years. She's trying to free him before it's too late
Christine Roess is a retired consultant. Ezra Bozeman has spent the last 49 years in prison, serving a life sentence for a murder he says he didn’t commit. Against the odds, the two fell in love.