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Jail terms shock Elaho logging foes

Neal Hall, Sun Court Reporter Vancouver Sun

Four environmental protesters seemed surprised Friday when a judge handed out stiff sentences of up to 56 days in jail for defying a court injunction last year against interruption of logging in the Elaho Valley north of Squamish.

"That's a shocker," said Andrea Schaal when she heard she was being sentenced to 42 days in jail for contempt of court for her role in a logging blockade to protest the destruction of 1,000-year-old trees.

Schaal, a university student and the daughter of an RCMP staff sergeant, and three co-accused -- Sam Kelly, Kevin Kunzler and Jody Simm -- had been charged with criminal contempt but pleaded guilty to civil contempt, a lesser offence, for violating the injunction obtained by International Forest Products.

Kunzler was sentenced to 56 days in jail, Simm got 28 and Kelly, the son of a Vancouver doctor, was sentenced to 24 days. The judge said they should serve their full sentences before being released.

During sentencing, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Glen Parrett noted that judges have been warning for 10 years about the need for stiffer sentences in such cases.

"It falls to me to implement the warning of our judges," the judge said.

The accused may have had good intentions and youthful enthusiasm, but probation and suspended sentences have not worked in the past to discourage other environmental protesters from trying to halt logging operations, the judge said.

He noted the court's reluctance to take a firm stand has been seen as a weakness and led to loggers taking the law in their own hands.

Five loggers have been charged with assaulting protesters and destroying their camp in the valley. Three protesters were sent to hospital in that incident.

Paul Hundal, one of the lawyers for the protesters, said the judge slammed those sentenced Friday, giving them more jail time that some violent criminals get.

"It seems the courts think it's more important to protect corporations that protecting people," he said.

The remaining protesters facing contempt charges will resume their trial next week, when the judge has ordered the return of witness David Haffey.

Last month, Haffey, a logging engineer, changed his story on the witness stand, saying no one told him to throw away a videotape of loggers who allegedly trashed and burned the protesters' "peace camp."

Haffey had previously testified that a logger had told him to throw away the videotape, which Haffey tossed in a creek. Later, on the witness stand, he said he threw away the tape because he felt he would be ostracized by his fellow loggers.

After making the confession, the judge asked Haffey to step down and leave the courtroom. The judge said he believed the witness had committed perjury and appointed lawyer David Crossin to advise Haffey, who was later unable to return to court because he was suffering from depression.

Two more environmental activists, Suzanne Jackson and Betty Krawczyk, were arrested last week in the Elaho for defying Interfor's court injunction. Their contempt trial starts May 29.

Krawczyk, 71, earlier served 50 days in custody since her first arrest at anti-logging protests over the Elaho last Sept. 30.

She also served more than five months in custody after she was arrested during environmental protests at Clayoquot Sound on Vancouver Island.

Jim Cooperman, Editor, B.C. Environmental Report Coordinator, BCEN Forest Caucus President, Shuswap Environmental Action Society RR 1 Site 10 Comp 2, Chase, B.C., V0E IM0 jcoop@direct.ca, 250-679-3693, Fax 679-8248 BCEN Web page www.bcen.bc.ca/

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===== A message from the 'landwatch' discussion list =====

Hi,
I've been involved with the Stoltmann/Elaho Valley old growth forest campaign since last summer. Many exciting things have happened since then: people have protested Interfor's clearcutting, been arrested, been assaulted by loggers, been tried for criminal contempt of court (for violating a court injunction not to enter a specific area around Interfor's worksites), and now 6 people are in jail and 8 await sentencing.

For information on this campaign visit the WCWC website www.wildernesscommittee.org or the Friends of the Elaho website www.monkeywrenchcafe.org/elaho

There are currently 6 activists in jail. For a summary of their sentencing, see the Province article pasted below. They really need our support. They would absolutely love to hear from you, letters and encouragement will give them strength to stay focussed and calm. They report that jail is a day to day struggle to stay sane. They would also love to get articles, anecdotal and scientific examples of sustainable forest practices and community health, you can point me to those and I'll pass them on. They are building a website of examples of sustainable community based forestry and non-timber forest products and needs our help with this.

For details on where to send letters of support: www.earthstationtv.com

To go all out: call the Attorney General's Office and request that these harsh sentences be investigated and overturned. These are the longest sentences EVER handed down in BC for civil contempt of court charges. The judge intends to keep handing out longer and longer sentences in this case, while Interfor doesn't even have to show up in court.

To arrange a jail visit you need to call the campaign supporters and get your name put on a background check and visitors list, (604) 729-8933, and then you need to call the prison to get on the visitor schedule (your background check has to clear first). 

Thanks for allowing me to request your support! Please respond to me directly. 

Marie-Claire

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Elaho:  Four get record terms
The Province
Andy Ivens, Staff Reporter

Four protesters who defied a court order last year not to hamper logging in the Elaho Valley have been handed the longest jail sentences ever imposed in B.C. for civil contempt.

Samuel Kelly, Jody Carter Simm, Andrea Schaal and Kevin Kunzler were charged with criminal contempt of court but pleaded guilty in April to the lesser offence of civil contempt.

On Friday they were handed jail terms ranging from 14 days to 56 days. Previously, the longest jail sentence imposed in B.C. for civil contempt was seven days.

The protesters are trying to save 1,000-year-old trees in the valley north of Squamish from being cut by International Forest Products Ltd.

"For the past decade many protesters have chosen to disobey the law for their causes," Justice Glen Parrett said in his ruling.

"Unless the message gets out and these activities stop, there will be stronger sentences."

In the past, protesters who defied an injunction then pleaded guilty to civil contempt and apologized to the court were usually not jailed.

"It appears the courts are more interested in protecting corporations than individuals," said Paul Hundal, a lawyer for one of the four.

Pat Venditti, national campaigner for Forest Action Network, said the judge is wrong if he thinks stiffer sentences will deter protests.

"The first thought I had when I heard his ruling was, 'I want to go and protest,'" said Venditti.

Venditti predicted 1,000 people will be arrested this summer in logging hot spots around B.C.

Loggers' fears that preserving the old-growth Douglas fir in the Elaho could jeopardize their livelihoods led to a clash between the two sides at the Lava Creek bridge last Sept. 15, where dozens of protesters had been camping for a month.

Environmentalists say there is an ample supply of logs in other areas of Interfor's tree farm licence, but the company is racing ahead to log the old growth as fast as it can.

Western Canada Wilderness Committee says Interfor has cut blocks totalling more than 1.3 million cubic metres in Squamish Tree Farm Licence 38. The two cut blocks with the old growth have a volume of 33,000 cubic metres.

"This means Interfor has years of cut left [in TFL 38]," said WCWC director Joe Foy. "A temporary moratorium during which time a solution is worked out would not cause loss of jobs or profits."

The trial of 10 other protesters for criminal contempt resumes this week in B.C. Supreme Court.

Five Squamish men charged with assault stemming from the Sept. 15 incident, which sent three protesters to hospital, are to go to trial Dec. 4 in Squamish provincial court. 

Protesters Betty Krawczyk, 71, and Suzanne Jackson, who were arrested on the road into the Elaho 13 days ago, are in jail awaiting trial because they refuse to make an undertaking to stay out of the area.

Their next court date is June 5.

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