Fairy Creek blockade activists trying to protect some of the last stands of old-growth forest on southern Vancouver Island have won a three-week reprieve after a judge adjourned an injunction . . .
iPolitics By iPolitics. Published on Mar 5, 2021 12:41pm Natural Resources Minister Seamus O Regan in Ottawa in June 2019, says his government is looking at all options to keep Line 5 operational. (Andrew Meade/iPolitics)
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Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan said the federal government won’t let Michigan shut down the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline. O’Regan told a special House of Commons committee on the relationship between Canada and the United States that Line 5 is vital to the energy and employment needs of Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta.
O’Regan’s comments come after Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered Line 5 to be shut down by May, claiming the Calgary-based energy company is violating the terms of the deal that allows the line to traverse the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac. iPolitics has that story.
Forestry company Teal-Jones had sought the injunction to remove the Fairy Creek blockades at various entry points to its Tree Farm Licence 46 near Port Renfrew until Sept. 4. However, Power said it was in the interest of justice to allow the delay, so defendants could better prepare and the court could set aside more time to hear the matter. Additionally, Power was unconvinced a short delay would be problematic given the blockade started in August 2020, but the forestry company did not apply for the injunction until Feb. 18, 2021. “I am not persuaded that I should find urgency or prejudice to the extent that the plaintiff now alleges,” Power said.
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