Protestors cleared from Marine Harvest site
PROTESTORS occupying a Marine Harvest site at Swanson Island, British Columbia, were ordered to leave by the BC Supreme Court on May 18.
The court has also set June 25 to hear an application by Marine Harvest for a broader injunction order, following aggressive and bullying behaviour towards its staff.
‘In Canada, everyone has the right to peaceful protest, but not when it interferes with legitimate activities or crosses the line into aggressive, bullying behaviour,’ said Jeremy Dunn, Marine Harvest director of Community Relations and Public Affairs.
‘We asked for a court injunction after our employees endured many months of aggressive protest activities and Marine Harvest made numerous attempts at dialogue with protest organisers, which were rebuffed,’ he said.
‘Our staff must be able to work in a safe environment, free of harassment and intimidation,’ said Dunn.
Marine Harvest was previously granted an injunction against activists who were occupying its Midsummer Island salmon farm in December 2017.
In delivering that decision, the BC Supreme Court was clear that those occupying the worksite had harassed Marine Harvest employees, had tampered with Marine Harvest equipment, and at times the number of occupiers had significantly outnumbered the number of workers at the site.
The injunction specifically required Ernest Alfred and Karissa Glendale from the Namgis First Nation to vacate the farm.