Fairy Creek Protesters Win Appeal on Class-Action Certification
B.C. Court of Appeal overturned rejection of proposed lawsuit; case returns to Supreme Court for new decision on police barring from protest site.
Anti-logging protesters at Fairy Creek have won a significant legal victory. The B.C. Court of Appeal overturned a lower court's rejection of their proposed class-action lawsuit against the federal and provincial governments, finding the original judge erred on several key points.
Applicants Arvin Singh Dang and Kristy Morgan led the bid to certify a class action alleging that the RCMP wrongfully barred them and other protesters from the Vancouver Island protest site, where Teal Cedar Products had secured logging rights. The original certification was denied, but the appellate court disagreed with that reasoning and sent the case back to B.C. Supreme Court for a new decision.
The ruling doesn't guarantee certification or success on the merits — it simply means the lower court's initial rejection didn't hold up on appeal. The case now heads back to the Supreme Court, where judges will reconsider whether the lawsuit can proceed as a class action representing multiple victims of the same alleged police conduct.
Fairy Creek has been a flashpoint in B.C.'s logging and environmental debates for years, with protesters occupying the site and clashing with police enforcement. Image-based narratives of blockades and arrests circulated widely. This legal development suggests there may be grounds for a broader claim that police conduct during the enforcement exceeded legal bounds — though that question still needs to be litigated.
The appeal win is a step forward for the protesters, but the harder fight is still ahead.