Criminal charges have been withdrawn against 14 people who were arrested after a 2016 demonstration at the Muskrat Falls dam project site in Labrador.
Several people entered the hydro dam’s construction site in October 2016. They had been demonstrating against potential contamination of fish and other wild foods when land is flooded to create a reservoir.
READ MORE: Muskrat Falls: Why people are starving themselves to oppose Labrador dam flooding
A number of individuals faced civil and criminal charges for allegedly breaching a court-ordered injunction.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s director of public prosecutions said the criminal charges of unlawfully disobeying an order of the court and mischief were withdrawn because of overlap with the civil contempt charges currently before the province’s Supreme Court.
READ MORE: Audit finds Muskrat Falls cost overruns became obvious soon after megaproject got underway
Iain Hollett said Thursday it was no longer in the public interest to continue with the criminal prosecutions because the same conduct was already the subject of the civil proceedings.
That civil matter is almost concluded, with closing submissions heard last week. Twelve people are now awaiting a provincial Supreme Court judge’s ruling on civil contempt charges related to the alleged breach of the injunction.
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