Two protesters who were arrested during a sit-in at the Department of Lands and Forestry offices in Halifax last November have been acquitted of charges laid under the Protection of Property Act.
Eleanor Kure and Kevin Smith were physically removed by Halifax Regional Police officers on Nov. 24, 2020 and ticketed. The tickets carried a fine of $227.41 each.
“I’m pleased, of course,” Kure said. “It’s written into the law. It’s kind of shocking they charged us with a law that says right in it that it’s a right to protest.”
The two were part of a group of demonstrators who had gathered at the Lands and Forestry office on Hollis Street. At the time Kure told Global News the sit-in was organized in solidarity with a group of Extinction Rebellion members, who were blockading forest sections in Digby County to prevent clear-cutting.
The group had sent a letter to then-Forestry Minister Derek Mombourquette outlining the dangers to habitats of endangered moose in Nova Scotia. The group did not receive a response from the minister, and Kure said she had shown up at the office that November day to demand a meeting with him.
“Once you start paying attention, it’s really easy to go. ‘This is not right,'” Kure said Monday, when describing why she got involved.
“I went in there with a few friends and said, ‘I’m sitting down, I’m going to be polite, I’m going to be peaceful.'”
Kure said she and the other demonstrators abided by COVID-19 protocols by wearing masks, using sanitizer and staying apart.
She and Smith eventually “were carried off the premises by police after being advised that this would occur if they continued to refuse to leave,” according to the court decision.
In her decision, Justice Debbi Bowes stated the defendants were “clearly involved in protesting the government’s actions regarding development and species at risk.”
“Their refusal to leave the office when requested during normal business hours was a form of that protest,” she wrote.
“I find that the Defendant Kure believed they were legally justified in protesting their common dissatisfaction, as previous requests had failed in their opinion. Ms. Kure testified that she believed she had the right to “freedom of expression” as guaranteed under the Charter. I find on a balance of probabilities that Ms. Kure, a credible witness, reasonably believed she had legal justification to protest in the Minister’s Department.”
While Kure is happy with the decision, which was released on Nov. 21 of this year, she’s also well aware that the fight to protect important habitat lands is not over.
During the sit-in, protesters called on the province to adopt sustainable forestry practices, such as reduced clear-cutting on Crown lands.
Specifically, the Extinction Rebellion members were blockading forest sections near Rocky Point Lake in Digby County.
Kure said that land has since been clear-cut.
“There’s a lot of people that are very unhappy about the way the provincial government is moving forward with continuing to ruin the forests here and not paying enough attention that we’re in a climate and biodiversity crisis,” she said.
“Meanwhile, they keep cutting and … it’s so painfully obvious they’re dragging their feet.”
She and others are now focused on protecting a forest near Beal’s Brook, west of Hwy 10 in Annapolis County. The site is an important habitat for moose, and demonstrators are calling for it to be protected from clear-cutting.
Kure said it’s vital for the Lahey Report to be implemented, because otherwise, it’s just “smoke and mirrors.” The report is an independent study of forestry practices in N.S., conducted in 2018.
“By the time they implement the Lahey Report, there’s nothing left to protect.”
— With a file from Karla Renic