Welcome to the Last Stand Legal Defence Fund  

Support climate and old-growth forest activists and Indigenous land defenders at Fairy creek who face being sued by logging company Teal Cedar.

Activists are frequently faced with “SLAPP suits” (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) during environmental disputes that corporations allege has cost them lost profits and damage to their public relations image.  A SLAPP suit is a kind of lawsuit designed to hurt and discourage protestors from further action. 

In the wake of the frontline old-growth forest protests around Fairy Creek , the largest civil disobedience campaign in Canadian history,  forest products company Teal Cedar has filed a civil lawsuit against Pacheedaht elder Bill Jones and 14 supporters for their role in advocating for the protection of old-growth forests in a downspiralling climate and biodiversity crisis and for upholding Indigenous law and supporting an Indigenous Conserved and Protected Area (ICPA) of the last remaining old-growth forests on Pacheedaht territory. 

We are asking for your continued support of the courageous and principled stand of elder Bill Jones and his allies, in the courtroom.

Why Help is Needed

 The “Fairy Creek 15”  are now facing the daunting task of defending themselves against the high powered Teal Cedar lawyers. Vague allegations have been made against them. Teal Cedar falsely alleges that these individuals conspired together to harm Teal Cedar’s business operations. 

A lawsuit of this nature can take several years to make its way through the court system, resulting in a huge burden of time and expense to defendants. The complexities of court procedures also make it very difficult for people to self-represent through this kind of process. Teal Cedar is specifying joint liability for these individuals, which means that any damages won at trial can be spread out amongst the defendants however Teal Cedar sees fit.  

These activists and forest defenders need your support to take on Teal Cedar.  Should Teal Cedar win at trial, these individuals could be facing the possibility of having their life savings taken by Teal Cedar. 

This group of defendants include many individuals who have put massive amounts of time and energy into protecting the old growth forests. These people deserve to be protected from this lawsuit, which is aiming to punish them for speaking out for the protection of these endangered ecosystems.

THE GOOD NEWS - And Why there is Hope 

• The deferral of logging in the Fairy Creek watershed was renewed for another year and a half by the NDP government due to our ongoing actions.
• Teal Cedar did not apply to extend the injunction in the Fairy Creek watershed that would allow them to arrest protestors for contempt of court. Consequently, there is no injunction currently in effect.
• Due to the hard work of our legal team, approximately 200 forest defenders had their charges dropped due to the Henderson decision which ruled that the RCMP short form script giving them notice of the injunction was inadequate. Many others had their charges dropped once their lawyers indicated to Crown Counsel that they would be presenting evidence of RCMP abuses that applied to their client. All in all, a very small portion of the thousands of people participating in the blockades received penalties for their actions.  Our legal team needs your support to continue to help the Fairy Creek 15 with the allegations in this civil suit.
• Almost all forest defenders have had their cases resolved in the court system.  Overall, sentences have been light, considering that thousands of people participated in the actions at Fairy Creek.  Our legal team was crucial in making this happen.  We need your financial support for our legal team to continue their work. 

None of these successes or legal actions would have been possible without your ongoing support on behalf of forest defenders.

WHAT’S NEEDED  

We need to raise an additional $200,000 to ensure that sufficient funds are available to provide legal support to the Fairy Creek 15.

DONATIONS TO THIS CAMPAIGN WILL SUPPORT:

• Legal Representation - To stand up to corporate greed, unjust laws, and dangerous ecosystem destruction.  

• Foster Indigenous Law efforts

Science and Indigenous worldviews have shown that old-growth forests are essential to the health of our air and water, and that deforestation is a driver of the climate crisis. Industry sees value in terms of short-term gains: a handful of jobs and a few hundred million to private companies with far less accrued  to First Nations.

We believe these ancient forest ecosystems are worth more standing. It is our collective responsibility to leave the last old-growth forests standing for generations to come.  

We’ve set a goal to raise $200,000 dollars for our Forest Defender Legal Defense FUND . With your support, we will continue to stand our ground for the forest on the #legalfrontlines! 

Thank you for helping us support  these conscientious people advocating for a safe climate future for all and supporting  the ecological stewardship role  Indigenous systems of governance  play in stopping old-growth logging in the forest, and in the courtroom. 

Donate Today!