The BC Supreme Court has today issued an interim injunction to prohibit logging activity in the Chanterelle Forest - part of the Sunshine Coast Community Forest - pending determination of a judicial review brought by the Elphinstone Logging Focus (ELF).
In her reasons, Madam Justice Warren noted that ELF had raised a serious issue to be determined, noting that the Community Forest had failed to provide concrete and specific evidence that there was public consultation in regards to the logging of the Chanterelle Forest. She noted that the purpose and intent of community forests require some form of ongoing public consultation.
In assessing irreparable harm and the balance of convenience, Madam Justice Warren found that while trees are renewable resources, these specific trees and the biodiversity contained within the forest are not. Given that the damages suffered by the Community Forest from the injunction would only be monetary, and thus compensable, the Court found that the balance of convenience favoured granting the injunction to prevent irreparable harm that logging would cause to the forest.
ELF is an organization with a mandate to educate the public about the forests and habitat on the Sunshine Coast, and to protect those forests and habitat in support of tourism and recreation.
David W. Wu of Arvay Finlay LLP represented ELF in the injunction application.
