The Crown is calling for 51 days of jail time for a deputy leader of the federal Green Party following her conviction on seven counts of criminal contempt for her part in the Fairy Creek logging blockades.
Kwakwaka’wakw woman Angela Davidson, also known as Rainbow Eyes, would get 12 days’ credit for jail time served before her trial and either pay a $2,250 fine or complete 75 hours of community service, the Crown said.
Defence lawyer Ben Isitt countered that any further incarceration for Davidson should be suspended, and suggested a term of 13 days that also includes 12 days’ credit for time served.
He said the request for a suspension of jail time is based on her promise not to go to the Fairy Creek area for a period of six months, along with the fact she has not been there for the past 27 months.
Isitt also called for 12 months of probation with conditions that also include completion of 75 hours of community service, which he said the defence prefers over a fine.
Davidson’s conviction was for protest activity in 2021 and 2022. Justice Christopher Hinkson ruled in January that she breached injunction and bail orders in 2021 on May 18, June 23, June 25, Aug. 10 and Nov. 28, and on Jan. 15 and Jan. 28 in 2022.
Both sentencing positions were put forward Thursday during a hearing in B.C. Supreme Court in Nanaimo.
Protests against logging in the Fairy Creek watershed, northeast of Port Renfrew, began in 2020, when logging permits were granted to Teal Cedar Products.
After Teal was granted a court injunction against protesters’ blockades, about 1,100 arrests were made over the next two years.
The court heard during Davidson’s trial that her May 2021 protest action included putting a bike lock around her neck and chaining it to a gate. She also had her arm chained in one end of a pipe while a man was chained at the other end.
Davidson had suggested that attention given to her by police was “disproportionate” because she is Indigenous, but Hinkson said he disagreed because so many other arrests had taken place.
Letters of support for Davidson submitted to the sentencing hearing were provided by the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples and federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May.
The federal Green Party has acknowledged Davidson’s legal situation, with co-deputy leader Jonathan Pedneault saying in a statement prior to her sentencing that the party “couldn’t be prouder of Rainbow Eyes for her personal courage, integrity and deep allegiance to our living world.”
May said in a statement that she welcomed Davidson’s commitment to environmental protection.
“Her dedication to defending the natural world aligns perfectly with the values of the Green Party and we look forward to working together to advance our shared goals,” May said.
The hearing continues today.
