Interfor has taken punitive action against three employees who pled guilty on Jan. 4 for their involvement in an attack on a protest camp on Sept. 15, 1999 in the upper Elaho Valley. They have also recommended that the companies who employed two other guilty workers, who were under contracted to Interfor at the time of the attack, take the same action.
Three protesters were hospitalized for injuries, and thousands of dollars worth of camping and electronic equipment was destroyed in the raid, which involved at least 60 masked forestry workers.
Four of the loggers pled guilty to mischief while one logger pled guilty to assault. Each received one year’s probation, 40 hours of community service with the Squamish Trail Society, and an order to write letters of apology to the protesters and attend anger management programs. The four who were guilty of mischief were also ordered to pay $1,250 each in restitution to the three protesters.
Interfor temporarily suspended the three workers and recommended that their contractors do the same. The company wouldn’t say how long each worker will be suspended for, but told reporters that it would be more than a week and less than a month, beginning at the start of the next logging season.
Interfor has since announced it will provide anger management courses for all 1,500 employees in its coastal operations.
The forestry workers will take part in scenarios to learn how to respond to situations that typically make them angry.
