From: CBC British Columbia News Online Web Posted Jul 10 2000 10:25 PM EDT

Saltspring protest

VANCOUVER - Saltspring Island residents have again taken their battle against logging on Saltspring to the high-rise office towers of downtown Vancouver.

Monday's protest was aimed at Manulife Insurance which is helping finance the controversial logging. Manulife loaned the Texada Land Corporation $16 million. The protesters claim Texada is clear-cutting Saltspring.

Saltspring resident Andrea Collins accuses Manulife of misleading residents. "Why should I continue to hold shares in a corporation that is desecrating Saltspring Island? " she says. "I am therefore going to divest my holdings with Manulife and I encourage all other shareholders to do the same thing."

But the president of the Texada Land Corporation says the residents are ill-informed. Rob MacDonald maintains there is no clear-cutting on Saltspring.

"The scale of which the logging is going on is very minor and unfortunately the protesters are attacking Manulife which seems a little unfair, but I guess it's a free country," he says.