In a world so dominated by mammoth corporations trying to fool the consumer, activists and their boycotts & protests are a great asset to society. Through the tireless research of these activists, the shadier operations of many of these companies are exposed. And through the protests and boycotts activists help to bring about, these shady operations can be stopped. Unfortunately that right to protest and boycott, which activists rely so much upon, is being threatened by these corporations. Lemme tell you about it...

        It goes like this. A logging company by the name of Daishowa Inc. (a subsidiary of Daishowa Forest Products Ltd. Of Japan) has filed a lawsuit against 3 men who staged a boycott against Daishowa. The men were boycotting Daishowa because they hadn't confirmed that they wouldn't be logging one of Alberta's forest (the Alberta government had permitted them to begin logging) until a land dispute between the government and the Lubicon nation (a group of first nations people) had been resolved. The Lubicon's claim the land that Daishowa wants to log, belongs to them. The Alberta government does not agree. And although Daishowa has not begun to log yet, over 50 major corporations have boycotted Daishowa's paper bags (including Pizza Hut, The Body Shop & LCBO). Daishowa decided to take to the courts after 6 years of boycotting prevented them from actually cutting down the forest in Alberta. Kevin Thomas, one of the activists being targeted says "It's a terror tactic to scare not only groups like ours but all other small voluntary groups that are afraid to speak out if they are going to be hauled into court,". Daishowa's lawyer claims he's not trying to 'curb the rights to boycott' but only to 'prevent unlawful boycotts'.

        Anyone remotely involved with activism should be quite concerned, as this could be a precendent setting case, which decides whether or not Canadians have the right to organize a boycott. Karen Wristen from the Sierra Legal Defence Fund is assisting the three defendants. Wristen claims this is an example of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP), a way for rich companies to dissuade any sort of public protest. This sort of corporate bullying is no stranger to KKKanada, with media octopus, Conrad Black, taking anyone who writes about him to court (now I'm in trouble!). This was also seen last year when McDonalds sued two British activists who were claiming that the healthiness of their food was substandard. Anyone who is an acitivist to any degree, or just believes in our right to protest should be concerned about this SLAPP trend, as it is really just the bullying by corporations to intimidate the people.