The British Columbia government began running radio and newspaper ads yesterday accusing a native Indian tribe of illegally logging on public land. The government also started legal proceedings to stop the logging by the Westbank Tribal Nation, which began 17 days ago after treaty negotiations between the tribe and the provincial and federal governments broke off. The tribe has refused to comply with a stop-work order from the federal government, claiming it has a right to harvest the disputed timber under a Canadian Supreme Court decision. At least two more native B.C. tribes have said they will follow Westbank’s example and begin logging on public land within a few days.
