Top court denies logging protester's appeal

One of B.C.'s most outspoken environmentalists has lost her bid to make her case in front of the Supreme Court of Canada, but Betty Krawczyk says she'll keep fighting her conviction for blocking logging crews.

Krawczyk, 82, was hoping to appeal both her criminal contempt conviction and her 10-month sentence for standing in the way of crews in West Vancouver as they began logging work for the Sea-to-Sky Highway expansion in 2006.

The activist wanted Canada's highest court to consider what she believed was an abuse of process when her case was raised from civil to criminal contempt. She has already served the jail sentence.

Krawczyk was convicted of contempt after being arrested three times while taking part in the protests against the highway's construction through the Eagleridge Bluffs in West Vancouver.

But in a decision published online Thursday morning, the high court turned down her request. In accordance with normal procedure, the court gave no explanation for the decision to deny leave to appeal.

Undaunted, Krawczyk told CBC News she'll try new legal arguments and is willing to be arrested again to prove her point.

"At this stage of my life, I want more than anything for all of us to not be afraid of civil disobedience, to not be afraid of being flagrant in our opposition to the destruction of our life-support systems," she said.

Her conviction for blocking the highway project, which was being upgraded ahead of 2010 Winter Olympics, was the latest in a string of convictions and jail terms that began with her arrest for blocking logging trucks in Clayoquot Sound on Vancouver Island in the early 1990s.

Prior to the 10-month sentence, Krawczyk spent 2½ years in jail for previous contempt convictions stemming from anti-logging protests.