The boycott was intended to pressure Daishowa into agreeing to suspend logging on unceded traditional Lubicon territory until the band's land negotiations with the government were complete. An appeal court gave Daishowa a temporary injunction stopping the Friends from picketing outside the stores of Daishowa customers. As picketing has proven to be the only successful method to promote the boycott, the injunction has drastically undermined the Friends' ability to achieve meaningful political expression. With little political or media influence, and without the resources to buy advertising, the injunction cost the Friends their voice. To Kevin Thomas, a Friend and defendant in the suit, the lawsuit is a direct attack on free speech.
Freedom of expression is at the heart of what is going on here.
The injunction prevents us from giving information to consumers, to anyone. Moreover, Peter Jervis, a lawyer for Daishowa, told the CCPJ the injunction is fact-specific and is not a precedent that can be interpreted to attack free speech. Observers point to numerous actions by Daishowa that attempt to silence the Friends and limit access to information on the case. On top of the list is the suit itself. The intention is not necessarily to win the case but to force citizen activists into submission with the huge cost and time requirements of mounting a defence.