Marco Van Huigenbos, left, and Alex Van Herk arrive at court for a sentencing hearing in Lethbridge, Alta. on Jan. 9. Each were found guilty in April of mischief for their roles in the blockade that tied up cross-border traffic in Coutts, Alta., for two weeks in early 2022.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
One of the men who became “the voice of the protest” at the Coutts, Alta., border crossing in early 2022 has been sentenced to four months in jail for mischief over his involvement in the two-week highway blockade.
Marco Van Huigenbos, 35, was sentenced on Friday to 120 days in jail, after a day-long sentencing hearing at Court of King’s Bench in Lethbridge. Co-accused George Janzen was sentenced to 90 days, to be served as a conditional sentence in the community.
“What occurred here during the two-week blockade at Coutts was an attack on the rule of law by a group of protesters who decided that they did not need to follow the law, and they did not use democratic processes to effect change,” said Justice Keith Yamauchi in a detailed written decision that took nearly two hours for him to read.
A third man who was set to be sentenced at the same time, Alex Van Herk, fired his lawyer before a hearing on Thursday. Mr. Van Herk and Justice Yamauchi discussed dates for his own sentencing, and Mr. Van Herk was the only accused to speak after the sentences were imposed Friday, saying: “It’s a sad day today, in our justice system.”
Mr. Van Huigenbos, Mr. Janzen and Mr. Van Herk were among the protesters who blocked the border crossing at Coutts in early 2022 to protest COVID-19 mandates and other government restrictions by parking semi-trailers, farm machinery and recreational vehicles across Highway 4.
The three men had been convicted of mischief over $5,000 by a jury in Lethbridge last April. None of the men testified at their trial, and their lawyers did not call any evidence.
Justice Yamauchi found that the three men were not “principal offenders” and didn’t organize the protest or block the highway themselves, but they had abetted and encouraged the protesters through their words and actions. He previously described the men as “the voice of the protest. And proudly so.”
In his sentencing decision, he said Mr. Janzen and Mr. Van Huigenbos both helped the protesters with supplies and communications with the RCMP, but he said the men’s moral culpability differed slightly, in that Mr. Van Huigenbos is the only one who assumed a leadership role. The decision revolved around an extensive review of case law for similar cases, including sentencing for other COVID-19 and convoy protestors, environmental activists, animal-rights activists and abortion activists.
Justice Yamauchi said Mr. Van Huigenbos was born in the Netherlands and is a father of four. He’s a construction contractor and was a town councillor in Fort McLeod at the time of the protests, but he has since resigned. Mr. Van Huigenbos did not speak at any point during the sentencing hearing or co-operate with a presentence report the defence lawyers requested to aid in sentencing.
Mr. Janzen was born in Mexico and is married with eight children. He works as a realtor.
On Thursday, Mr. Janzen read a prepared apology to the residents of Milk River and Coutts in which he apologized for disruptions in those communities, and acknowledged laws were broken during the protest.
“This was not in line with our intentions to promote change through peaceful and lawful means,” he said.
The Crown had argued Mr. Van Huigenbos should be sentenced to nine months in jail, and Mr. Janzen six months. Their lawyers argued for absolute discharges, or – at most – a week or two in jail for Mr. Van Huigenbos.
During sentencing arguments on Thursday, Crown prosecutor Steven Johnston had argued deterrence was key, so other people “who may decide to commit a similar offence blocking critical infrastructure will know that a jail sentence is waiting for them.”
He had described the border blockade as “a hostage-taking of a highway with the goal of creating political change.”