Crown seeks jail time for pair guilty of mischief at Coutts border blockade

Two men who became the faces of a protest at a key Alberta border crossing in 2022 need to do jail time to send a message that actions have consequences, a Crown prosecutor told court Thursday.

Defence lawyers for the men argued that time behind bars isn't necessary.

Marco Van Huigenbos, Gerhard (George) Janzen and a third man — Alex Van Herk — were found guilty last year of mischief over $5,000 for their actions at the protest over COVID-19 measures and vaccine mandates.

The sentencing hearing went ahead for Van Huigenbos and Janzen. Lawyer Michael Johnston told court that Van Herk had fired him, and a 30-day delay was granted for Van Herk to obtain new counsel.

Prosecutor Steven Johnston said Van Huigenbos and Janzen put themselves front and centre at the illegal blockade, which shut down the Canada-U. S. border at Coutts for two weeks.

Johnston recommended Van Huigenbos be sentenced to nine months and Janzen six months.

He told Justice Keith Yamauchi that Van Huigenbos was more to blame, as he was in a leadership position.

"These two men are not at the same level," Johnston told court on the first day of the two-day sentencing hearing.

"It is the Crown's view that, realistically, the most appropriate sentence for these gentlemen is to sentence them to a term of jail — real jail.

"You can't break the law and not expect to be punished for it."

Brendan Miller, the lawyer representing Van Huigenbos, told court his client's underlying motive was political advocacy and the desire to be heard by the government.

He asked for an absolute or conditional discharge, a suspended sentence with probation or community service.

If the court decides jail time is warranted, Miller said, then the sentence should be short or a conditional sentence of 60 days to be served in the community.

"Mr. Van Huigenbos's right to equality before the law will be violated if he is not put in the same position of the hundreds of protesters that the RCMP did not charge and the Crown did not prosecute," Miller said.

He said his client didn't physically participate in the blockade or instruct protesters. Van Huigenbos simply showed up and negotiated with the RCMP on behalf of the main protesters, said Miller.

The Crown said it's an aggravating factor that the men were motivated by politics.

"Politically motivated crime always is a calculated decision, we don't change our governments in this country through criminal acts," Johnston said.

"This was the hostage taking of a highway with the goal of creating political change."

The courtroom was packed Thursday, and about a dozen police officers on bicycles were outside.

Calgary pastor Artur Pawlowski, who was also convicted of mischief for a speech he gave to protesters at Coutts, said he was praying that Van Huigenbos and Janzen wouldn't suffer jail time.

Defence lawyers didn't call evidence during the trial, and Van Huigenbos, Janzen and Van Herk didn't testify.

At the trial, Mounties told the jury that, as the protest dragged on, officers increasingly turned to the three men to negotiate. The Crown argued the trio became the faces of the blockade and spoke on behalf of protesters.

There were a number of arrests tied to the border protest.

In a separate case, protesters Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert were charged with conspiracy to murder police officers at the blockade.

In September, a jury found them not guilty of that offence but convicted them of possessing a firearm dangerous to the public peace and mischief over $5,000. Olienick was also convicted of possessing a pipe bomb.

They were each sentenced to 6½ years behind bars. Their mischief convictions netted concurrent terms of six months.