Alberta’s top court has dismissed the appeal of one of the organizers of the 2022 border blockade at Coutts, Alta., arguing his four-month jail term was fair.
Marco Van Huigenbos was sentenced to 120 days in January 2025 for mischief over $5,000 for his role in the blockade, which tied up cross-border traffic with the United States for two weeks to protest COVID-19 pandemic rules and vaccine mandates.
He was described during his trial as one of the ringleaders of the blockade and negotiated with the RCMP on behalf of protesters.
During sentencing, Court of King’s Bench Justice Keith Yamauchi said the illegal blockade affected the lives of many Canadians and the sentence had to “make it clear that the majority of Canadians denounce their actions.”
Van Huigenbos’s lawyer, Brendan Miller, argued that the sentence was too harsh because it was higher than other similar cases.
In its decision, the Alberta Court of Appeal said many of the cases referenced by Van Huigenbos involved “guilty pleas and protests of a much shorter duration.”
“The appellant’s sentence is not demonstrably unfit for a sentence following a trial and by reference to the facts found by the sentencing judge, including that the blockade was an attack on the rule of law, the nature and length of the blockade, the impact of the blockade on other citizens and the appellant’s leadership role,” Acting Chief Justice Dawn Pentelechuk wrote on behalf of the Appeal Court in a decision released Monday.
Van Huigenbos’s appeal noted there were another 300 protesters involved in Coutts who weren’t charged by RCMP or prosecuted by the Crown and questioned whether the amount of damage resulting from the mischief was over $5,000.
“It does not require that convicted persons be treated in the same manner as persons who were not charged, nor does it address prosecutorial discretion as to whether charges should be pursued,” said the court.
Van Huigenbos’s two co-accused were also found guilty of mischief.
Gerhard (George) Janzen, who offered a public apology, received a three-month sentence, to be served in the community. Alex Van Herk was given a 90-day conditional sentence to be served in the community, along with 100 hours of community service and one year’s probation.