Save Old Growth organizer given a day in jail over last year's disruptive protests

Benjamin Donald Holt, 52, also hit with 60 days of house arrest

One of the key organizers of a protest group that disrupted traffic in Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island last year has been given a day in jail and 60-day’s house arrest for his role in the actions.

According to a recent provincial court of B.C. ruling from Judge Gregory Rideout, 52-year-old Benjamin Donald Holt was involved in four separate protests with the now defunct Save Old Growth group (which was affiliated with Extinction Rebellion).

The aim of both organizations was to use traffic-blocking tactics to draw attention to “their perceived urgency regarding climate change and government inaction in rectifying it,” Rideout wrote.

Holt pleaded guilty to committing mischief on April 14, June 14 and Oct. 20 last year by blocking traffic on Grandview Highway at Boundary Road in Burnaby, on Highway 1 between Westport Road and Caulfeild Drive in West Vancouver, and painting “Save Old Growth” on the centre lane of the Lions Gate Bridge. He also pleaded guilty to breaching a court order by protesting on the south end of the Lions Gate Bridge on Aug. 2, 2022.

Court heard that Holt, 52, had no criminal record and was a married father of two teenage children. He is a self-employed IT specialist.

Crown asked that he be jailed for 35 days, given he was a paid member of the group, the level of civid disruption caused by the protests and that Holt continued to participate in the protests even after he had made his first court appearance on May 25, 2022 and breached release orders.

The Crown also stated “That the accused’s use of the ladder and the gluing of his hands to the road surface demonstrate his intentions were to prolong road blockages.”

Holt asked for a conditional discharge and 12 months probation, arguing a criminal record could prevent him travelling internationally for work.

Rideout opted to give Holt a one-day custodial jail sentence, served by spending a day in court during his sentencing and acknowledging that he spent three days in pre-sentence custody following his arrests. Holt was also ordered to serve 60 days of house arrest, with the first 30 days involving stricter conditions.

“The accused is a climate change activist. At the material time that he was involved in the four protests he was an organizer and coordinator with the Save Old Growth movement. For a period of time he received an honorarium of $2,000 per month from the movement. He was not merely a rank-and-file member drawn into the movement. He was at the forefront of the protests for which he is now to be sentenced. I find that his role within the movement greatly increases his moral culpability,” Rideout wrote.

Rideout also found Holt’s letter of apology unconvincing.

“His letter is more of an explanation for his conduct than a heartfelt and genuine apology to the public impacted by his involvement in the four protests. His apology goes no further than to express his sorrow for the “inconvenience” caused by his protests,” Rideout wrote.

“I find his actions did not create a mere inconvenience to the public. Rather his actions created a serious and significant impediment on the public’s ability to go about their business on the roadways of the Vancouver region without disturbance. I find it worrisome in his letter of apology that he would infer that the Crown characterizes his protests as actions that undermined the rule of law.  He suggests his actions are actually quite the opposite: “Protests such as my own, which aim to re-engage the government in the social contract and the protection of citizens, are in fact strengthening the rule of law”.

“His belief that his actions in committing the unlawful protests in fact strengthen the rule of law clearly demonstrates a lack of genuine acceptance that his behaviour has no legal justification.”

dcarrigg@postmedia.com

1. 

   B.C. Climate News: B.C. road repair costs rise to almost half a billion dollars | Columbia River Treaty renewal won’t just go with the flow | Global ocean conservation conference in B.C. hopes to build on Montreal agreements

2. 

   The major take-aways from B.C. Premier David Eby's first throne speech

Support our journalism: Our in-depth journalism is possible thanks to the support of our subscribers. For just $3.50 per week, you can get unlimited, ad-lite access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The Province.