B.C. climate activist banned from possessing glue as part of court sentence
A climate activist who glued himself to the door of a Royal Bank of Canada branch in April has been banned from possessing adhesive outside his home as part of his conditional discharge for the crime.
A Nanaimo provincial court decision issued in early August and posted online more recently imposes the unusual condition on Victor Lawrence Brice, a member of the protest group Save Old Growth.
Brice pleaded guilty to two charges, one related to the RBC branch protest and the other stemming from a protest on a provincial highway on Jan. 27, according to judge William Jackson's reasons.
"The protest at the highway is not particularly unusual," Jackson said in his decision.
"It was a peaceful protest blocking the traffic. I am not sure if the protestors gluing themselves to the door at the bank is unique or not. It is certainly something I have not heard of, but it would certainly be an effective way of protest or at least causing disruption at the bank."
The Crown asked for a suspended sentence and 12 months of probation for the offences, arguing that the element of vandalism involved in the gluing incident – as well as the presence of two similar offences – warranted a harsher punishment.
The defence asked for a conditional discharge, though with the same basic terms as those proposed by the Crown.
Jackson opted for a conditional discharge, noting that the court had received eight letters of reference speaking to Brice's "highly productive and model citizenship" prior to his arrests.
"The basis for Mr. Brice's actions were a very obviously sincere concern for the immediate and long-term effects of climate change and frustration with the lack of political movement despite his attempts to motivate politicians," Jackson said.
The judge sentenced Brice to 12 months of probation with several other conditions in addition to the ban on possessing glue.
Brice must also "keep the peace and be of good behaviour," complete 40 hours of community service and report regularly to his probation officer. He is prohibited from impeding traffic on any public roadway and must not visit the RBC branch at 110 – 2000 Island Highway North in Nanaimo.
"You must not possess any glue, Super Glue, adhesive, fixative, or resin outside your residence, except: with the prior written permission of your probation officer, or such glue, adhesive, fixative or resin which normally would be used by or with children," Jackson said, describing the final term of the probation.
"You must carry the permission if you have one from the probation office with you, which may be in electronic format, when you possess any of these items outside your residence."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.