'In the critical zone': Nanaimo man ramps up hunger strike, stops taking fluids, to protest old-growth logging

Nanaimo, B.C., man Howard Breen is pictured. (Save Old Growth/Facebook)

A Nanaimo, B.C., man says he's putting his life on the line as he abstains from food and liquids to protest old-growth logging in the province.

Howard Breen, 68, has been on a hunger strike since April 1 with demands to speak with Forest Minister Katrine Conroy about old-growth forest protection.

After 22 days without food, Breen stopped taking liquids at midnight Friday, which coincides with Earth Day.

"Right now I just have a little bit of amplification of a few pains here and there but I am being monitored by one of my daughters, who's a nurse, and we have two doctors who have been advising us," Breen told CTV News on Friday.

Breen is participating in the hunger strike with Vancouver resident Brent Eichler, 57, who has gone without food for 30 days.

The pair are part of the environmental group Save Old Growth, though they say their demands are different from the rest of the organization.

Breen says the pair only has one goal, to speak with Conroy in a public meeting about the protection of old-growth forests in B.C.

"I'm now in the critical zone with pretty much 36 hours to go," said Breen.

"Everyone is hoping that I don't push the envelope to the wall, and certainly that's not my desire," he said.

"I love life, but I'm less afraid of, frankly, death at all – in the same way that I'm not fearful of prison for what we're doing. But my weak spot is definitely my children," he said.

The 68-year-old says communication with the province has been sparse, though some "back channels" have recently opened.

"We understand that there's backchannel talking going on right now for the first time, and that started yesterday," said Breen.

CTV News reached out to the provincial government about the hunger strike. On Tuesday, the Forest Ministry said it was not "commenting on this situation at this time."

The province pointed towards its recent announcement that it was deferring logging in approximately 1.7 million hectares of old-growth forest, in cooperation with B.C. First Nations.

Other members of Save Old Growth have also been holding protests against old-growth logging in B.C., with protesters blocking major roadways near Langford and in Vancouver.

"Does it really matter that people are doing something so disruptive that people are angry at us on the streets, if we wake them up?" said Breen. "Because the politicians aren’t saving us."

"We need to get [peoples] attention," he said.