LETHBRIDGE — Alberta Justice David Labrenz on Monday sentenced Chris Carbert to 6 1/2 years in prison for possession of a restricted firearm and Anthony Olienick to 6 years for the same charges, plus an additional six months possession of an explosive weapon.
Each defendant was sentenced to six month for mischief, to be served concurrently with time served for their other offences. Olienick’s possession of an explosive charge is to be served consecutively, meaning tacked on to the other sentence rather than served simultaneously.
This is a “deterrant sentence,” said Labrenz. (Emphsis added. /S)
“To signal not just to the defendants but to everyone else” putting police officers and the public in jeopardy would not be tolerated. He mentioned several times the RCMP, members of the public and “even some children” could have been harmed if firearms were taken up.
“They knew what they were doing was illegal, but they did not care because they believed they had a worthy cause,” said Labrenz.
The pair got credit for 1409 days in pretrial custody, a reduction of nearly 4 years, meaning they will have two years left to serve.
The two men, who were known along with two others as the “Coutts 4”, were charged in February 2022 in relation to their participation in the border blockade at Coutts at the time of the Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa.
Carbert and Olienick have been held in remand for 935 days. They were charged with conspiring to kill an RCMP officer, but those charges were dropped August 2. Crown prosecutors however are pursuing an appeal.
Labrenz said August 28 he believes Carbert and Olienick went to the Coutts border blockade ready for a “shootout.”
“I am not sentencing the offenders for uncharged terrorism offences or the conspiracy to commit murder charges. If they were convicted of these offences, they would have been sentenced to a penitentiary for double digits,” said Labrenz.
“Mere possession of a firearm is inherently dangerous.”
“I do not consider that firearms were not loaded,” he said, adding it would have been so “easy” to just “click” ammunition into place.
“I consider it a last-ditch effort to stand against the government, a self-imposed responsibility to to continue the blockade until the government heard their demands.”
“They were prepared to do more than blocking (the highway), both armed themselves for the purpose of use against police.”
While Labrenz said Carbert said he did not want an escalation to violence but he was prepared with body armour, a large amount of firearms, ammo and a medical kit.
“There’s no shortage of people who believe that their cause is just, with impatience for democratic processes …however section 718 of the code states the fundamental purpose of sentencing is to protect society,” said Labrenz.
He noted an accomplice to the Mayerthorpe Massacre, where Labrenz acted as the prosecutor, was jailed for 10 years.
Olienick thanked his supporters from around the world.
“Stay strong. Love God. Stay free. Spread love and joy. Not war,” he told the court.
“Help others in truth, love and joy. Love is a solid weapon. My time in incarceration allowed me to dive into God’s Word and receive divine instruction. Follow Jesus in all His ways.”
Carbert declined to speak, but his crestfallen expression was visible from the gallery.
Katherin Beyak, defence for Carbert, told the Western Standard she plans to file an appeal by tomorrow morning.
As pertains the sealed envelope that could implicate one of the prosecutors in criminality, Beyak said in a closed court with just the lawyers present client-lawyer confidentiality was invoked. Opening the envelope is part of the appeals process, she said.
“There is also the option of bail pending appeal.”
“It’s going to be a big appeal. It’s going to take us a long time to get there.”
With time served, the men are looking at approximately 16 to 18 months, if there’s no bail, said Beyak.
= = = = = = = = = = =
Packed gallery, disappointing outcome in Coutts sentencing
LETHBRIDGE — More than 100 people showed up at the Lethbridge courthouse for the sentencing of Chris Carbert and Anthony Olienick on Monday morning, and left disappointed, but not suprised.
Several people were turned away from entering the courtroom, as the small gallery filled up quickly.
Alberta Justice David Labrenz sentenced Carbert to 6.5 years apiece for possession of a restricted firearm and six months for mischief, to be served concurrently for a total of 6.5 years. Olienick got six years for possession of a restricted firearm, six months for mischeif, to be served concurrently, and a six-month sentence for possession of an explosive, for a total of 6.5 years.
Katherin Beyak, defence for Carbert, told the Western Standard she plans to file an appeal by tomorrow morning.
As pertains the sealed envelope that could implicate one of the prosecutors in criminality, Beyak said in a closed court with just the lawyers present client-lawyer confidentiality was invoked. Opening the envelope is part of the appeals process, she said.
“There is also the option of bail pending appeal.”
“It’s going to be a big appeal. It’s going to take us a long time to get there.”
With time served, the men are looking at approximately 16 to 18 months, if there’s no bail, said Beyak.
“This is a gag order on Canadians,” Rob Oswin told the Western Standard outside the courthouse.
Gino Dimatte found the sentencing “very biased.”
“I found it was indicative of the condition of our country, which is sadly lacking.”
“I think we’ve deviated away from the rule of law, the judge referenced the rule of law, however he didn’t apply the rule of law to the Government of Canada, which I think is in breach of the law in many regards, in particular Section 6 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“The freedom of mobility, I think that’s the heart of the matter. Because they’d taken away these men’s livelihoods, if they were not vaccinated, they could not work. And they were precluding them from crossing the border and coming back into Canada. Where’s the accountability?”
“I think this resonates with people. People have had enough now. I think we’re going to start to see a shift in society. I think this trial is a Watershed moment. People will see the true state of things.”
Dimatte pointed out how Labrenz cited multiple precedent cases, but “yet he exceeded all the other precedents.”
“Why would he not match the other precedents of four years?”
Marco Van Huigenbos, who also faces mischief charges from the Coutts blockade and will be in court again September 27, said he believes he will get at least one year of jail time.
“The biggest crime (seems to be) lack of remorse,” said Van Huigenbos.
“It’s not over, but this is not what we wanted.”
Alex Van Herk, who alongside Van Huigenbos faces mischief charges from the Coutts protest, said there’s “a lot weighing on the decisions today.”
“An appeal will have a big impact on the judge, he does not want that on his record,” he told the Western Standard.
“I hope and pray to unseal the envelope.”
“The judge followed case laws, but I feel if he really looked at (what happened in Coutts), there’s enough that happened that could have been used against the RCMP. It all goes back to the Emergencies Act, which was actually called (because of) Coutts.”
“I believe all decisions made today were on a political agenda. The media needs to make a push to make public the sealed envelope. I believe it’s directly related to (Crown prosecutor) Steven Johnson.”
= = = = = = = = = = = = =
This is what the Western Standard is up against
The Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media.
They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada.
Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read.
Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.
You. Free men, and free women.
We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:
- Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall.
- Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .
- Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.
- Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.
If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.