Ivan Drury and Listen Chen were sentenced Monday, May 10 at provincial court in Nanaimo for their roles in the Schoolhouse Squat. (Submitted photo)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

Schoolhouse Squat

Co-leaders of Rutherford Squat given conditional sentences, $1K in restitution

May 11, 2021 | 5:26 AM

NANAIMO — Sentences in provincial court are the final repercussions of Nanaimo’s sizable tent city.

Ivan Drury and Tingchun Chen, co-conspirators in what became commonly known at the Rutherford Schoolhouse Squat, were given conditional sentences on Monday, May 10.

They were two of four leaders in the weekend occupation of the closed Rutherford Elementary school in October 2018.

The incident gained provincial headlines as they broke into the school and took to the roof in an effort to draw attention to the lack of housing for the homeless.

The school was heavily damaged, drawing the ire of local school district officials and area residents.

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Crown prosecutor Ken Paziuk called it a “protest gone too far.”

“It crossed a line into behaviour which became criminal upon the breaking and entering. I do appreciate all the individuals involved in the occupation knew the building was unoccupied…there would not be any confrontation as they tried to make their way in.”

Drury and Chen were arrested after police breached the school following less than 12 hours of occupation.

The two other co-accused, Mercedes Courtoreille and Christopher Thompson, had left earlier and were arrested at the scene.

The school district estimated $75,000 in damage was done to the school. A difference of opinion between the school district and Drury and Chen about what should be included as damaged would have been dealt with at trial.

SD68 paid for the costs out of pocket, since a technicality about the school being unoccupied prevented an insurance claim.

Both Chen and Drury, much like Courtoreille and Thompson, have to pay $1,000 to SD68 as restitution.

They are on probation for 12 months and must serve 50 hours of community service.

Charges of breaking and entering were stayed against them both.

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