A 68-year-old Nanaimo man on a hunger strike to protest the provincial government’s decision to continue allowing logging within old-growth forests has been released from the hospital.
Howard Breen was taken to the hospital on Sunday after refusing liquids for more than 50 hours.
Breen began his hunger strike on April 1, and says his daughter had been monitoring his heart rate and blood pressure on Sunday as it dropped dangerously low and he could not walk in a straight line without falling over.
The decision was then made to have him taken by ambulance to the hospital.
After being put on an I-V drip, Breen says he felt stronger a few hours later and decided to leave the hospital.
He and fellow hunger striker Brent Eichler had been calling on forests minister Katrine Conroy for a public meeting with Forests Minister Katrine Conroy.
However, Breen says Conroy told him that she would not consider the demand for a “public recordable meeting and it was clear that she was prepared to let me die.”
At that point, he decided there was no longer any point in staying off water and threatening his own life.
Breen did continue to go without liquids for much of the weekend until his body weakened and a drop in blood pressure was observed.
He says his hunger strike will continue until the end of the month as planned.
The environmental group Save Old Growth now says more than 40 other people are beginning hunger strikes in support, and protest continued logging of old-growth forests in BC.
