Concern raised over treatment of conference participant on public transit

Organizers of a gathering that drew thousands of Indigenous people to Edmonton this past weekend are voicing concerns about the way a conference attendee and her son were treated by police on public transit. “We feel terrible this happened to this individual and her family,” said National Gathering of Elders spokeswoman Ann GladueBuffalo on Saturday.

A 10-minute video posted by Jocelyn Wabano-Iahtail on Facebook showed her interaction on Thursday with two Edmonton Police Service officers, who asked for proof of payment on the LRT while heading toward Coliseum Station.

Wabano-Iahtail explained conference-goers were eligible for free public transit during the conference, as per an agreement organizers made with Edmonton Transit Service.

The police officers — seemingly unaware of the agreement — walk onto a station platform with Wabano-Iahtail, her son, and others heading to the conference at the Edmonton Expo Centre. They ask for identification after appearing to make calls attempting to confirm that transit was free.

“As part of their job, police officers on LRT trains look for people who have not paid transit fares,” said an Edmonton Police Service statement Saturday. “In this incident, officers did their job in a respectful and friendly fashion.

“When they called for clarification about free transit for conference delegates, they were given inaccurate information. We regret the inconvenience to the conference delegates involved.”

The video includes Wabano-Iahtail repeatedly asking an officer not to speak with her 16-year-old son.

“I asked you to stop speaking to my son because he has a disability,” she said in the video.

The officer referenced the city bylaw requiring proof of payment on transit and added that police were checking everyone on the train.

“Jocelyn, I just want to talk to you really quickly and we’ll let you go to your conference,” he said at one point in the exchange.

No ticket appears to be issued in the video, which ends as the group walks away. City officials are reviewing what happened and whether there were gaps in communication with the Edmonton Police Service, said spokeswoman Alice Leung on Saturday. She confirmed that conference attendees with badges were eligible for free public transit. More than 4,600 people registered for the conference at the Edmonton Expo Centre, held from Sept. 11 to 14.

Gladue-Buffalo said she doesn’t know if a complaint was filed with city police. But Wabano-Iahtail posted a second video on her Facebook page Thursday where she spoke to a different city police officer about the process of filing a complaint. Wabano-Iahtail couldn’t be reached for a phone interview on Saturday.