TEEPEE PROTEST NO ‘THREAT’
Police Chief Evan Bray tells the province he doesn’t want his officers caught in the middle of a situation that mediation should handle.
Almost two months before authorities moved in to dismantle the Justice for Our Stolen Children protest camp on the lawn in front of the Saskatchewan Legislative Building, Regina’s police chief wrote to the premier and two cabinet ministers, pressing for mediation instead of a forced evacuation.
“I hope we can all appreciate this is a no-win situation for all involved if there is force/court orders used to move this group,” Chief Evan Bray wrote in his letter of April 30. “I believe the clock is ticking on this resolution.”
When the forced takedown he had warned against occurred on June 18, video captured both by the media and members of the camp showed passively resistant but boisterous Indigenous protesters, some of whom had tied themselves to teepee poles, hauled off by Regina police officers. Bray watched it unfold live on Facebook.
They are among the behindthe-scene details contained in an affidavit, recently filed in Regina Court of Queen’s Bench, that shed more light on Bray’s mindset, his attempts to play the peacemaker and his steadfast position against police interference that has won praise and detractors — depending on one’s side in the stalemate.
Both the provincial government and the protesters have launched court action. Caught in the middle is the Regina Police Service, named as respondents in both actions, lumped in with the government in one and with protesters in the other.
In the wake of that takedown, what began with a lone teepee and a core of about a half-dozen protesters on a frigid day in February has grown to 15 teepees, with support from the Assembly of First Nations, the Federation of Sover- eign Indigenous Nations, File Hills Qu’appelle Tribal Council, several bands and an array of community members in the heart of a stifling summer.
“I have been informed if they are taken down, they will be set up again,” says Bray’s affidavit.
In its court action, the protesters maintain the teepees, sleeping in shelters, and a ceremonial fire are part of the group’s “expressive activities.” They seek a declaration that the police and government breached their charter-protected rights to freedom of expression and to be free of arbitrary detention.
In turn, the Provincial Capital Commission (PCC) wants a court order forcing the protest group to “vacate and cease occupying the land,” stop violating bylaws prohibiting camping and campfires in Wascana Centre, and compelling police to “aid in enforcement.”
The matter is slated to be heard in a Regina courtroom Aug. 23.
Bray’s affidavit and supporting documents show the mounting pressure from both the protesters and government.
He initially learned of the camp on Feb. 28 in a phone call from a senior officer. From the get-go, the PCC asked Regina police to assist in dismantling the camp, and the Ministry of Central Services requested the group leave the park by 5 p.m. that day. Protesting wasn’t the issue, but tents and camp fires run afoul of a bylaw — usually remedied by a simple ticket, notes the affidavit.
Bray saw no reason for police to intervene. “It was a peaceful protest that did not involve a threat to public safety.”
He learned during a visit from Richelle Dubois, one of the camp’s founders, and her mother that the fire was sacred. “They asked that if police were required to respond to the park in the future we respect the sacred fire and not to come close to it, if we were wearing our firearms,” reads the affidavit.
There were several meetings between Bray and the protest group, by then identified as Justice for Our Stolen Children.
“At the end of April, we started to receive more pressure and requests from the PCC to intervene and arrest or remove the protesters from the park,” says the court document. Bray says he tried to mediate the dispute, offering to facilitate a meeting between the government and the protesters.
His April 30 letter was addressed to Premier Scott Moe, as well as the House Speaker, and Ministers Gord Wyant and Christine Tell (a former Regina police officer).
“My goal is to assist with facilitation of discussions to prevent an enforceable court order that will not be a win for anyone involved,” he wrote.
Another month passed, during which time 40 public complaints came into the PCC about the camp.
The government issued a formal notice of eviction, requiring the camp be taken down by 5 p.m. June 5, but the deadline came and went.
Three days later, Bray received the first formal, written request from Central Services, asking the RPS to remove the camp for trespassing.
“It was becoming increasingly clear to me that the government and the PCC were growing impatient with the Regina Police Service,” says Bray’s affidavit.
The government’s concerns were growing because of the upcoming Canada Day activities, planned for the very spot where the camp was located.
Bray says he went to the camp June 13, urging a peaceful resolution and warning removal of the camp “was imminent.”
Two days later, at 5 a.m., members of the PCC and Central Services moved in to dismantle the camp. According to another police affidavit, approximately six officers “stood by and kept the peace” as the camp was taken down. An agreement was struck to allow 48 hours for the sacred fire to burn out and the teepee to be removed.
It was indeed taken down, then put back up and the sacred fire reignited — leaving the chief “extremely disappointed.”
“Now they were openly challenging both the government and Regina Police Service,” reads Bray’s affidavit.
Everything came to a head with the takedown on June 18, Day 111 for the camp. Officers were initially sent to “keep the peace” as the PCC and Central Services moved in to extinguish the fire and remove the teepee. But when some people lashed themselves to teepee poles, or passively resisted removal, officers took a more hands-on approach. According to Bray’s affidavit, it was a heavy use of resources, requiring 23 police officers and 21 units — and one of the reasons behind his reluctance for any more police action.
Six protesters were lodged in cells as the camp was dismantled, but subsequently released and not charged.
After five hours, the flame died out, and government employees, under the direction of campers, took down the teepee “in a culturally appropriate manner.”
But on June 21, National Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a teepee was erected again at the site — this time with the help of many supporters.
“It was my opinion with the number of children, elders, and Indigenous community leaders, forcibly removing them would create a community safety issue,” says Bray’s affidavit. The next day, a news conference at the camp was attended by several First Nations leaders. The encampment of teepees grew.
“I was concerned any police action could result in further demonstrations, which could end in or include violence,” wrote Bray.
He was also concerned about the optics of police intervention around National Indigenous Peoples’ Day and during a week when the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls was in the city hearing evidence about relationships between police and Indigenous communities.
Bray said when a meeting was set for July 2 between the protesters and government ministers in Fort Qu’appelle, he saw no need for police to intervene further and that remains his view.
The affidavit asserts police have “a significant amount of discretion” on when it’s appropriate to enforce the law — and he’s determined not to send officers back in to dismantle the camp for bylaw infractions, a “low priority” and no public threat.
“It (is) my opinion ... that it is not in the public interest for the Regina Police Service to attend and arrest members of the protest group,” he states, adding it’s not a good use of police resources or taxpayer dollars.
Bray concedes the government isn’t happy — but insists RPS doesn’t take direction from government.