LAST-DITCH PROTEST FOR STC
‘Peaceful occupation’ ends in arrests
David Lyons-Morgan had a shrewd suspicion that a planned act of civil disobedience, a protest against the closure of the Saskatchewan Transportation Company would end in arrests and possibly mischief charges.
He could not, however, have anticipated his first thought after Saskatoon police ended what he called the “peaceful occupation” of the last green-and-white coach to run from Regina to Saskatoon around 1:15 a.m. Thursday.
“Handcuffs are heavier than you would expect,” the sleep-deprived activist said with a laugh, a few hours after he and five other protesters were arrested, escorted off the bus and subsequently released without charges.
The occupation was an unsanctioned extension of a larger protest at the Saskatoon STC depot organized by Stop The Cuts, a group that formed in the wake of the Saskatchewan Party government’s 2017-18 budget, which aims to halve a $1.3 billion deficit.
As the bus carrying Lyons-Morgan and the other protesters pulled into the station, a few dozen people gathered inside. Some carried signs; others brought flowers. Someone produced a megaphone and used it to shout: “Stop the Cuts!”
Jack Hicks arrived at the depot to support the other protesters, a diverse cross-section of people furious about the government’s decision to axe the 71-year-old bus company and concerned about the effects its loss will have on seniors and poor people.
Stop The Cuts member Jack Hicks said while he was aware of the occupation, which he described a “serious statement of resistance,” he did not plan to join Lyons-Morgan and the others until an opportunity presented itself.
“It wasn’t planned,” Hicks said of his decision, which resulted in him spending almost five hours with the other protesters aboard the near-empty coach. “The plan was to encircle the bus, but there was the door, and it was open, so I just sort of jumped on.”
Hicks and Lyons-Morgan agreed the next few hours were entirely peaceful. Apart from irritated STC managers — one of whom declined to comment on Wednesday night — everyone present seemed to support, or at least not resist, the occupation.
Around 11 p.m., STC officials decided to move the bus out of the depot and onto a patch of tarmac next to Ontario Avenue. Hicks and Lyons-Morgan said the protesters interpreted the move as a signal that their occupation could continue.
“It was a smart move,” Hicks said. “It de-escalated the situation. So we ordered a pizza.”
Things changed again sometime after midnight, by which point the protesters had devoured the pizza and drank bottles of water provided by supporters.
Shortly after Hicks left the bus for good, police officers — who had been quietly watching the situation unfold since around 9:30 p.m. — boarded the bus and said the protesters could continue their protest in the depot or be arrested, Lyons-Morgan said.
“We thought, ‘Hey, if we could stay on the bus for potentially up to a couple of weeks, let’s do it. And if we stay on the bus 20 minutes and get arrested, let’s do it.’ ”
Stop The Cuts organizer Peter Garden, who spent most of Wednesday night inside the terminal, agreed with Hicks and Lyons-Morgan that it’s unlikely the government will reverse its course and resurrect the STC.
At the same time, it’s important for people angry about the government’s austerity measures to “keep the pressure on,” he said.
Hicks said while he harbours no illusions about STC’s fate, the protest was far from meaningless.
“What would have happened if there had been no protest (Wednesday) night, either in the station or on the bus? The message would have been, ‘We’re giving up.’ Well, we’re not giving up.”
What would have happened if there had been no protest (Wednesday) night, either in the station or on the bus?