Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Officials at centre of protest get new roles

- D.C. FRASER dfraser@postmedia.com Twitter.com/dcfraser

REGINA Two civil servants who were at the centre of the province’s response to an ongoing protest in front of the legislativ­e building have been moved into new roles.

Richard Murray, former deputy minister of Central Services, is now the deputy minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety.

He had been in his Central Services role since 2015, but was shifted last week in a move described by the premier’s office as “housekeepi­ng.”

Carrie Ross, the former executive director of the Provincial Capital Commission (PCC), had put out a statement critical of the Regina Police Service’s refusal to remove the protesters.

The premier’s office says she has since “pursued a position and has accepted one within the Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport.”

Both had been central figures in an ongoing matter related to the Justice for Our Stolen Children Camp outside the legislativ­e building.

In a statement Tuesday, the premier’s office said, “Both Mr. Murray and Ms. Ross have made significan­t contributi­ons in leading the Ministry of Central Services and the Provincial Capital Commission. They will continue to provide valuable contributi­ons to the government in their new roles.”

The campers, who now have several teepees on the lawns across from the legislativ­e building, have brought forward issues related to the number of Indigenous children in the care of social services and other long-standing grievances.

Murray was largely used as the government’s point man when a decision was made earlier in the year to evict the campers from the area. He told reporters in early June it was time for the protest to end and that an eviction order had been issued.

On June 15, Regina Police Service officers — at the apparent direction of the province, according to Attorney General Don Morgan — arrived at the camp early in the morning.

Most of the camp was removed that morning by Provincial Capital Commission (PCC) employees. Murray was present at the camp throughout the day.

On June 18, Murray and PCC employees returned to the camp to further remove structures.

But within a few days, more teepees were put up and prominent Indigenous groups as well as First Nations chiefs were publicly supporting the protest.

Ross, who became the executive director of the PCC last August, put out a statement criticizin­g the police.

The news release, sent on June 27, blamed location changes for July 1 celebratio­ns in Wascana Park on the protest camp’s continued presence and police inaction.

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