Trudeaus go to teepee to meet with indigenous protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met Friday with indigenous activists who set up a demonstration teepee on Parliament Hill ahead of Canada Day celebrations.
The prime minister and his wife arrived relatively unannounced at the site mid-morning, as the capital was abuzz with preparations for the Saturday event that’s expected to bring some half-million people into the downtown core.
The Bawaating Water Protectors from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., arrived Wednesday night to erect the teepee and engage in four days of what they called a “reoccupation” to draw attention to the history of indigenous people in Canada during 150th birthday celebrations this weekend.
Originally the group clashed with police, who arrested nine people and refused to allow the teepee, but all nine were eventually released and the structure was set up, then later moved to be close to the main stage for Saturday’s events.
One of the organizers of the indigenous ceremonies taking place on the Hill was arrested and later released on Friday for breaching a trespassing notice that was issued on Wednesday.
Organizers identified the man as Matt Cicero, who was one of the people detained by the RCMP on Wednesday. Cicero’s release was confirmed by the Parliamentary Protective Services on Friday evening.
The nine people were banned for six months from the Hill on Wednesday after raising the teepee. They were given notices of trespass — a tool police anywhere in Canada can use to move people away from a scene without charging them.
The prime minister stopped by while he was on Parliament Hill for rehearsals; the activists said they became aware Trudeau was going to visit when the RCMP came to search the structure.
The Trudeaus spent about 30 minutes inside, meeting with four people.
A video of the meeting posted on YouTube showed the prime minister sitting cross-legged, shoes off, and clasping a feather as he listened to a request from group member Candace Day Neveau that the current federal department responsible for indigenous affairs be renamed the office of honourable treaty relations, and that the current Indian Act be scrapped.
“We have to move beyond the Indian Act, we have to end the Indian Act but we can’t do it with the stroke of the pen from Ottawa,” Trudeau said.
“We have to do it with your partnership, with your leadership and there are people at different points along their healing journey ... We need to respect your pace, your leadership.”
Trudeau said young voices, like Day Neveau’s, were essential to the process and thanked the group for sharing the moment with him.
“As a young leader, I am here to say we are going to be holding you accountable for abolishing the Indian Act and for making things right for our people,” Day Neveau told him.
Trudeau did not speak to reporters once he exited the tent, but later posted a series of messages on Twitter about the meeting, calling it respectful.
“The painful fact behind this protest is that for too long, there’s simply been no space for Indigenous Peoples to be heard in Ottawa,” he tweeted.
“Our government is committed & dedicated to moving forward on reconciliation — myself & everyone in cabinet. And we have a lot of work to do.”
The Bawaating Water Protectors are just one of many indigenous groups planning protest events and demonstrations this weekend.
As she clasped a bundle of tobacco in her hand after the meeting with Trudeau, Day Neveau said she hoped everyone could benefit from the message she and others are trying to communicate.
“This is a tobacco offering to Canada to stand and support indigenous people,” she said.
“May this be an educational experience for everyone to say that young leaders are rising, indigenous people are rising.” The Canadian Press ~with files from Olivia Blackmore