PROTESTERS, POLITICIANS TALK
Justice camp occupants stand firm
The provincial government is looking to remove protesters who have been camping in front of the Saskatchewan Legislative Building for nearly 90 days.
On Thursday, Minister of Central Services Ken Cheveldayoff said it’s time for the protesters to leave.
The camp was first formed in solidarity with camps in Calgary and Winnipeg as a response to notguilty verdicts in the deaths of two young Indigenous people, 15-yearold Tina Fontaine and 22-year-old Colten Boushie.
The small tent village is located directly across the street from the Legislative Building — a move intended to catch the attention of Saskatchewan MLAs.
“I intend on staying here. If they’re going to kick me out, they’re going to have to drag me out in handcuffs,” Prescott Demas, one of the camp regulars, said in an interview with the Leader-Post earlier this month.
Cheveldayoff said Thursday a meeting is planned for next week with the protesters.
“It’s approaching summer here and we’re going to have to do the regular grounds keeping, and I’m hoping after the meeting we can agree on some things and they’ll see their way to move out of the park,” he said, noting the province is taking the issues raised by the protesters “very seriously.”
He said the people at the camp were “very polite, very receptive” when he spoke with them.
“I like their approach and everything, they just have to understand as a public entity as a public park, we want everyone to enjoy it and have equal access, so we’re going to politely ask that they vacate,” hesaid.
“But more importantly, we’re going to ask what they’re concerns are.”
NDP Opposition leader Ryan Meili says from what he understands, the protesters want a meeting with Premier Scott Moe.
“They ’ve been camped out there through cold weather, and now that it’s gotten warmer and now session is over, and it sounds like the government is making a plan to move them on,” he said, adding the “timing of that is a bit odd” because it would be easier to “just go down and visit” with the protesters.
“We park 30 metres away from that camp. There is very little reason to think nobody from cabinet couldn’t have gone and just spent a few minutes seeing what is on people’s minds, understanding why they’re there,” he said.