Justice camp occupants say they are staying put

Group set up near legislature says it is being ignored by politicians

REGINA Although 70 days have passed since Justice for Our Indigenous Children set up camp in front of the Saskatchewan Legislative Building, its occupants show no signs of packing up despite a warning about a ban on overnight tenting.

“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 said in an interview Wednesday. He has been a regular face at the camp since its inception.

It was formed in solidarity with camps in Calgary and Winnipeg, which were in response to notguilty verdicts in the deaths of two Indigenous young people, 15-yearold Tina Fontaine and 22-year-old Colten Boushie.

The camp’s proximity on the west lawn in front of the Legislative Building was intended to catch the attention of Saskatchewan MLAs and policy-makers and start a dialogue — but Demas believes they’re being ignored.

Politicians from various parties have stopped by on their own time, but “not during leg time has anyone from the leg come out to talk to us,” he said. “They told CTV that they’re waiting for an official invitation from us.”

But he doesn’t think a formal invitation should be necessary.

“We’ve been on their doorstep for them to come out and even ask,” he said.

The camp received a notice from the Provincial Capital Commission on Feb. 28 — the day the camp was set up — which informed the group of bylaws that restrict overnight camping within Wascana Centre.

“We are asking that all structures be removed from Wascana Centre prior to 5:00 pm on Wednesday February 28, 2018. Permits must be obtained for all future dates,” the letter read.

Demas said they haven’t heard from the PCC since.

PCC executive director Carrie Ross told the Leader-Post that along with the letter, a permit application was included, which would have allowed the group to set up during the day, for multiple days, provided they did not remain in the park overnight.

“Unfortunately we did not receive it back from those folks,” said Ross.

She said the PCC hasn’t taken any action since then to enforce the bylaw and restrictions, and other events in the park have worked around the group.

When asked how many days the group could have been permitted to stay, she said that would have been part of the conversation had the permit application process moved forward.

“We just want to work with this group to make sure that they’re safe and we can come to a peaceful resolution to the use that they have within Wascana Centre,” said Ross.

Ross said the PCC hopes to reengage with the group, but has no formal plans to do so at this time.

In the meantime, life at the camp carries on.

Shannon Corkery has been part of it since the beginning and emphasized the importance of settlers supporting their Indigenous neighbours.

While the outcome of their presence there is hard to predict, Corkery hopes the camp will lead to some concrete changes, including honouring the treaties that allow for Indigenous people to use their own justice system and have jurisdiction over their children.

In the meantime, she’d like to continue seeing people visit the camp and learn about Indigenous history and the stereotypes and racism Indigenous people face.

“There’s just so many layers of misunderstanding,” said Corkery.

“If people come in and talk to folks here, some of those layers of misunderstanding just start to get a little bit of clarity,” she continued.