Tents were rolled up, fires were extinguished and an injunction notice was burned as an 11-day occupation on the ceremonial stairs of the B.C. legislature came to an end Thursday.
The camp’s closure came on the heels of five arrests overnight, after protesters invited inside to speak with Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Minister Scott Fraser refused to leave after the meeting.
Alan Mullen, chief of staff to B.C. Speaker Darryl Plecas, said it was “grossly disheartening” when at about 8:15 p.m., seven members of Indigenous Youth for Wet’suwet’en indicated they were staging a sit-in.
After talks with legislative protective services and police, two left of their own accord, but five stayed.
“I do think they crossed the line last night,” Mullen said Thursday morning.
“It was an incredible show of good faith on behalf of Minister Scott Fraser to invite these folks in to sit down to talk, and you know it was very disheartening to see how that turned out.”
Mullen said the government has been lenient so far, despite policies prohibiting overnight camping and open flame in the legislature precinct, but he signalled that things were about to change. “We will never allow the rule of law to be disrespected or broken.”
Hours later, the Youth for Wet’suwet’en hosted a news conference, held a ceremony during which they removed and then burned the injunction notice that had been posted to the front doors of the legislature, and began dismantling the camp.
Sleeping bags were rolled up, food and camping equipment was packed, dishes were washed and dried, and open fires that had been used to keep members warm overnight were extinguished.
“This was a community decision,” said Katie George-Jim of Youth for Wet’suwet’en. “We’re leaving in a place of strength.”
George-Jim said it was unfortunate that it took Wet’suwet’en supporters spending 11 consecutive days on the steps of the legislature — and 17 days overall at the precinct — for governments to meet with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs, as they recently did in Smithers.
While there were three days of negotiations and respectful dialogue, “governments had 23 years to have these conversations,” said George-Jim.
The demonstrators will now move on to community dialogue, consultation and reflection, said George-Jim.
Wednesday night’s confrontation began after Indigenous Youth for Wet’suwet’en made six demands on social media, including that they be able to meet Premier John Horgan, Finance Minister Carole James, Attorney General David Eby and Fraser.
During question period and on social media, Liberal MLAs criticized what they called Fraser’s “poor judgment” in allowing the protesters inside the building.
B.C. Liberal MLA John Yap said on Twitter that Fraser met with the group against the advice of security professionals, and put staff and police at risk.
Fraser conceded Thursday the meeting should have been held elsewhere.
The delegation was invited in on condition that they would leave the building following the meeting and they agreed, according to his ministry.
After Fraser and Green MLA Adam Olsen left, the individuals “reneged on their agreement and made it clear that they would not leave the building as agreed,” said a ministry spokeswoman.
“The idea I hoped was to de-escalate,” said Fraser, “and I’m very, very disappointed with the outcome. The talks were respectful. They were [scheduled] for 45 minutes, we went 90 minutes, and they ended in a good way, I thought.”
Fraser said the decision to meet with the group was his call in discussion with the Speaker’s office, and that “it seemed like a good idea at the time.”
The minister said he wanted to share information about what was said in talks with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs last week and ongoing work being done, “and I did that.” He added that he thought his show of respect would be reciprocated by the protesters.
On social media, Indigenous Youth for Wet’suwet’en disputed the government’s version of events. It said seven members were invited to speak with Fraser inside the legislature about 6:30 p.m.
“After a number of hours, discussions broke down, and the Indigenous youth and Scott Fraser could not come to an agreement” that the RCMP and Coastal GasLink leave Wet’suwet’en land.
The group said five of the seven people in the legislature were “violently arrested,” but did not give details except to say that the arrests happened behind closed doors and that those arrested were carried out.
Victoria police said protesters called for others to surround the legislature building and “actively obstructed officers.”
With the large crowd, it took several hours for officers to be able to safely transport the protesters to police headquarters, they said.
“Officers who were responding to the scene were surrounded by over 100 protesters and were unable to respond to emergency calls for service,” police said in a statement, adding there were no injuries.
The five people who were arrested were transported to jail cells for processing and released on condition that they stay away from the legislature grounds, including Confederation Park, police said.
