A protest camp in Wascana Park, calling for awareness and action on suicide in Saskatchewan. The tee pee is surrounded by photos of people who've died by suicide. Aug. 2, 2020 (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

By CJME News

Protest camp at legislative building remains after early morning police visit

Aug 2, 2020 | 4:34 PM

With a clear sky above, the sun shone brightly on the protest camp across from the legislative building Sunday morning, but just a few hours previous, before the sun was even up, police had been there to try to shut the camp down.

According to Tristan Durocher, officers arrived with people from the Provincial Capital Commission – the body in charge of Wascana Park.

Durocher arrived in Regina on Friday after walking more than 600 kilometres from northern Saskatchewan to raise awareness and put pressure on the provincial government for a substantive plan to deal with the suicide epidemic in the north.

Durocher said, Sunday morning, the officers politely told them they were there to enforce the park bylaws. They asked the protestors to take the camp down, but the protestors said no.

Then Durocher said the officers asked the protestors to come out so the officers could go inside the take the tee pee down for them. Durocher said he told the officers they would have to wait, as those in the tee pee weren’t even dressed.

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“They got tired of waiting, they waited less than an hour and they left,” said Durocher.

“What I saw them here for today was not to enforce the bylaws, was not to take that tee pee down, but to intimidate us into leaving of our own free will. I will not leave this lawn of my own free will. I won’t resist, but I’ll be dead weight. I won’t be walking off this lawn, I’ll be dragged off. “

According to Durocher, the only way that tee pee is coming down is if the officers do it themselves.

“With the scrutiny of the public gaze, with vividly captured documentation with every pole and every sign of a dearly departed loved one from the north who took their lives to suicide and that is a public relations nightmare. That is the spark that could ignite rage across this province and across this country,” said Durocher.

The officers had told the camp they were violating the bylaws by having a fire, staying overnight, putting up the tee pee, being there outside of park hours, and not having a permit to be there. This is similar to the reasons given for the Justice for our Stolen Children camp was deemed illegal in 2108.

Durocher said all they’re doing is putting themselves in danger to raise the public consciousness and stop more people from dying by suicide.

“The only people we’re endangering is ourselves, so have some damn respect and let us stay,” said Durocher will real frustration in his voice.

“Currently on this lawn I can’t even go kick a goose that‘s charging at me – they’re protected. Canadian geese who are here to s**t all over this lawn and charge people away, currently have more legal protections than me, an Indigenous human being here to say to our public ‘every child matters’. That’s pretty disgusting if you ask me, that’s some dark comedy if you ask me, that’s very dystopian if you ask me.”

Durocher said he’s doing fine but he believes the officers will be back with more.

On Saturday, Durocher said officers served him with a court summons for November.

“It took them six people in uniform to hand me a piece of paper, a boy who’s sitting cross-legged peacefully, sipping a cup of tea, was handed a piece of paper for a court summons by six people, that’s just disgusting intimidation, that’s just disgusting bullying, and that’s just a complete disregard for the reason we’re here and what we’re trying to bring into the public awareness.”

When talking about why he’s in the park and why he’s on a hunger strike, Durocher has anger in his voice. He talked about helping a friend clean up the blood in her bathroom after she tried to commit suicide. He talked about Samwell Uko, and the idea that if Uko couldn’t get mental health help in the province’s capital city then what hope do kids in northern Saskatchewan have. And Durocher talked about the disregard he feels from the provincial government.

“They say they need more statistics, what does that mean? You need more of us to die before you decide to save whoever’s left because it’ll be a little cheaper? We’re worth more than that,” said Durocher.

He said he was anticipating some trouble with police; he’s also expecting intimidation and scare tactics. But he said he’s not expected a forced removal because he doesn’t think those in charge want the public to see that.

“Be careful how you treat us because this could be a spark that ignites a blaze that we don’t need. We need to be together, we need to be cooperative, we need to have interagency cooperation between all the pertinent people who can and should help save the lives we are trying to stop from leaving and joining these portraits on the lawn,” said Durocher.

Through Sunday morning, dozens of people came to the camp, some just to look, others to join the group and lend their support, and others to give a donation. One woman came with two girls who handed over a small amount of money to the protestors, saying they just wanted to help.

Durocher said he wants to keep the crowd at the camp down to just essential people because of COVID. If people want to support them, they can bring things like firewood or donate to the group, as he says he’s not a rich man and he’s going to need a lawyer after this.