Province clears out 'Every Child Matters' legislature encampment

The Manitoba government has cleared out an illegal encampment located on the east side of the legislative grounds.

The "Every Child Matters" encampment had been up at the Legislature for more than a year, having been raised shortly after the discovery of unmarked graves at a former residential school in Kamloops B.C. in May 2021. The group had vowed to stay there until all former residential schools in Canada had been searched for bodies.

Around 7:00 a.m. Saturday, provincial enforcement personnel moved in with bulldozers to remove the encampment structures.

"Unauthorized permanent structures and encampments are not lawful or safe on the grounds of the Legislature. This has been seen by the significant security concerns that have arisen over the past few months at the Manitoba Legislature," said an email statement from Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen.

"Our government strongly supports the right to legal protests. The Manitoba Legislature should always be a place to express democratic opinions. However, these must be done in a way that protects the safety of all those who come to the Legislature, including school children, tours, staff, elected officials, dignitaries, and protestors," the statement went on to say.

A spokesperson for Manitoba Justice said that three people received tickets during the operation, but no arrests were made. 

The Winnipeg Police Service said it was not on scene during the operation.

Another unrelated encampment had been removed from the legislative grounds earlier this month.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) has spoken out against the encampment eviction.

The First Nation organization sent out a news release Sunday decrying the provincial government's actions.

“It is troubling to hear that the province had bulldozers on site, had handcuffed and arrested Elders, and given out $672 tickets in the early hours on Saturday. It is questionable timing to have done all this when most of us are still asleep and is concerningly aggressive,” said Deputy Grand Chief Cornell McLean in the release.

“This early morning raid on the camp sends a threatening message to all First Nations that Manitoba does not support our rights to criticize the government and to demonstrate our concerns peacefully. The Manitoba government’s still evicting First Nations people from our unceded territory and doing it while advertising their ‘reconciliation work.’ This kind of doublespeak is gravely concerning,” the release went on to say.

The AMC said it had reached out to the government to try and find appropriate accommodations for the demonstrators at the encampment, but was not able to do so.