Here is what this Legislature encampment member is saying after getting eviction notices
A member of the encampments on the Manitoba Legislature grounds handed eviction notices says they plan on staying put and fighting the move.
Occupants of two encampments have been told they must leave and remove their tents and belongings in one week. On Wednesday, police and provincial officials attended the camps and handed out eviction notices for August 23.
The group on the east side of the Legislature has been there for more than a year. That encampment was set up to honour the lives of children buried at former residential school sites. Members vowed to stay there until all of the bodies are found across Canada.
Billy, a member of the east encampment who did not want his last name used, said he and others there are disappointed by the notice and say they are peaceful and not bothering anyone.
He said they are not going anywhere.
“We’re going to stay, we’re going to fight for this,” Billy said. “We’re going to have pretty much a rally or protest about this, they shouldn’t be doing this.”
The eviction notice says the encampment is in violation of a new law banning people from erecting permanent structures and occupying a tent or portable shelter on the grounds.
That law comes after multiple protests on the grounds, including the weeks-long trucker protest earlier this year which blocked traffic around the legislature, and the protests on Canada Day 2021 where the Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth statues were toppled outside the legislature.
Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson said the law aims to ensure everyone's safety including those working in the Legislative building and those protesting outside of it.
"Obviously, we want to be open to protesters – that is their right to be here on the Legislative grounds but we want to ensure safety first," she said.
"It is not a place to be staying overnight. It is a place for peaceful protest. We believe that, but again, it is going to be up to law enforcement as to how they go about moving that along."
In a statement to CTV News, the provincial Justice Department said justice officials are in constant communication with law enforcement and are the lead on all interactions with the encampments. It confirmed the eviction notices were issued Wednesday to the encampments on the grounds.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.