Winnipeg police evict encampment on north side of Manitoba legislative grounds

Winnipeg police say they have arrested seven people involved in bolstering an encampment on the north side of the legislative grounds and are evicting people who are staying there long-term.

Police and Manitoba government officials made the decision to dismantle the camp — which included two teepees and a third under construction— on Tuesday as a result of escalating threats of bodily harm, the indication of weapons and aggressive behaviour by north camp occupants, police said in a news release on Tuesday.

"I'm devastated. My heart is on the ground. And it leaves me speechless. This was some of my final hopes," said Jason Morin, who said he had been frequenting the teepees since June.

He said the group, led by "clan mother" Si Pih Koh, also known as Trina Francois, who made headlines earlier this summer for the Cree song she sang to the Pope, positioned itself on the north side of the legislative grounds in June. He said Si Pih Koh "claimed sovereignty" over the area because it is treaty land and had plans to negotiate with government in order to stay.

The site had been adorned with signs and flags highlighting a variety of issues, from the discovery of what are possibly unmarked graves at residential schools to COVID-19 restrictions and conflict in the Middle East. 

"I came and joined their peaceful protest here because I didn't see anything else going on. And I need to be actively protesting something," said Morin, who said he and his wife lost their jobs due to government mandates during the pandemic. 

"The cops stormed in there, put her face to the ground, handcuffed her and took her away like a common criminal. A clan mother. She was standing up peacefully protesting for her rights with her thunderbird family," he said.

Officers said they safely dismantled the encampment in front of the legislature, and that weapons were found, but did not disclose what they were.

Morin strongly denied there were any weapons at the site, save an axe or two to chop wood for the sacred fire.

Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen says police were involved to enforce provincial legislation barring people from erecting permanent structures on the grounds.

"There's been concerns regarding security, and escalating concerns over the last number of weeks," he said in an interview following question period on Tuesday.

"There have been over the last number of weeks arrests of individuals who were trying to grow the encampment, arrests of individuals who have outstanding warrants, there were arrests of individuals who were using things that could be used as dangerous weapons," he said.

"We want this to be a place where people feel safe to visit, feel safe to come and have meetings, feel safe to work and feel safe to protest, because this is an appropriate place to protest, but there are safety concerns when people come and don't leave and … those are demonstrated over the last number of weeks."

Another encampment on the east side of the legislature, which has had a sacred fire burning since the discovery of potential unmarked graves in Kamloops last year, was not dismantled on Tuesday. Organizers, who are mainly Indigenous, have said they intend to stay there until every residential school site is searched for unmarked graves.