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As the government reworks its Wascana Park bylaws after the previous ones were ruled unconstitutional, the NDP Opposition is concerned by what it alleges is a lack of Indigenous consultation.
On Monday NDP MLAs Betty Nippi-Albright and Nicole Sarauer stood on the park site where Indigenous protest camps were erected in recent years and expressed concerns that a review of the bylaws did not include any consultation from Indigenous groups or people.
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Article contentNippi-Albright, First Nations and Métis Relations, Truth and Reconciliation, said the Provincial Capital Commission (PCC) is due to release its new bylaws on Thursday, after Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Graeme Mitchell last year declared the previous bylaws to be unconstitutional.
Mitchell’s ruling stemmed from an injunction the PCC sought against Tristen Durocher and his 45-day encampment last summer to raise suicide awareness. In 2018 the Justice For Our Stolen Children camp was forced to vacate after 197 days following a court order.
Members of the Opposition called on the government to immediately bring Indigenous people to the table for consultation before the bylaws are unveiled.
Asked if the PCC consulted Indigenous people during its bylaw review, a spokesperson said, “the review was carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice’s Constitutional Law branch to ensure rights and privileges of all Saskatchewan residents.”
Mitchell said in his ruling that some kind of accommodation should be made for demonstrations such as Durocher’s, which is what Nippi-Albright wants to see.
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Article content Advertisement 3 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article contentIn the ruling, Mitchell said Durocher’s camp, which was established on the west lawn in front of the Legislative Building without a permit, should have been permitted and that removing it would infringe his Charter rights.
He said the existing bylaws “provide no exemption or accommodation for constitutionally protected political and spiritual expression of the kind at issue in this case.”
“I’m very concerned that the PCC has decided not to conduct any consultation for these new bylaws,” Nippi-Albright. She said the reason it is so important for Indigenous parties to be consulted in the process is that the very bylaws in question were used on two occasions to remove Indigenous protesters from the grounds in 2018 and 2020.
“Indigenous people are protesting for their lives, for their children’s lives and for their future,” said Nippi-Albright. “This is a complete disregard of the governments own First Nation and Metis consultation policy framework, which states its legal duty to consult when decisions or actions could have an impact on traditional uses of land for ceremonial purposes.”
Advertisement 4 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article contentNippi-Albright said were it not for Mitchell’s ruling, unconstitutional bylaws would still be in place.
In an emailed statement the PCC said “as a result of the review, bylaws have been adjusted to comply with the Justice’s order and will be reviewed by the PCC’s Board of Directors before they are finalized.”
Sarauer, critic of the PCC, said the lack of consultation speaks to a larger issue the Opposition has routinely brought up regarding the PCC.
“It’s what we’ve been hearing since the Sask Party’s taken over control of Wascana Park, since 2017, which is a lack of transparency, a lack of public dialogue and a lack public consultation,” she charged.
Part of her pushback comes from the findings of the provincial auditor in 2020.
Provincial auditor Judy Ferguson found numerous problems with the processes within the PCC. In her 2020 audit, Ferguson criticized the PCC for its lack of transparency and called on the commission to become more open.
She said the PCC “has not established expectations and procedures for consulting with the public about major developments in Wascana Centre.”
-with files from Arthur White-Crummey
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