The RCMP are telling Saskatchewan protesters near the U.S. border that if they park on the side of the road, the powers of the Emergencies Act could be used against them..John Graff, who farms near Whitewood, east of Regina, drove to North Portal, Sask., Friday morning. He phoned Western Standard that afternoon and reported the police stopped every vehicle about four miles north of the village that borders North Dakota..“I pulled up and my pickup’s got a great big Canadian flag on it as I’m driving along, so they knew what I was coming for. And they asked me if I was coming to the demonstration and I said, ‘Yep.’ And they said, ‘Do you know where it is?’ I said ‘yep.’ And I wouldn’t tell him where it was, and so then they handed me a piece of paper.”.The paper on official RCMP letterhead was entitled “NOTICE TO DEMONSTRATORS.” Its introduction read: “Saskatchewan RCMP respects the rights of Canadians to protest and gather. We remind you it is within your right to assemble and use private property during those protests as long as no breach of peace occurs.”.But next it warned that under the Emergencies Act, a breach of peace includes “the serious disruption of the movement of persons, goods or serious trade; the interference with the functioning of critical infrastructure; or the support of the threat or use of serious violence against persons or property.”.Then, the letter warned “it is considered breaching the peace to park a vehicle on the side of any public highways or grid roads.” It also says parking “your vehicle on any private properties you do not have approval to use by its legal owner” would also be considered breaching the peace..The letter closed by saying if a breach of the peace occurs, the RCMP could use Emergencies Act powers including “demonstrators being arrested, vehicles being seized and towed, vehicle insurances being suspended, and personal bank accounts being frozen,” followed by a “Thank you” from “Saskatchewan RCMP”..Graff was incensed..“I told the cop, I says, ‘Where is your copy of Mein Kampf? Thank you, good day.’ And I drove away,” Graff recalled..“We should be able to park alongside of the road and we should be able to show our signs and our discontent to the entire world. We’re not infringing upon anybody’s ability to travel. We’re not infringing on anybody’s ability [to do anything]. We are exposing ourselves because mainstream media doesn’t let our voices be heard. The government doesn’t let our voices be heard. We need to be able to protest and when they say you can’t park along the side of the road, since when can’t you park along the side of the road in Canada?”.Graff continued to the village southeast of Estevan — which consists of just six blocks — and found more barricades..“There is such an overpowering police presence… You cannot get to the townsite from Canada without a police barricade. And then the police have taken over the community centre.”.In a press release the same day, the RCMP said it was aware of demonstrations expected in North Portal and Northgate, but promised to “restore the orderly flow of traffic,” adding: “To do so, we always prefer using communication and a measured response. We are making extensive efforts to engage with all stakeholders before and during the demonstrations.”.Graff said he believed in civil disobedience but not in blocking traffic because that was “counterproductive.” He said the plan for the protest was to have family camp-outs starting Friday night, then speakers on Saturday..“You have a family gathering for the kids and throw balls at the humpty dumpties with a Trudeau face on it, that kind of thing, and then go … through the long weekend.”.Police pressure has changed the location..“It was going to happen on a block of land on the northern edge of town that was owned by one of the businesses in town. They got scared with all of the emergency measures and the police pressure. And police have been calling. I don’t know how many times the police called in the three hours I was there trying to find out where is it going to be now,” Graff said..“I’m not allowed to tell you where [the new location is] because it shouldn’t get found out. It’s moved into the country a couple miles outside of North Portal. And just me not being able to tell you irks me to no end because there is no reason for a peaceful demonstration on private property to not be allowed to go forward whether that’s in North Portal or whether that’s anywhere.”.Lee Harding is a Western Standard contributor living in Saskatchewan.
