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A protest camp on the Alberta legislature grounds has been dismantled by law enforcement.
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About a dozen tents were taken down from the south lawn on Monday after Edmonton Police Service and Alberta Sheriffs had asked protesters to leave the area.
Dozens of people had been protesting over a span of more than a week. One previously told Postmedia the purpose was to oppose vaccination mandates and to bring attention to injustices faced by Indigenous communities.
While it is lawful to protest on the legislature grounds, the Crown Property Regulation prohibits “residing, camping or sleeping” on the grounds overnight. A court injunction granted Friday permits officers to enforce that rule.
On Sunday, Infrastructure Minister Prasad Panda said the government was concerned about safety issues.
“Things can go out of control – we know what happened on Capitol Hill. I defend the right to protest. I facilitate that on our grounds. They can be my guest during the day as long as they follow the rules, but if they violate that I’m obligated to Albertans and Alberta taxpayers to keep the public infrastructure safe, and also usable for all visitors,” said Panda.
It was unclear whether any charges had been laid on Monday.
More to come
With files from Lisa Johnson
