Premier’s dinner in Regina disrupted by protesters

Shouts of “stops the cuts” rang out as Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall defended the provincial budget in a speech before 1,400 party supporters.

Wall was just starting to speak Thursday night at the premier’s annual dinner in Regina when a woman stood up near the front of the room and repeatedly yelled at him.

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“I think it’s fair that that’s going to happen in politics,” Wall later told reporters.

“You know, we live in a free country and people are going to find creative ways to make their case, even if they are in a place without a ticket, that’s fair enough.”

“Obviously, we’ve seen a lot of concern about the budget and want to be able to respond to it, and that was the point of my speech tonight.”

Chelsea Flook, a member of the group Stop the Cuts, was peacefully escorted out by MLA Paul Merriman, who is the government house leader, and Saskatchewan Party executive director Patrick Bundrock.

“I think that the recent Sask. Party budget has disrupted the lives of tens of thousands of people in our province,” Flook told reporters outside the dinner.

“There’s been tens of thousands of people who have been mobilizing and demonstrating against these cuts and we haven’t seen any movement from the government.”

“We saw the rollback of the libraries cut, but there’s a lot more on the table that needs to be revisited, especially given that they just gave all these guys in there a corporate tax break.”

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The March budget included funding cuts to schools, universities, libraries, a hearing aid program, and funerals for low-income people, and a shut-down of the provincial bus company, STC.

However, the Saskatchewan government said in late April that it made a mistake and restored $4.8 million in funding for the province’s libraries.

The cuts were part of the government’s plan to reduce Saskatchewan’s $1.3-billion deficit.

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“If you set this budget aside and consider the record of our government … there has been a massive increase in health-care funding under our government, even with this last budget in place, higher than inflation, way higher than inflation,” said Wall. “A doubling of support for people with disabilities.”

The government knew the budget wouldn’t be popular, “that people would be upset and there would be protests, and I accept that,” he said.

About 60 protesters rallied at the entrance to the venue. They walked in a crosswalk, banged on pans and carried placards to block cars from turning into the parking lot.

However, they also allowed people who were going to the site for a cultural festival to enter.

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A similar rally last month outside the annual premier’s dinner in Saskatoon drew about 350 people and got heated when some demonstrators climbed on cars.

Several drivers attempted to force their way through the crowd, with angry yelling matches breaking out after protesters were bumped by the cars.

Protesters in Saskatoon also said they objected to supporters being able to buy access to the premier.

The $250-a-plate event is a fundraiser for the Saskatchewan Party.

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Regina police were on hand for the rally and the dinner. They said in a statement emailed to media Thursday that officers had a plan to protect everyone involved.

“We recognize that there are Saskatchewan citizens who are still very emotional about the recent provincial budget and they have a message they want to convey to elected leaders. We will uphold their rights to peaceful protest,” said the police statement.

“We also uphold the rights of attendees to the premier’s dinner … to freely attend those events.”