Mayor’s comments trigger protest

People upset with Mayor Michael Fougere’s comments about civil disobedience showed up to protest Monday morning.

“There is never, ever a time for civil disobedience,” Fougere said on Thursday.

In response, protesters gathered near the Gandhi statue at city hall on Monday morning and chanted: “There’s no wrong time for civil disobedience.”

Bob Hughes, an advocate for the Saskatchewan Coalition Against Racism, said the mayor’s comment was shocking.

“Knowing the history, I mean, that’s how all unjust laws have been changed,” he said. “If we can’t have civil disobedience, if we can’t have people engage in civil disobedience, the only thing left is a riot, I mean, the language of the unheard is a riot.”

Peter Gilmer, an anti-poverty advocate, said there are appropriate times for civil disobedience, such as when other means have been used up.

“I think that the disruption caused by civil disobedience so far has been miniscule in relation to the disruption that is being caused in relation to the incredibly hurtful social policies that are going to have a huge impact on poor and vulnerable people,” Gilmer said.

Fougere wasn’t available for an interview but welcomed political protest and dissent in a statement.

“Civil disobedience, however, is a completely different activity that speaks to acting outside the bounds of the law. I believe that when dissent crosses the line into breaking the law or inciting a response it is something entirely different, and the context of that action becomes crucially important,” he said.

Associate professor Jim Farney said it was important to distinguish between protests, which are usually legal, and civil disobedience, which involves breaking the law to make a political point.

“The stuff we’re seeing in Regina right now is people who don’t feel that the political system is listening to them,” he said.

He said the incident in Saskatoon on an STC bus was clearly a case of civil disobedience.

“At the moment we’ve got a very weak kind of conventional opposition. The NDP’s building itself but it’s not a strong party, and the Sask Party’s brought in a pretty sweeping set of cuts in this budget,” Farney said.

“The result is a lot of folks are saying we can’t wait three years for the NDP to rebuild itself into an opposition. We need to do something now. What’s in the repertoire? This type of unconventional protest.”

Coun. Sharron Bryce is encouraging people to speak with their MLA or local representatives if they’re upset.

“I think there’s a difference between civil disobedience and getting your message across. If it’s truly a message you want to get across, I don’t feel that we need to break the law to be heard by others,” she said.

“We need a place where people feel safe and secure, and laws are in place to make that happen,” she added.