Premier Brad Wall is hosting another Premier’s Dinner Thursday evening, this time in Regina. Once again protestors are planning to make their presence known at the event.
Some protestors at the Saskatoon dinner in April surrounded cars entering the venue, a few protestors even sat on the hoods of moving vehicles.
The description adds they want to make this protest “as memorable as Saskatoon’s, if not more”.
The Regina Police Service will be on hand, monitoring the protest.
“We are also expecting peaceful protesting, and we’re encouraging our protestors in Regina to act accordingly,” Police Chief Evan Bray said.
“Being able to get your message heard in a peaceful and respectful way is the right of Saskatchewan citizens, and we expect that. I also expect that we’re not going to have criminal behaviour, and we’ll have officers on hand to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
READ MORE: Brad Wall’s fundraising dinner draws hundreds of protesters in Saskatoon
Unlike the Saskatoon protest, organizers of the Regina rally are encouraging attendees not to hold up cars entering Evraz Place. This is because the Mosaic Festival of Cultures will be hosting pavilions at the same venue, and they don’t want to disrupt festival attendees.
The protestors plan to bring pots, pans and other dinnerware to symbolize the empty plates they say have been caused by the latest provincial budget.
Bray said he is optimistic and doesn’t expect to see any criminal activity at this protest.
“I know there was problems in Saskatoon, I think it was one of those situations that probably escalated,” Bray said.
“Quite often you see in situations like this were organizers of the event have every intention to be peaceful, but you don’t always control the mind and the body of everyone that’s in your group.”
Bray said RPS have been talking with security at Exhibition Place about helping police keep an eye on things.
“It’s my hope that we can talk Friday morning, and say yeah the event went off, protestors had their message heard, and no one was arrested,” Bray said.
“That’s my hope.”
The Premier’s Dinner takes place at the Evraz Place Eventplex at 6 p.m. Thursday evening.
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