OTTAWA -- All 20 Greenpeace protesters who climbed atop the Parliament Buildings yesterday morning are out on bail.
The last six — who had initially refused to comply with bail conditions — were released around 4 p.m. after the conditions were modified.
Fourteen of the protesters were released early Tuesday morning after agreeing to neither associate with one another nor go on Parliament Hill. Of the remaining six, one woman from Toronto refused the conditions for personal reasons while the other five work together as Greenpeace canvassers in Quebec and say they cannot commit to a no-contact order.
For all six, that condition was dropped and replaced with a ban on participating in protests.
Albertan Mike Hudema, released around 3:30 a.m., wouldn’t say how long he’s been in the capital or how much training was involved in Monday’s action. He’s been staying at an Albert St. hotel not far from Parliament Hill.
“We never talk about how we got in or how long we’ve been here because it’s the why that’s important,” said Hudema, who climbed west side of the West Block of Parliament Hill and unfurled one of the banners.
He makes no apologies for his actions Monday, except if they end up getting RCMP officers in trouble.
“Our action wasn’t against the RCMP or the police department,” he said. “The security implications pale in comparison to the climate security that threatens to displace millions.”
Hudema says the action will still have been worthwhile even if security repercussions overshadow the intended environmental message.
“We hope that it doesn’t,” he said.
One of the 20 protesters — the woman from Toronto — was also part of a high-profile protest in October at Le Havre in France.
All of the protesters are leaving Ottawa Wednesday morning. Their next court appearance is Jan. 11, but they’re not expected to attend.
There is a noticeably greater number of RCMP officers on Parliament Hill today — where more arrests took place Tuesday morning. A group of six youth were arrested after staging what they call a “peaceful sit-in” during a House of Commons Environment Committee meeting around 11:30am.
These members of People For Climate Justice are the latest arrests in a string of protests taking place across the country since late November that has seen nearly thirty people arrested for trying to occupy the offices of six Conservative cabinet ministers.
doug.hempstead@sunmedia.ca
