2 Indigenous convoy protesters say they were victims of heavy-handed police response in Ottawa
CBC
Three weeks after RCMP tactical officers smashed their way into his motorhome during an operation to clear the convoy protest around Parliament Hill, Wayne Narvey drove his patched-up vehicle through a winding country back road tailed by three Ontario Provincial Police SUVs.
Earlier that evening, March 3, the OPP ended plans by Narvey and a handful of others to set up a protest camp on a patch of federal government land near a small rural airport to continue what they call the "freedom movement" after it was pushed out of downtown Ottawa. Navery, and some of the other protesters there, had been part of the Ottawa protest against pandemic-related mandates and restrictions since it began.
"We have an hour to leave," Narvey was told by another demonstrator named Justin as OPP vehicles with flashing lights waited on the road.
Some of the windows in the motorhome were covered with black garbage bags and cold crept in through a door that couldn't shut because of a broken latch. The group piled what they could — a wheelbarrow, propane tanks — into the back of a pickup truck and in Narvey's motorhome and left, with the OPP keeping pace in the distance.
Narvey, 34, from Esgenoopetitj First Nation, a Mi'kmaq community in New Brunswick, was arrested by RCMP tactical officers at his motorhome on Feb. 18 and transferred to Ottawa police custody.
He was one of two Indigenous people involved in some of the most dramatic moments during the two-day police operation against the downtown Ottawa protest.
The other, Candice Sero, 49, from Tyendinaga Mohawk territory, west of Napanee, Ont., is still recovering physically and emotionally after she was knocked to the ground by Toronto police officers on horseback on Feb. 19, according to her lawyer, Matthew Wolfson.
Sero declined to speak to CBC News despite repeated requests. The province's Special Investigations Unit, which investigates injury or death that occurs during police activity, is probing the incident.
Wolfson said Sero, who uses a walker, was not provided any medical assistance by police on the scene, but was instead told to immediately leave the area. Wolfson said Sero managed to make her way to a nearby business and a patron there called an ambulance for her.
"It has left her shaken. This is one of the sweetest women in the world," said Wolfson.
"Her heart is still there, but it's had an effect on her mind and her energy.… She is trying to get through day by day, but the mental toll is something that is still fresh."
Wolfson said he could not provide specific details of her injuries. He said she suffered injuries to the "upper right arm" area around her clavicle along with severe bruising.
According to her lawyer, Sero attended the protest because of the impact pandemic restrictions had on children.
WATCH | The moment Candice Sero was knocked over by a Toronto police horse:
In just a few short months, Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen will make history.
Chiefs from Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta are calling for a pause on the pipeline memorandum of understanding until they are consulted and sign off on the potential project. And they're threatening legal action if that doesn't happen.
When dolphins swam onto the scene during a study on northern resident orcas off the coast of B.C., at least one researcher admitted to being a little annoyed.
Researchers say there's been a dramatic rise in the number of people going on medications to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in Ontario, suggesting factors such as more time spent online and the rise of private assessments for the mental condition could be behind the increase.
Baby, it’s cold outside — but it’s worth putting on that heavy winter coat, scarf and boots and heading out for one of the best meteor showers of the year: the Geminids.
Health officials are reminding Canadians to maintain healthy habits during the holiday season, as influenza leads to more school absences and hospitalizations.
For 40 years, staff at Nova Scotia's Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens thought their ginkgo tree was male.
Health Canada has authorized a new drug to treat postpartum depression.
A website selling moccasins with what looks like Haudenosaunee-style beadwork but with no attribution to an artist or community has sparked conversation online about how to identify authentic Indigenous crafts.
More Canadians have a family doctor or nurse practitioner compared with three years ago, but satisfaction remains low, a comprehensive new survey suggests.
This could be an unusually good year to spot snowy owls in southern Canada.
Over five dozen items belonging to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis are one step closer to returning home.
After Canada announced Tuesday it wouldn’t list the American eel under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) some First Nations people with cultural and spiritual ties to the species are questioning the decision.