Premier staying on as Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs minister, despite calls for resignation
Ball wouldn’t ballpark how many times he’s been to Labrador since becoming minister
Premier Dwight Ball told a group of protesters in Happy Valley-Goose Bay Friday he'll be staying on as Minister of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs, despite their calls for him to step down.
Ball took on that portfolio, plus Intergovernmental Affairs, in addition to his role as premier when his cabinet was sworn in Dec. 14, 2015.
But the Labrador Land Protectors group have been opposed to the premier having that responsibility, as well as the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric megaproject.
And they took their opposition straight to the premier ahead of his scheduled speech at the annual general meeting of the Combined Councils of Labrador, staging what they called a "die in" inside the hotel where the event was taking place.
Protesters with signs reading things like "murder" and "don't flood my children" lay on the floor of the venue, blocking entrances to the room Ball was meant to go inside Friday evening.
RCMP tell group members mischief charge could be laid if they don't leave premises. They're heading to parking lot after reading statement <a href="https://t.co/mWhAbacxv0">pic.twitter.com/mWhAbacxv0</a>
—@KatieBreenNLEarlier in the day, members of the Labrador Land Protectors group sat down with the premier and Labrador's four MHAs for about an hour to discuss the group's concerns about Muskrat Falls.
It's still, as far as I'm concerned, cultural genocide.- Amy Norman
The premier's staff didn't allow media inside that meeting, at first calling it a "closed door" meeting and then citing capacity issues in the room.
"We certainly gave him an earful," said protester Amy Norman upon leaving.
"Our lands are still going to be poisoned. It's still, as far as I'm concerned, cultural genocide."
A series of protests at Muskrat Falls in the fall led to an 11-hour meeting between leaders of Labrador's Indigenous governments and the provincial government. That resulted in an agreement between the parties that Nunatsiavut President Johannes Lampe said showed protesters had succeeded in their goals.
Protest moved outside
Shortly after the group began its demonstration on the floor of the hotel where the function was being held, the RCMP arrived.
Police told people on the floor they could be charged with mischief, and after a spokesperson for the protesters read the group's statement for a second time, they carried the protest outside.
Protesters allowed to stay in parking lot says they got their point across, and staying in case premier comes out <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cbcnl?src=hash">#cbcnl</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/muskratfalls?src=hash">#muskratfalls</a> <a href="https://t.co/UpBOdJTNfl">pic.twitter.com/UpBOdJTNfl</a>
—@JacobBarkerCBC"The reason why I took on the Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs department is that I wanted to work with our Indigenous and Aboriginal governments in a government-to-government relationship," the premier said.
When asked how many times he'd been to Labrador since becoming the minister, Ball said he "doesn't count."
"I'm not even going to guess because the next thing you'll do is go to an access to information and see what the exact number is," he said.
Mayor also calls for resignation
It's not just protesters calling for the premier to step out of the role as Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs minister.
"My question to Mr. Ball is, why is it that he took the role as Minister for Labrador when he got four elected representatives in Labrador?" L'anse Au Loup mayor Hedley Ryland said Friday. "I feel that he should step aside and give it to one of his elected members."
Ball responded to Ryland's call later in the day, saying the mayor had not brought that issue up with him.
"That mayor, we all know he's had some political biases over the past but he certainly did not express that to me," Ball said.
"As a matter of fact, he was one of the first people who reached out to me and was very welcoming."