SASKATOON — Six of the eight scheduled town halls organized by Unified Grassroots to be held in Royal Canadian Legion branches across Saskatchewan have been cancelled, according to an email sent to those who had responded to attend the event in the city.
Unified Grassroots held its first town hall on May 25 at Prairieland Park to begin its campaign for a referendum on Saskatchewan’s sovereignty. As of the time of posting, 4,255 people had signed their petition — 3.4 per cent of their 125,000-signature goal.
The group booked 13 town halls, aiming to inform the public about holding a referendum on Saskatchewan’s sovereignty, which provincial leaders could use to negotiate new terms in their relationship with the federal government, according to their leader.
According to Unified Grassroots, they had booked, paid for and confirmed eight of the 13 venues in different legion branches across the province through July. But on May 23 the provincial legion command cancelled them.
Unified Grassroots said Saskatchewan’s provincial legion command, led by executive director Chad Wagner, ordered the cancellations. The group accused the Saskatchewan NDP of running a misinformation campaign about their events.
“This isn't just a setback, it's censorship. It's an attack on democracy, freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly, all things our veterans fought for. These halls were meant to give people a voice,” said Unified Grassroots.
“In some towns, the Legion is the only place folks can rent, gather, and speak freely. We're not backing down. We'll talk with Legion leadership and ask them to reconsider once they hear the truth about what we're doing.”
Unified Grassroots added that the cancellations will not prevent them from gathering and asked people in towns where meetings were cancelled to attend anyway, even if the town hall is held in a farm Quonset hut.
Town halls planned for legion branches in Meadow Lake (June 17), Weyburn (June 28), Estevan (June 29), Humboldt (July 22), Prince Albert (July 23) and Nipawin (July 30) have all been cancelled, as well as the event in Regina.
Organizers have also scheduled similar town hall-style meetings at the legions in Swift Current and Shaunavon for 7 p.m. on June 24 and 25, but say they have yet to hear from the leadership of The Royal Canadian Legion.
