Brigette DePape

Brigette DePape is a Canadian activist from Winnipeg, Manitoba, who was a Canadian Senate page when she disrupted the Throne speech in 2011 with a silent demonstration in the House of Commons. She has protested other events as well causing her to be arrested in 2014.

Brigette DePape
Born (1989-09-14) September 14, 1989
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Other namesBrigette Marcelle
OccupationActivist
Known forProtesting in the Canadian Senate

Early life

DePape attended Collège Jeanne-Sauvé in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was a recipient of the Loran Award in 2007 in part for her association with Students without Borders: Afrique 2007 and fundraising efforts for Senegal.[1]

Stop Harper!

While a participant in the Canadian Senate Page Program in 2011, DePape stood in protest during the Throne Speech in the Senate, silently holding up a sign that said "Stop Harper!" This action led to her prompt dismissal, for breaching the non-partisan nature of the page position and disrupting the Governor General in Parliament.[2] In a subsequent interview, DePape explained that she disagreed with Prime Minister Stephen Harper's policies.[3]

In an interview, then Opposition Leader Jack Layton voiced disapproval of DePape's protest, stating "We have been pushing for decorum in the House of Commons. You don't have decorum if people are standing up holding up signs in the middle of debates and solemn moments... We encourage protests... But it should be happening at the proper place and at the proper time."[4] DePape's protest featured as the front cover illustration for the book Contempt of Parliament by Kieron Wood, published in Ireland in January 2012.[5]

A few days after her protest in the Senate chamber, Michael Moore offered DePape a job.[6] DePape stated that she had also received job offers from the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Council of Canadians.[4]

On June 8, 2011, DePape announced the creation of a "Stop Harper Fund" to support "organizations and individuals engaging in creative non-violent direct actions against the Harper government's agenda." The fund planned to organize an advisory committee to direct funds to selected organizations, and legal and fiscal governance to ensure the donations were spent in accordance with the fund's stated mandate.[7]

Other protests and activism

Between June 26–27, 2010, DePape participated in protests at the G20 summit in Toronto.[8] On September 26, 2011, she took part in a protest on Parliament Hill against Alberta oil sands development and TransCanada Corp.'s proposed Keystone XL pipeline.[9] On April 23, 2012, DePape was again silently protesting in an unofficial page uniform, this time outdoors and apparently against Alberta's provincial Wildrose party, when she was photographed holding a sign reading "Stop Harper's Gang" when Danielle Smith (leader of the Wildrose party) cast her vote.[10] On November 20, 2014, DePape was arrested as part of a protest against Kinder Morgan on Burnaby Mountain, BC.[11]

Theatre

DePape wrote the one-woman play She Rules with Iron Stix, which she performed in Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Saskatoon at their respective fringe theatre festivals,[12] as well as the TEDxYouthOttawa conference.[13][14] DePape missed her convocation ceremony at the University of Ottawa to do media interviews.[4]

References
  1. Canadian Merit Scholarship Foundation (March 10, 2007). "2007 Loran Scholars" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 5, 2013. Retrieved Feb 5, 2012.
  2. Payton, Laura (June 3, 2011). "Senate page fired for anti-Harper protest". CBC. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  3. "Page with 'Stop Harper' sign fired from Senate". CTV. June 3, 2011. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
  4. McIlroy, Anne (June 6, 2011). "Celebrity and controversy surround Parliament's rogue page". Toronto: The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  5. "Clarus Press". Clarus Press. January 8, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  6. "Michael Moore offers job to fired Senate page". CBC. June 6, 2011. Retrieved July 4, 2012.
  7. "The Stop Harper Fund home page". Stop Harper Fund. June 8, 2011. Archived from the original on June 12, 2011. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  8. Drake, Tomasz. "Interruption du discours du trône: Qui est Brigette DePape?". Le Polyscope. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved June 12, 2011.
  9. Anti-oil sands protesters arrested at Parliament Hill rally by Carmen Chai, Postmedia News (National Post), September 26, 2011.
  10. Rogue Ottawa page protests silently as Wildrose’s Smith votes by The Canadian Press, April 23, 2012
  11. Woo, Andrea (November 20, 2014). "Protesters, police clash over Trans Mountain pipeline site". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
  12. "Twirling in a Fringe Factory". Guerilla Magazine. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  13. "TEDxYouthOttawa - Presenters". FYBY (For Youth, By Youth) News. Archived from the original on September 5, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
  14. "TEDxYouthOttawa - About". FYBY (For Youth, By Youth) News. Archived from the original on September 29, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
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