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Jace Waaskaahiikin takes little solace in the decision by the Ottawa Crown Attorney’s office Friday to stay mischief charges against him and 11 fellow demonstrators who were protesting against systemic racism when they were arrested in the early-morning hours of Nov. 21 at the intersection of Laurier Avenue and Nicholas Street.
“They really did fulfill the thing we were there to protest,” said Waaskaahiikin, who travelled from his home in Kitigan Zibi to the Ottawa demonstration to join a coalition in support of Black and Indigenous lives. “Like we said, the police don’t uphold, to any degree, the space needed for Indigenous and Black people in Ottawa.”