Just about a year ago, Senate page Brigette DePape interrupted the government’s throne speech with her first message to Canadians: Stop Harper. Since then, the feisty 22-year-old has expanded on that thought. Here’s a sampling from her star turn as a rogue page through to her latest stint on the Alberta campaign trail.
1
ON PROTESTING IN THE SENATE:
“Everywhere is the right place to protest ... I think we need to really challenge the assumption that democracy happens once every four years, when you go out and vote. I think that real democracy happens in our everyday lives and in our everyday actions.” — CTV’s Question Period, June 5, 2011
2
ON HER MOST FAMOUS ACCESSORY:
“What in the end is a stop sign? It’s a nod to the power of the street. It’s a nod to the people who come together there to put the breaks on the Harper government.” — speaking to a protest outside the Conservative Party convention in Ottawa, June 10, 2011
3
ON THE MYTH OF APATHY:
“Many youth are deeply concerned with the state of our country and world, but they are not engaged because our society tells us that we cannot change things. When we look back at advancements in Canada, history books tell us that politicians won these victories for us. This is disempowering and leaves us waiting for the next great political leader to come around.” — The Tyee, September 2, 2011
4
ON THE KEYSTONE XL PROTESTS IN WASHINGTON:
“As I stood facing the people risking arrest, chanting with them in solidarity, I felt like I had time-traveled back to the 1960s to the movement that stopped the war in Vietnam. But today we are building a movement to stop the climate crisis.” — The Tyee, September 9, 2011
5
ON THE OMNIBUS CRIME BILL:
“It’s not going to get tough on crime. It’s going to get tough on the poor, on indigenous peoples, on those who are most marginalized, on people with mental health problems ... If we have to build these prisons, I have an idea for who should be in them. It’s Harper, and the members of his government. Because they are the ones who are actually doing harm on people.” — Operation Maple video, October 5, 2011
6
ON THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT:
“I dreamed about some kind of peaceful uprising in Canada when I took action in the Senate. A few months later, it began to happen! Occupations spread across major cities in Canada and it has been exhilarating to partake. It is interesting to think about the political climate in the wake of Harper’s election compared to now. With Occupy, there has been a major shift in mood in Canada, from one of inertia and defeat, to one of vibrancy and hope.” — The Tyee, November 23, 2011
7
ON THE UN CLIMATE CHANGE NEGOTIATIONS IN DURBAN:
“Based on [Environment Minister Peter] Kent’s speech, it seems Canada has a two step process for continuing to destroy the climate while minimizing backlash. Step 1. Make official that we don’t have to reduce emissions so that we can’t face sanctions for continuing to destroy the climate. Step 2. Try to reassure people that we are not destroying the climate by referencing a few bucks we’re paying for false solutions for a problem we’ve caused.” — Canadian Youth Delegation blog post, November 28, 2011
8
ON THE RETURN OF HER HOMETOWN HOCKEY TEAM, THE WINNIPEG JETS: “I love the Jets. I always have. But there’s something that’s happened that’s throwing me off. It has to do with the Winnipeg Jets logo. It’s a fighter jet. It’s a symbol of an increasingly destructive path on which our country is headed ... Our awesome Jets have become free PR for Harper’s military agenda.” — Operation Maple video, January 11, 2012
9
ON THE ROBOCALL SCANDAL:
“If you get 39 per cent on a math test, that’s a fail — just like the Harper government is a failure for people in Canada. A false majority and phony elections: What can this mean? It can only mean one thing: A Canadian spring. We must occupy and deoccupy Canada.” — speaking to a robocall rally on Parliament Hill, March 5, 2012
10
ON PROTESTING THE WILDROSE ALLIANCE:
“We all have not only a right to be speaking out about these things, but a responsibility... I think that to be neutral in situations of injustice is to choose the side of the oppressor.” — iPolitics, April 25, 2012
ON THE LEAD-UP TO THE STOP HARPER SIGN:
“The first time that I had the idea to take action in the Senate itself was when the Senate rejected the climate change bill, which already was incredibly weak ... I thought about a number of different things. Like, what if I could put tar sands water in the cups of the Senators? But then I thought, that wouldn’t have much of an impact, it would only reach the small parliament culture or bubble.” — speaking at Thinking Outside the Ballot Box, October 22, 2011
Photos by Kyle Hamilton and the Canadian Press Research by Sonya Bell Designed by Jessie Willms