Legislature staff are looking to add a second gate to protect the building’s ceremonial entrance after demonstrators camped out in front of the door for 10 consecutive days.
A temporary fence has already been installed at the top of the first set of stairs leading to the entrance. A permanent black gate at the top of a second set of stairs blocks the door.
The ceremonial entrance is used when the lieutenant-governor comes to the legislature to deliver the speech from the throne and to mark the opening of a new session.
“We want to preserve that and make sure that’s nice for the lieutenant governor,” said Alan Mullen, chief of staff to B.C. Speaker Darryl Plecas.
Mullen estimated the temporary fence would be up for a matter of weeks, before being replaced with a permanent gate.
This year’s ceremonial arrival of Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin on Feb. 11 was blocked by protesters, who prevented the roll-out of the red carpet and the traditional 15-gun salute that would accompany her entrance.
“We’re saying moving forward, we don’t want that to be happening,” Mullen said.
The building’s facade is also a popular backdrop for wedding photos and tourists’ selfies, Mullen said, and they want to ensure that can continue.
Mullen said there was no damage to the building or grounds after the occupation. The lawn was a little bit trodden in what Mullen called “normal wear-and-tear.”
“We have no concerns about that whatsoever,” he said. “When the protesters left in the last couple of days, they were overly respectful. They cleaned up after themselves. There was no damage to the property, and there was actually no cost to the taxpayer.”
The building reopened to the public Friday morning, after being closed for more than a week.
Pre-booked school tours went ahead during the protest, but the public was denied access out of “an abundance of caution,” Mullen said.
“We’ve never had the building closed to the public for that amount of time,” he said. “It’s not ideal. It’s the people’s house. They should be able to come in and listen to legislation being passed.”
The public and staff enter the building through a door to the left of the ceremonial entrance. Once through security, visitors can join guided tours, explore the building on their own, or have a meal in the Parliamentary Dining Room.
Mullen said the grounds see hundreds of protests every year.
The building’s steps are empty of people for now, but at least two people from Salt Spring Island are planning to “take up the torch” after five protesters were arrested Wednesday night.
Jan Slakov said he’s waiting to hear if the group that occupied the legislature has any objections to him continuing their demonstration. If they support him, Slakov said he plans to travel to the legislature by bike and arrive at the building around noon.
