No charges for statue toppling at Manitoba legislature grounds last summer

No charges are being laid in connection with the toppling of two statues of British monarchs last Canada Day at the Manitoba legislature grounds, according to police and the province.

Police service spokesperson Const. Rob Carver told CBC News Tuesday morning that following an investigation into the incidents, a report was written and sent to Manitoba Justice.

The Department of Justice ultimately had the final say, he said in an email.

A provincial spokesperson confirmed Tuesday afternoon that no further action was being taken.

"It has been determined after investigation that no charges will be laid in relation to the toppling of the statues or the organization of the protests at the legislative grounds," an email stated.

A large statue of a seated Queen Victoria, originally unveiled in 1904 on the front lawn of the legislature grounds, facing Memorial Boulevard, was covered in orange and red handprints and then pulled from its pedestal by a crowd of people on July 1.

The head was then cut off and tossed into the nearby Assiniboine River.

A smaller statue of Queen Elizabeth II, which stood near Government House at the southeast side of the legislative building, was also pushed over, landing face-down.

The statues were toppled following an Every Child Matters walk that afternoon, intended to coincide with Canada Day to protest the country's former residential schools system and to draw attention to the thousands of Indigenous children who died while attending the schools.

The walk followed the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at school sites in Kamloops in May and in Saskatchewan in June.

A sign saying "We were children once. Bring them home" was left leaning on Queen Victoria's pedestal after the statue crashed down.

It's not the first time the Queen Victoria monument was targeted during a rally. It was defaced in June 2020 as a wave of protests across Canada against statues commemorating colonial figures.

Queen Victoria, who reigned from June 1837 until her death in 1901, was the monarch as Canada became a country and negotiated treaties with Indigenous people, and reigned as the federal government began its residential schools policy.

There has been no word on replacing the statue, which has been put into storage as part of its repair. In the days following the topplings, then premier Brian Pallister admonished those who took part in the incidents.

He also said the monuments would be repaired and returned, though he said the locations of the statues could change based on consultation with stakeholders.

Anyone involved in the tearing down of the statues would not have a voice in those discussions, said Pallister, who announced his resignation in August.

Current Premier Heather Stefanson has not commented on the statues since taking office.