Update From Byron in Ottawa - May 16, 2006

This is Byron Prior standing on the lawn of the House of Parliament in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

I spoke to Byron yesterday to enquire about progress on Capital Hill:

Byron says that Liberal senator Bill Rompkey asked the RCMP to remove his signs of protest on the lawn of Parliament Hill 3 days in a row ( Monday 8th to Wednesday 10th of May).

The superintendent of the RCMP's parliament detachment asked Byron if he would "accommodate" Mr. Rompkey by moving the signs 2 feet westward (on the paved walkway) so that the said signs would be removed from the lawn, which Byron did.

The RCMP's comment was "Now we are accommodating Mr. Rompkey and you also have a permit to be here, so we are all happy now", and left.

On Monday, April 15, a female officer of the RCMP approached Byron with an intimidating manner and stated that he was promoting "hate" propaganda regarding T.Alex Hickman.

Byron replied, "No, Ma'am, this has nothing to do with hate. This is the truth."
Byron informed the officer that if what he was alleging was false, former Chief Justice of Newfoundland, T.Alex Hickman, had had more than 30 years to bring a civil suit against Byron for slander and defamation. Yet, to date, he has failed to take any action.

Anyone smell a Rat?

Furthermore, if what Byron is saying is false and so offensive, all Mr. Hickman has to do is give a DNA speciman and in less than a day, the truth would be known:
Did he rape Byron's young sister of 12 years and impregnate her or did he not?

Once again, this approach by the RCMP contingent seemed to have been spurred by Senator Bill Rompkey, a liberal senator from Newfoundland who had been making ripples in the past week about Byron's presence on the Parliament lawn.

Byron noticed that the female officer was accompanied by a Superintendent and another male officer. He told the Superintendent that if he wanted to arrest him, he should go right ahead, but that he had a permit to be there which had been issued by the RCMP!

Byron also noticed that four members of the Newfoundland Justice Department stood at the fountain while the RCMP spoke to him. Just a coincidence, nothing to worry about!

Byron approached the members and spoke to them. He answered their questions and then informed them that the Premier of Newfoundland, Mr. Danny Williams, had once been his lawyer, but once Williams let his case go, no other lawyer in Newfoundland or elsewhere had been willing to take Byron's case.

Anyone smell another Rat?

Byron admitted that he had felt a little intimidated and provoked but he realized, based on what his supporters had suggested, that the RCMP presence was intentional and designed to test whether Byron was serious about remaining on Parliament Hill until Mr. Vic Toews or another member of the Justice Department took his case seriously.
"After forty years seeking justice, do they really think I can give up now?" Byron asked, his voice choking up.

"You know, I have a fine son back home. How could I live with myself if I turned around to him and said, "Sorry Son, but I quit."?"
Byron went on to describe with deep admiration how his son is a champion at soccer and that he recently got a write-up in the Sports Section of the local newspaper for his outstanding abilities.

"But this fine young man can't get a job to help him get through college? Why do you think that is?" It was a rhetorical question and I waited while Byron struggled through the tears and the pain to make his next comment,
"After all these years, they are still working to oppress my family. Here I am, standing at their front door in Ottawa. I know I've ruffled a few feathers, but I owe it to my family. "

Byron went on to speak about his constant companion, Father Van Hee, with whom he shares space outside Parliament every day during the week.

"You know, when I saw these 6,000 people standing here to stand up for unborn children, and after all that I have learned about Father Van Hee, I said to him, "You know Father, I've been looking for a Hero in all the wrong places because I've been sitting next to one every day."

I told Byron that he should know that Father Van Hee had also been sitting next to a Hero everyday for the past five weeks. And then the tears of frustration and exhaustion flowed some more.
"It's true," I reassured Byron, "Who else would fight for justice for his sisters and brothers for all these years in the face of such adversity?"

We laughed about how comical it was that senator Rompkey had insisted on Byron's signs being moved two feet! And how on the day of the Pro-Life Protest, the RCMP Supervisor had returned to kindly ask Byron to return his signs back two feet, onto the lawn, so that they would not be destroyed by the crowds.
As you can see in this photograph taken by a supporter of Byron's in Ottawa, he stood out quite clearly among the huge crowds.

Some supporters who are paying close covered attention to Byron and his case in Ottawa have suggested that it just might be that Senator Rompkey's ripples might turn into a tsunami inside the Parliament building.

I asked whether Mr. Doyle had returned to give some beedback to Byron.
"Yes, he came to see me last week and told me that he had handed my documents to Justice Minister Toews."
That is a good sign.

"And today, a young executive assistant for another MP in the West Block came to visit me and he asked for all of my information as well." Byron was encouraged by this action.

He says that on Sunday he was presented with a beautiful bound Bible from a special limited edition of 2003 which was a gift from one of his many supporters in Ottawa who runs a Prayer Group. The gentleman assured Byron that his group was praying for Byron everyday.

Byron was invited to speak at a group meeting in Ottawa next week where he will have the opportunity to meet other MPs and potentional supporters.

Byron says he feels for Mr. Harper and his government who have so much work cut out for them undoing the damages of the Liberal government that cut deep into the hearts and pockets of the Canadian people.
We agreed that Mr. Harper is the first positive figure to make an appearance in Ottawa in over 4 decades.

We will have more from Byron in Ottawa next week...stay tuned and if you smell any Rats, you know where they came from!