Man who occupied park facing gun charges

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This article was published 23/12/2022 (1018 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Lake Audy residents are concerned Wesley Bone, who is facing multiple gun-related charges, will make good on his promise to return to the area where he was forcibly removed by authorities last month.

Locals are urging Parks Canada to increase the presence of wardens in the area over fear for their safety. They voiced concerns to Parks Canada and the RCMP at a meeting at the Riding Mountain National Park visitors’ centre Thursday evening.

The Sun was able to join the meeting virtually after Michael Luba posted the access credentials to a Facebook group he moderates.

Dean Krupa, whose family has lived at Lake Audy for generations, said he is worried about the potential for violence from Bone and his supporters.

“We’re not just dealing with Wesley Bone,” Krupa said. “There’s a group that are there. There’s a bunch of guns that are there. I don’t know who they belong to … so I think it’s a very valid safety [concern].”

Parks Canada officials, who refused to clarify Bone’s charges to the Sun earlier this week, told the 30-plus people in the meeting they are “confident” in the charges — including the unlawful storage of firearms — they’ve brought against Bone.

Crown prosecutor Matthew Sinclair clarified the charges to the Sun on Friday. They include six offences under section 86 (1) of the Criminal Code of Canada for the unlawful storage of firearms and one federal Parks Canada charge for removing two notices contrary to the Canada National Parks Act.

According to Bone, who said he doesn’t recognize the charges levelled against him, he is expected to appear at the Minnedosa courthouse on March 28.

Bone has remained adamant that he has never made threats of violence against anyone. He said he had one gun stored in his Lake Audy shelter, which he kept under his bed with the safety on and only used for hunting.

“We are completely peaceful. We don’t use guns to manipulate or to bring the truth out.”

Bone’s belongings were removed from Lake Audy and he was arrested by Parks Canada wardens at the Co-op cardlock gas station in Strathclair, 54 kilometres southwest of Riding Mountain, in November. Parks Canada has banned him from Riding Mountain National Park, except to travel through on Highway 10.

However, Bone said he and his supporters plan to “peacefully” return to Lake Audy and have threatened to establish a blockade on Crawford Park Road, claiming it runs through a historic Indigenous cemetery where his ancestors are buried.

“If they’re going to make threats of banning me out of my traditional territory, then we’re going to shut down the road until we have these graves marked properly,” Bone told the Sun on Friday.

This is why local residents are scared and angry, Darla and Dean Krupa told the Sun after Thursday’s meeting.

“There’s 200 people in that area that this affects directly if this goes bad,” Darla Krupa said. “I’m really frustrated.”

In response to a question about what residents should do if they encounter Bone or anyone else acting in a threatening manner, Parks Canada and the RCMP said to not confront the person but to contact the park wardens or police.

“Everybody should use these precautions any time,” RCMP Staff Sgt. Dave Porter said Friday morning.

Despite the warning from RCMP and Parks Canada, Dean Krupa said his group of concerned residents haven’t yet received confirmation about an increase in security.

Parks Canada will continue to monitor the situation and consider the safety of all people involved and respect for the collective rights of Indigenous people to access their traditional territory, a spokesperson wrote in an email to the Sun on Friday.

“Parks Canada is continuing to work with the local First Nations to ensure all rights holders continue to have access to the Lake Audy area,” the statement said.

The campground, surface of the lake and bison enclosure at Lake Audy remain closed, and Parks Canada said no further comment could be made on a matter that is before the courts.

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