Guy Quenneville
Northern News Services
Friday, July 6, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - A former contract employee for De Beers Canada, angry with the way the company handled a search of his possessions at a work camp in February, took his concerns to the street in front of the post office Wednesday.

Just as Don MacQuarrie began his protest, an unidentified aboriginal man on the left struck the woman in the centre, prompting MacQuarrie to say, "This is what the diamond mines get us." - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

But the manner in which he chose to spread his message didn't sit well with some passersby.

Don MacQuarrie, 46, signed a waiver that gave De Beers' security permission to search his belongings, but says he quit his job after the company failed to provide advance notice of the search at an exploration site at Gahcho Kué.

"This is just one in a long list of grievances with the diamond mines," said MacQuarrie.

At noon hour Wednesday on Franklin Avenue, MacQuarrie held a rolled-up sign attached to the top of a broomstick that equated several diamond mining companies - including BHP, Diavik and De Beers - with the Nazis.

At the top of sign, MacQuarrie listed the three companies, replacing random letters with swastikas.

MacQuarrie's protest was initially offset by a heated argument between a man and woman that happened a mere two feet away from MacQuarrie.

When the man struck the woman in the face, MacQuarrie said, "This is what the diamond mines get us."

MacQuarrie's protest finally got underway, attracting much attention for its unusual sign.

"Ex-paratrooper will not allow these companies to urinate on the graves of fallen Canadian soldiers," said the sign. (MacQuarrie said he served in the Canadian forces from 1985 to 1990.)

A young woman passing by took issue with MacQuarrie's use of the swastika, and told him: "That's a racist symbol. You're lucky I'm not Jewish."

Another man, who would not give his name, said MacQuarrie's protest, is "pretty strong. He's succeeding to get people's attention. But he needs to clarify his message."

MacQuarrie, who worked for De Beers on and off for approximately two years, said that De Beers' actions in February were "a gross violation of Canadian freedom.

"We were up at work at the time and we came home at lunchtime to discover that our belongings had been gone through and that the security officers (from De Beers) were conducting searches."

Asked whether his comparisons to Nazism were extreme, MacQuarrie responded, "It's a gross violation of Canadian civil liberties and you gotta stop it - nip it in the bud - before it starts to spread."

MacQuarrie said he had signed a waiver giving De Beers' protective services division permission to search his personal belongings at any time, but said he'd "like to see government regulation on these private security forces."

Cathie Bolstad, manager of public and corporate affairs for De Beers, said the way the search was carried out was not representative of how company policy is normally carried out, adding that the breach was an honest mistake.

"Every employee that signs on to the work at a De Beers site, or a contracted employee, signs on to and accepts our dry site policy which gives De Beers permission to search their items," said Bolstad. "How we do that - the way we carry out our policy - is to give them the choice to participate in that search.

"There were a few accommodations searched where the individual present gave the go-ahead to search their personal belongings but did not specifically identify that there were items in the room that belonged to other individuals...

"Had that been identified for us, the owner would have been requested to be in the room for the search of their belongings."

Immediately after concerns were raised by some employees, De Beers held a meeting with all workers on site, explaining the company was looking for alcohol or illegal substances, which are strictly prohibited from all De Beers work sites. The protective services members who conducted the search apologized to the camp residents, said Bolstad.

The company also issued a letter of apology to each employee on Feb. 12, in which it stated that the unauthorized searches "(were) not intentional and in no way intended to transgress your personal privacy and rights."

"Quite frankly, we're surprised he's raising this issue now," Bolstad said. "We understood the matter was resolved."

MacQuarrie, who also signed a waiver promising not talk about his employment with De Beers, said he initially accepted the company's apology but has come to think De Beers was guilty of more than just a mistake.

"These are ex-RCMP members," MacQuarrie said, describing the protective services members. "They said they didn't realize there were four people living in the room. If there's four beds in a room, with four sets of luggage and four sets of boots, and only one person there, how can it be a mistake?

"I'd like to see the RCMP press criminal charges because I believe a crime has been committed against the Canadian people, and I'd also like to see (the protective services officers) lose their jobs."

MacQuarrie was outside the post office again on Thursday afternoon.

"I'll be coming out every day for the next few weeks - as long as it takes for... some action to be taken."